A Look Into the Hawaiian Orchid Industry
When we think of Hawaiis agriculture, we often think of pineapples and macadamia nuts. However, Hawaii also has a large orchid industry. There is a big local demand for orchid leis for all the tourists, but actually Hawaii exports more orchids than they keep in their own state. Farmers there grow both potted orchids for growing in homes, and cut blooms to sell to florists and the public.
Orchids in Pots
If you buy a potted orchid grown in the United States, there is about a 1-in-4 chance that it is a Hawaiian orchid. Farmers on the islands grow over million dollars worth of potted orchids every year. Only California and Florida produce more orchids.
Shipping orchids to the mainland is a labor-intensive task. Generally, each flowering stalk is braced by being tied to a small support. Then each pot of flowers must be gently wrapped and packed for an airfreight voyage of hundreds of miles. While mainland growers face fewer transport costs, Asian growers must pay even greater transport costs to send an orchid to the lower 48. A Hawaiian orchid grower can usually get a plant to anywhere in the United States in two working days.
Cut Flowers
The most long-lived orchid flower spikes can live up to about three weeks after having been cut. And at - a stem for the most common varieties, mainlanders are increasingly splurging on a few Hawaiian orchid blooms on special occasions.
Orchids, like most flowers, are best cut around dawn, a day or so before the bloom fully opens. Farmers go through their greenhouses and fields every morning to cut the shipment to be sent to the mainland. The stems are bundled together, carefully wrapped in tissue paper, boxed, and sent to the airport immediately. The flowers are then sold to florists and retailers at wholesale flower markets.
A Hawaiian orchid stem can get to the consumer a little faster than foreign-grown flowers. When any live plants, even blossoms, are imported into the United States, they are held for USDA inspection to make sure they are free of disease and pest infestations.
It might not be so simple to divide Hawaiian orchid farms into potted-plant or cut flower producers. Many cut flowers are raised in potted plants on farms. Then, once the mature plant has reached its peak of flower production, the large potted plants can be sold to customers who want big, impressive vegetation.
You can cut the hollow or excessively soft parts of the root: they are dead anyway.
Solitary Bloom
Orchids require much more time and effort than the average house plant does.
Orchids need to be misted with an atomizer, not watered from a can to better mimic humid tropical weather. They make sure to use only the most realistic looking orchids that are available for their arrangements, and take pride in the end result. On the other hand, the internet can be a quirky place. After the harvest, the six to eight inch long pods must then be cured before they are ready for the final step: becoming vanilla extract.
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