Orchid obsession

Barbra Kypriotis has spent most of her life surrounded by orchids. Since she was just 12 years old she has watered, fertilised, re-potted, bred and propagated them – so it’s no surprise to discover that she and her husband, George, now own and run an orchid nursery.

“My late dad started the obsession about 48 years ago now,” says Barbra. 22 years later, Barbra and George decided to formally take over the retail arm of the business, establishing their own nursery, The Orchid Place, in Heathcote, south of Sydney. Barbra estimates that they carry a minimum of 20,000 orchids on site, including a diverse mix of cymbidiums, dendrobiums, oncidiums, vandas, paphiopedilums and more.

While certain aspects of the business can be time consuming, Barbra considers herself lucky to spend time with the flowers. “This is my happy place,” she says. “The orchids vibrate happiness, and it’s a joy to be able to share that with everyone.”

How to care for orchids

Barbra wants to encourage everyone to give growing orchids a go. “My job is to teach people that orchids are easy to grow and that they’re not as fussy as everyone makes them out to be,” she says.

Here are her top tips for caring for orchids:

• Most orchids can’t handle direct sun and should be positioned in filtered light, such as the dappled light of a tree canopy or under 50–70 percent shadecloth.
• Orchids like air movement, and overcrowding them or placing them in areas with poor airflow will encourage fungal problems.
• Cymbidiums prefer to be pot-bound and should only be re-potted when there’s little room left in the pot. Give the pot a squeeze and if there’s little give, it’s a good time to re-pot. Don’t divide the clump unless there are multiple bulbs.
• Use graded orchid bark that is suited to the genus and age of the plant. Talk to an orchid specialist or society for more details.
• Apply fertiliser as directed on the back of the pack. Doubling the dosage or feeding more frequently than required is not beneficial.

For more tips and tricks for caring for orchids, check out this article.

Photo by Brent Wilson