TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Tampa Couple Is Captivated By Orchids

Tribune photo by PENNY CARNATHAN

The sight of Cattleya corsage orchids like Lc. Drumbeat "Heritage" is enough to make people cry with nostalgic memories of formal events decades ago.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 9, 2009

Louis Del Favero got his first orchid, a Vanda, for his 12th birthday. When he was 16, he made his first trip to Central America to collect wild orchids.

Eventually, he traveled through much of Central America, into South America and across the Caribbean gathering the plants.

So opening Louis Del Favero Orchids Inc. in 1981 came as naturally as a Brassavola cross-pollinating a Cattleya.

His wife, Bonnie Dearden, had it a little harder.

She had just one orchid when she met Louis.

"I married into it," she says.

Fourteen years later, she happily educates new customers about the sprawling Orchidaceae family.

"The only problem is, when there's a lot of beginners, I run out of spit."

Del Favero Orchids off Gunn Highway in Citrus Park has two greenhouses filled with hundreds of orchids that thrive in the Bay area. For beginning growers, the couple like to find out what environment the orchid will be in, and even a bit about the grower's lifestyle.

"With some plants, there's a time issue. In the summer, they need water every day. That's not good for someone who's trying to run kids to soccer practice and recitals," Bonnie explains. "We want to help them choose a plant they'll love and they'll have success with, so they'll keep coming back."

The orchid family includes more than 600 genera, 30,000 species and hundreds of thousands of hybrids, with new ones created every day. Del Favero Orchids focuses mostly on those that like warmer temperatures and are geared to hobbyists, as opposed to people who simply want to decorate with the long-lasting blooms.

"We don't do Phalaenopsis," the popular genus found in garden centers and home decor magazines, Bonnie says.

Many of their plants do best outdoors in dappled sunlight or on a lanai but can be brought inside while they're in bloom.

For any area orchid grower, Louis recommends two favorite books. "Florida Orchid Growing Month by Month" by Martin Motes (Redland Press, $19.95) is geared to South Florida, but Louis says 80 percent is pertinent to Central Florida. "Complete Guide to Orchids" (Ortho Books, $13.57) includes terminology, potting, light and other topics, along with profiles of various genera.

Del Favero Orchids, 6601 Gant Road, Tampa, is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. During the Winter Orchid Affair from Feb. 7 to 8, they'll also be open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. The event includes specials on nonblooming orchids. For information, call (813) 963-5103.

Penny Carnathan

Vanda lamellata v. boxallii "Tom"

Years ago, longtime grower Tom Ritter of Orlando got a shipment of orchids from the Philippines and found in it what he declared to be a superlative example of that particular variety.

"He said this plant was the best Vanda lamellata he had ever seen," recalls Louis.

Louis helped his friend get the plant cloned from tissue cultures - the only way to produce an exact replica. They ordered 500.

These epiphytes come with dangling roots, photo at left, which they need to survive. If the roots look too messy to suit your taste, don't get the plant. Cost: $45.

Cattleya Lc. Drum Beat "Heritage" (Cattleya)

The cattleyas are known as corsage orchids because their huge blooms decorated many a formal gown in decades past.

"We'll get older women coming in with their daughter, and they'll come into the first greenhouse and say, 'Where are the orchids?'" Louis says. "I know exactly what they're looking for."

He quickly walks them to the second greenhouse - and the cattleyas. The sight of the blooms brings back memories of weddings, dances, first loves. "Some older people will be overcome with emotion," he says. "We have chairs strategically placed." Cost: $25 and up.

Paphiopedilum hybrid (Luna Moth x Onyx 'Green Ice' x Raisin Magic 'Wharton)

People from up North might see a vaguely familiar face here - the wild lady slipper. Those won't grow in Florida, but the genus Paphiopedilum, known as paphs, includes lady slippers for warm climates, as well. There's so much variety, even among individual plants of the same type, some lady slipper lovers never move beyond this orchid.

Paphs are excellent indoor plants, requiring lower light than some other genera, Bonnie says. If you have the right light for blooming African violets, you can bloom these. They should not be left out in the rain (their "slipper" is not meant for filling with water). Cost: $25.

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT