Although each new species was greeted with enthusiasm, the first hybrids that appeared were met with both amazement and scepticism, for such an achievement was once thought impossible.

The birthplace of orchid hybrids was the nursery of James Veitch and Sons in Exeter, Devon.

A regular visitor to that nursery was John Harris, a local surgeon, whose interest led him to unravel the secrets of orchid pollination. He explained his theory to Veitch’s grower, John Dominy. As a result of his experiments, the first orchid hybrid was flowered in 1856. This was an evergreen Calanthe, which was named C. Dominyi after the raiser.

The new awareness of how orchid hybrids could he created led to many experiments with cross-breeding, giving botanists a clearer understanding of which orchids were related and would therefore interbreed. Orchids are extremely generous at providing abundant seed, but the masses of beautiful golden seed proved to be extremely reluctant to germinate or grow.

The oldest journal in the world is the Orchid Review, started in 1893, which is published six times a year by the Royal Horticultural Society in London. Further information is available on the Internet, where individual websites can be visited and ideas exchanged on a global basis.

Today, hybridizing has come a long way from the tentative steps taken by John Dominy in Veitch’s nursery. The Royal Horticultural Society in London is the world authority for the registration of orchid hybrids, where over 100,000 have been entered. This astounding figure continues to rise by over 3,000 per year, testimony to an insatiable appetite for better plants. The majority of these new varieties are produced for the pot-plant trade, which demands a supply of cheaply produced, easily grown orchids.

Amateur societies dedicated to the advance of orchid cultivation started up, and in the United States the American Orchid Society was founded in 1921. This organization grew from small beginnings to a worldwide network, becoming the largest orchid society in the world.

These are no longer taken from their natural habitats to supply the home grower who, in turn, gets a much better quality plant from the many outlets now supplying orchids.

Species in cultivation are kept in botanical gardens and specialist collections, which can care for them for posterity.