Orchidelirium Sets in at McKee this Weekend
- Vero Minute
- 16 hours ago
- 1 min read
This one's nearly sold out -- get your tickets befoe they're gone!
In the 1840s, Victorian England had descended into what botanists grimly called "orchidelirium," a full-blown mania in which aristocrats spent fortunes, hired mercenaries, and stripped entire jungles bare to possess a flower that, once obtained, tended to die within weeks.
Plant hunters were sworn to secrecy about the collecting locations. Rivals spread false coordinates to throw each other off the scent. Men lied, cheated, and occasionally got each other killed over Cattleyas and Vandas. The obsession didn't discriminate, swallowing scientists, industrialists, and royalty alike.
Orchidelirium: From Madness to Mastery runs April 16–18 as a three-part masterclass led by McKee's newly appointed Orchid Curator, Luis Manuel Ortiz-Jordan. He holds a master's in environmental management, spent over 25 years in horticulture, pivoted to botany after a career in cancer research and, while working in Puerto Rico, discovered a new orchid species now bearing his name: Eurystyles luisortizii. McKee hired him nearly 80 years after founder Arthur G. McKee brought in his first orchidologist and as the garden celebrates its centennial this year.
The three sessions move from history to science to dirt under your fingernails: Thursday traces the orchid's grip on civilization from ancient Greece through the aforementioned Victorian mania to modern conservation. Friday focuses on Orchid care and dismantles common myths (including the ice cube trick) before concluding Saturday with a hands-on repotting workshop.
The full series is $30 for members or $60 non-members. Individual sessions cost $20. Register at mckeegarden.org.
