First Orchid Hybrids !

           Nowadays when you see orchids, whether it is for sale, during flower exhibition or growing in a garden, most of it are hybrids..they are everywhere..but did you ever wonder what is the first orchid hybrids? Here's the story..

           October 1856 was a big month for botany. That's when flowers bloomed on the world's first hybrid orchid. Botanist John Dominy raised the plant at a nursery in Exeter, England. The name? Calanthe Dominii, meaning, Dominy's beautiful flower. It was a breakthrough for the plant world, but one horticulturist warned, "You'll drive the botanists mad." And perhaps he did. Mr. Dominy started a trend that has blossomed almost beyond belief. He had produced 25 hybrid orchids by the time he retired in 1880. At the turn of the century there were more than 1,000. And today, the count is past 200,000 varieties and still climbing. Each year some 2,000 new hybrid orchids of all shapes, sizes and colors appear in greenhouses and at shows, and some are, well, downright bizarre. 

          Sekarang ni kalau kita nampak orkid, kebanyakannya mesti hibrid, tak kiralah sama ada yang nak dijual, dalam pameran atau pertandingan bunga atau di dalam taman.. tapi pernahkan kita tertanya- tanya apa orkid kacukan yang pertama sekali dihasilkan oleh ahli botani? OK,  bacalah ceritanya di bawah ni..

          Orkid kacukan pertama yang dihasilkan oleh manusia ialah Calanthe Dominii, hasil proses kacukan dari spesis Calanthe masuca dengan Calanthe furcata..mula dilakukan pada tahun 1853, dan pokok ini telah berbunga pada tahun 1856. Ia adalah satu kejayaan yang sangat besar di dalam bidang hortikultur pada masa tersebut..Orang yang bertanggungjawab menghasilkan orkid kacukan ini ialah John Dominy Ketua Tukang Kebun yang betugas di Nurseri James and James Veitch di England..hasil daripada kacukan pertama inilah, sehingga kini telah berkembang dengan pesat pelbagai jenis orkid kacukan bukan setakat antara spesis yang sama tetapi juga antara spesis orkid yang berbeza..sehingga kini lebih 200,000 jenis hibrid telah dihasilkan dan setiap tahun sekurang-kurangnya bertambah lagi sebanyak 2000 hibrid baru yang berbagai saiz, bentuk, warna malahan yang pelik pun ada..

 John Dominy (1816 – 1891), 

head gardener, plant grower at the nurseries of James and James Veitch in Exeter, 1834–1841, and Chelsea, c 1846–80. Grew the first known artificially produced orchid hybrid, Calanthe Dominii, flowered in 1856 after crossings that has been made in 1853.

The first man made hybrid in this genus is 

Calanthe Dominii (Calanthe masuca × Calanthe furcata) 

which was made by John Dominy in 1853.

The Japanese say, If the flower is to be beautiful, it must be cultivated. 
- Lester Cole