The orchid is a kind of
parasitic plant living on tree barks in humid forests. It gets food from the
moss, and nitrogen and minerals from the air. Orchids are especially
diversified in species, shapes and colors. According to the 1987 findings of a
researcher, A. L. Takhtajan, there are about 750 species of Orchids, with about
25,000 families in the world, from Mexico
to India and the Islands of
the Pacific Ocean. Botanists treat orchids as
the most beautiful and colorful flowers. Only the delicate combination of
colors on butterfly wings can compete with vivid hues of orchids. In addition,
orchids give out a very special sweet and pleasant fragrance.
Although grown in the
wilderness, orchids are “hard to please” Each type of orchid requires a certain
kind of moss, humidity and sunshine. Perhaps because of the diversified
species, colors and fragrance and the difficulties encountered to plant and
care for them, all those who love flowers are in love with orchids. But only
those with a special knowledge on orchids and a particular frame of mind can
grow them successfully. Given its primitive forests that stretch over mountains
of different heights and a diversified eco-environment, Hoang Lien Son in
general and Sapa in particular is a paradise for orchids. From March to June,
Orchids blossom everywhere in the forests and along rivers. Their fragrance
fills the air. In fact, they also grow in the primitive forests of Viet Bac,
the Truong Son range of mountain and in other forest covers in Vietnam. Before
the 1960 orchids were a mysterious kind of flower that lowlanders seldom saw
and in Hanoi few people knew how to plant and care for them.
During the American war,
soldiers and volunteer workers had to march through or take shelter in the
forests. They were struck by the beauty and fragrance of the flowers they
happened to see. Many picked sprays of orchids with blossoms and hung them in
their shelters and recovery centers. After the country was pacified, they
returned home with their orchids tied to their luggage as a reminder of their
stay within these forests. Thus, the flowers were introduced to the urban
population and orchid growing gradually became a hobby. In the late 1970 and
1980 most houses in Hanoi
owned at least one orchid plant. But as the flowers were difficult to care for,
people gave up the activity and only experienced botanists in the flower
villages of Nghi Tam and Quang Ba continued to grow beautiful orchids. Many
skilled growers are found in Hue, and in Da Lat
people not only grow orchids but also succeed in breeding, cross-breeding and
implanting new species and as in Thailand even export them in bulk.
In the past, when forests
were just several hundred meters away from the town perimeter people often
chose the best orchids and brought them home to plant in their gardens.
According to old documents there was a forest adjacent to the town that a
French map noted as “Orchid forest” perhaps because of the abundant presence of
orchids. Several years ago, local people still went into the forest to pick
them and sell them in the markets. Orchids were piled up in the sidewalks and
were cheaper than vegetables.
Then they became rarer and
only few people still paid attention to them. Worried that some day orchids
would completely disappear a handful of them searched for different species in
the forests and learned on their own to grow these plants. They are now
experiences on how to better take car of the flowers giving each other orchids
as gifts reading relevant books and forming clubs to admire orchid blossoms.
They also ask the advice of professionals from the institute of Ecology
to help them solve problems regarding their varieties. Many of these flower
lovers have visited famous orchid gardens throughout the world and gone to Thailand for
field study.
It is not only a difficult,
even dangerous task, but also a matter of luck to find a small orchid hanging
on a tall tree in the middle of a forest. After you find the flowers, the most
important thing is to create suitable conditions of humidity and sunshine, so
that they not only grow well but also produce the same flowers and fragrance as
they did in the forests. Many orchid growers are stunned when they find that
their flower buds have wilted, just at the time when they are supposed to
blossom. Besides insects and fungus can cause terrible destruction. A man had
failed for fours years before he discovered that his orchid could only blossom
if its stems directed to the west. Other orchids only grow well if they are
placed close to the ground. Since these flowers are brought home from the
forests, experience is scarce, even among the most skilled orchid growers and
researchers. Some species discovered in Sapa are named with Sapa as a prefix.
Sapa thick lips, Sapa milk orchid, Sapa Yellow tongue are on the world’s list
of orchids.
Most people in Sapa are
familiar with the orchid gardens of Mr. Tan Hung, Dang Trung, Khi, Duong,
THanh, and chien. Thank to their love, diligence and patience with the exotic
flowers, people now have the chance to admire orchid varieties they may
otherwise only know though library books.
If you do not have time to
visit the dozens of private orchid gardens, go up Ham Rong Mountain in downtown Sapa. A large
orchid garden with thousands of flower lies right under the shade of luxuriant
trees at the second junction from the entrance gate. Each orchid has a tag with
its corresponding Vietnamese and scientific names. Orchid lovers drown under
the amount of popular or rare orchid varieties. The largest flower requires a
dozen people to carry, the smallest can fit in an adult’s hand. Some have stems
over one meter long or blossoms as big as a bowl, while others have stems the
size of a button. The fragrance emanating from the orchid garden spreads to the
foot of the mountain.
According to workers there,
this garden covers more than 200 families of orchids belonging to 44 species
thriving in the forests of Hoang Lien Son. The majority of them are cymbidium. There
are also two kinds of red and yellow sword, which blossom in autumn and summer.
The autumn blossoms are huge flower, 12 centimeters in diameter, with stems
longer than leaves, their yellow petals lined with brownish violet stripes, and
diffusing a strong and sweet fragrance. The orchids that blossom in spring have
stems that are over one meter long, lying parallel to the ground, with whitish yellow
petals and dark brown spots. These flowers can last for three months. Velvet
sword, with dark brown petal and red or orange spots, also has two kinds, the
shorter one blossoming in spring and the taller one in autumn. Jade sword is
among the rarest species, with green flowers and a special fragrance that can
fill up a spacious room. Autumn sword has a one – meter long vertical stem and
lasts long. Among the other special orchids, dendrobium has attractive colors.
