Orchids in New Zealand????

[joan gero]

My hubby and I are traveling to New Zealand on Feb 3 for 18 days... and I wonder if any kiwis here can suggest "can't miss" orchid destinations worth going out of our ways to see in February. Bless his heart, Stephen's willing to visit orchids with me and even suggested I ask the Orchid Geeks for suggestions! Any ideas welcome (in addition to glow worms in caves). We'll be north of Aukland for a wedding first, and then zipping down to the south islands. THANKS

[fred]

Orchids on Sale

Orchids Preview

Woodstream Orchids

[arleneg]

Silly fred,

She wants to know if there are any orchid nurseries to visit in New Zealand!

[fred]

yeah silly but also a good idea to ask them for local growers as well
so it could be a good idea

[epiphyte]

I'm not a kiwi but I am trying to grow a couple kiwi vines...not sure if that counts for much.

What's interesting about New Zealand is that some of the southernmost epiphytic orchids occur there. For example, Dendrobium cunninghamii grows as far south as Stewart Island which is located on the 47 degrees South latitude line. Just based on latitude that would be the US equivalent of an epiphytic orchid growing in Northern Maine. Unfortunately, it seems to get much colder in coastal Maine than it gets in Southern New Zealand.

Here's a list of all? of the epiphytic orchids that can be found in New Zealand (some might be synonyms)...

Adelopetalum tuberculatum (Bulbophyllum tuberculatum)
Bulbophyllum argyropus
Drymoanthus adversus
Drymoanthus flavus
Earina aestivalis
Earina autumnalis
Earina mucronata
Ichthyostomum pygmaeum (Bulbophyllum pygmaeum)
Winika cunninghamii (Dendrobium cunninghamii)

Souces... Kew, New Zealand (NZ) Native Orchids

Would love to see some pictures of those orchids in their native environment and hear about some of the coldest temperatures that they are exposed to.

[snowballsarebad]

Oh you are soooo lucky! New Zealand is amazing. I never wanted to leave when I stayed for a semester a few years ago.
I believe that NZed has a group of orchids called the Sun orchids, many of which are a lovely blueish color. I wonder if those are for sale at all. Ahah...some are native to the country, here's a website with them New Zealand (NZ) Native Orchids THey don't have any links to sellers, but they've got pics of a bunch of native orchids
I don't remember any orchid places from when I was there...but then again, I wasn't into orchids yet.
Not sure if you're going to Wellington...but it's an amazing and beautiful city, and the gardens there...the Wellington Botanic Gardens are pretty sweet. Acres and acres on the side of a mountain...oh YES there are orchids in there I believe...in a greenhouse, at the rose place! They also have a ton of carnivorous plants in there. ALSO...in Taranaki...well, New Plymouth (also North Island...), there's some botanic gardens, and they have this half-underground/cave like greenhouse, which had probably TONS of orchids in it, now that I think about it. It was sweet. Looking it up...Pukekura Park. Geeze, its all coming back to me. Don't remember anything similar in the South Island....but there are PLENTY of other amazing things to visit there. If you're in Dunedin, do the Otago Peninsula for a half-day or so...see Lover's Leap and the other cliffs, and the world's steepest street...which was pretty amusing. If you have a couple days in Auckland...drive over to Coromandel for a day, and see if you can make it to Cathedral Cove and Hot water Beach.
A huge destination is Milford Sound...but I thought Doubtful Sound was even more amazing. Take a cruise....they have half-day (though it will take you a whole day to do it all anyways, since it's so far off from anything else) trips and overnights. Might be pricey for either place...but so worth it. I felt like the whole world was summed up right there in the Sounds.
I also swam with dolphins in the Bay of Islands. THAT is cool.
Ok...I could go on all day. Point is...there are sooo many things to do and see, you'll just have to pick what seems appealing to you! Got any questions about anything, and I'm happy to try and answer, though I didn't make it everywhere. I bet you will have a lovely time!

[joan gero]

Thanks much Fred, Epiphyte and Snowballsarebad for your generous suggestions... all very welcome... The New Zealand (NZ) Native Orchids site is WONDERFUL... and has given me great leads. AND I've copied your messages to put in our travel folder, to refer to on our trip. GREAT help. I'm still interested in growers although I suppose I'll never be able to bring live plants into the US. It also seems that the orchid shows happen in September (sadly). Anyway, you've made my day! Snowballsarebad, I'm only able to go on this trip because last semester was my last term teaching at American University!!!

[Andrew]

Joan,
Be wary of buying New Zealand native orchids. NZ has tough regulations regarding the export protected natives. You will have an incredibly hard time trying to legally export native orchids. I'm under the impression that exporting them is prohibited whether regardless of whether the plants/seed are legally cultivated or not but you'd have to clarify with customs what the actual case is. The restrictions shouldn't apply for exotics.