By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Williette and Edward Wong are responsible for the spectacular
spill of orchids at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
HAWAII'S largest annual orchid show and sale opened last night at Blaisdell Center, on the theme of "A Hawaiian Legend." It is spectacular, and it's free, a truly winning combination. A fascination
with orchidsSatisfaction blooms
among orchid growersThe secretary of the show, Williette Wong and her husband Edward, talked about plans for the show earlier this week in the lobby of the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The Wongs have a contract with the hotel to provide and maintain the dozens of flowering orchids that hang on the rock wall along the interior staircase from the lobby to the ocean level.
The Wongs, as they replace some plants and groom others, attract as many viewers as the dolphins do. The wall is a natural photo opportunity for wedding parties and family gatherings held at the hotel.
"People are startled that we are actually removing plants that look just fine to them." Williette said. "We usually cut off the flowers if they still look OK, and give them to visitors."
The Wongs have been responsible for the orchid display since 1992, and have been growing orchids for 51 years. "We got our first orchid when we went to Hilo on our honeymoon"' Edward said. "We saw a lot of Vandas, the lei orchids, but they were selling for $1 a foot, so we bought a cattleya instead. We brought it back home, and we didn't know what to do with it, so I went to the library and took out a book."
(Today, there's the American Orchid Society's Website at http:// www.orchidweb.org for information about orchid culture.)
The Wongs were fortunate in 1947 to have found Matatoshi Miyamoto, then the dean of orchid growers, who gave them advice. "Back in those days, growers didn't usually share what they knew, but Mr. Miyamoto taught me all of his orchid secrets. I learned from him how to hybridize orchids and it has been an interest for me ever since," Edward said. A retired fire fighter at Hickam Air Force base, he now hybridizes and grows hundreds of orchids.
Cattleyas are the Wongs' favorite, because of the color range and the challenge of hybridizing them. "Cattleyas bloom once a year, at the most twice, so it takes a while to find out what you've got," Edward said. "I'm trying for yellow and reds, crossing them not only for color but for size. I'm working to bring down the size of the flowers. What I'm really striving for is a flower that no one else has seen, but you get a lot of rubbish, too."
The Wongs entered several plants in the show, but didn't make their final choice until Tuesday. The flower must be at the peak of its beauty, and that is a very small window in time.
Williette pointed out a glorious cattleya Porcia with a head of 12 flowers on a footlong stalk that was hanging on the wall. "It's a winner today," she said, "but the flowers will be past their prime by the time of the show. It all depends upon timing, and there's not much you can do about it."
The interest in orchid growing has changed greatly in the years that the Wongs have been involved. "In the early days, only the rich could afford to collect orchids. Oh, you might have one or two, but to be a serious grower took money.
"Then Takemi Kodama began importing plants from the mainland and England, and he sold them in 2-inch pots at Kress. Suddenly, everybody could grow orchids," Williette said.
"By the late 1940s, we'd have 20,000 people attend an orchid show, and in those days, we charged admission. But that generation is dying off. The orchid clubs are having trouble finding new members because people don't have time any more. They are working to pay off a mortgage," she said. "But they don't know how relaxing orchid growing is."
Representatives of the regional orchid clubs on Oahu are attending the current show, and will be recruiting new members. Most clubs charge a $20 annual fee, which you immediately recover in monthly plant give-aways and advice from experienced growers. And Williette says you can't put a price on the lifelong friendships that start in the clubs.
Each club has a major exhibit at the show, illustrating a Hawaiian legend. Kaimuki has chosen "The Song of the Frog," using the tale of the lazy boy who wouldn't help his family water their garden. Instead he chose to relax and sing. A kahuna noticed this and said, "If you like to sing and you don't like to work, you can sing all day and night." And he turned the poor kid into a frog.
The Honolulu Orchid Society has created a volcano of orchids that has to be seen to be believed. Kunia has recreated the Seven Pools of Maui.
Plants from professional grower will be sold at the show.
The Wongs advise the beginning collector to start with a phalaenopsis. They are easy to grow, and a mature plant can bloom for three months at a time.
As the Wongs began to pack up, a bridal couple appeared at the head of the stairs. The attendant photographer spoke in Japanese as he posed them against the wall. The bride took a quick look around, pinched off a tiny oncidium and passed it to her husband. He smiled and put it in his buttonhole. The Wongs beamed.
Honolulu Orchid Society
Plant & Flower ShowWhen: 9 am.-9 p.m. today and tomorrow, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.
Gardening Calendar in Do It Electric!
Send queries along with name and phone number to:
Evergreen by Lois Taylor, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Or send e-mail to features@starbulletin.com.
Please be sure to include a phone number.
Evergreen by Lois Taylor is a regular Friday feature of the
Honolulu Star-Bulletin. © 1998 All rights reserved.
