New Zealand - Disa Capitol of the World !

In  January 2001, I had the opportunity to visit what has to be the Disa growing center of the world.  (Sorry, South Africa)  My wife, Kathy, and I have wanted to visit New Zealand for some time now and when Ron Maunder told me that there is actually an Orchid Show in New Plymouth, New Zealand that has a Disa exhibit, plans started to come together.  We managed to see quite a bit of New Zealand over a period of 3 1/2 weeks and the scenery, as well as the Disas, were spectacular. I'll attempt to give you a brief outline of what we saw. Over the next few months I will be filling in some of the outline and showing you some more  pictures of the individual growers and their flowers.  Mind you, I'm not going to mention the scenery, as this is a Disa website but it was simply marvelous and if anyone wants to know more about that aspect, you can email me privately.

Our Disa safari started on the South Island in the town of Dunedin.  The southernmost Disa grower in the world resides there and his name is Dr. Tudor Caradoc-Davies.  He has an extremely nice setting up on a bluff of the Otago Peninsula overlooking Otago Bay.  Since he has many interests, his cultivation of Disas pretty much follows the GOD system (Grow Or Die).  He grows in insulated flats placed on the ground inside 4 hoop greenhouses measuring about 8 x 19 feet each that are left open at the ends to allow for air circulation.  Due to his location, the weather is very much moderated by the proximity of the ocean and he neither heats, nor takes any special care to control the temperature of the plants.  His approach to potting would make must of us shudder.  He repots into straight moistened peat moss over a base of pebbles.  (That's right, the stuff most of us affectionately refer to as MUD).  He emphasizes that during repotting, he only loosely fills the pot and doesn't attempt to pack it down at all.  We visited slightly ahead of his main blooming season but the plants looked good and many were in spike.  (In retrospect, we probably should have started in the North and made our way South to artificially extend the blooming season but due to the fact that there were limited times when we could hike the Milford Track, we had to start at the South and work northward). He does some hybridization with unifloras mainly and sends the greenpods to Ron Maunder to sow in flasks.

The next Disa grower we were going to try and see lives in Nelson but we failed in that attempt because we arrived in Nelson at 10PM and all the Motels already had their No Vacancy lights lit up, so we had to continue on.  The one observation that we made at least on the South Island was that the social structure is pretty much rural and very little is open at night and on weekends.  The one exception was the bugle player at 2:30 AM outside our Hotel on Cathedral Square in Christchurch.  The larger cities primarily on the North Island also had exceptions but most towns were pretty much closed down after 5 or 6 PM except for maybe 1 or 2 "Takeaways" where you could find Fish and Chips for $2.00 to $3.00 US.

After crossing to the North Island and landing at Wellington, I really wanted to see the growing setup of the renowned Disaphile Cesar Zapata. Unfortunately, he was the only grower who was away from home during our trip.  He was up north sailing so was unable to see us until the New Plymouth Show but I'll tell you more about that later.

The next Disa grower on our list was Trevor Gillbanks and his lovely wife Teresa.  Trevor unfortunately divides his time among a number of orchids and interests instead of devoting his time exclusively to Disas like any true Disaphile. He also publishes a Masdevallia and Disa newsletter, which comes out 2 or 3 times a year.  In all honesty, while his Disas were nice and he does some good things with them, the thing that impressed me the most were his Pleiones followed closely by his Masdevellias.  They looked absolutely fantastic. He is also one of the few people who has had success with Satyriums and he grows some other unusual terrestrial orchids as well.  He grows exclusively in reconstituted sphagnum moss and is doing much better with his Disas after lining his aluminum growing trays. He is situated farther from the ocean than any other grower so I would imagine that his temperature swings would probably be the widest.  He doesn't heat at all during the winter and does get some days below freezing.  While Disas seem to be able to survive at temperatures lower than freezing for a while, I have a hard time believing that it doesn't effect them at all.  Another hobby that Trevor has taken to is using some of the very colorful local wood to produce some really pretty wooden carved bowls.

After a brief stop at Tongariro National Park and Lake Taupo we were on our way to the Taranaki Summer Show, which is held every year around the second weekend in January.  The Orchid display was nice and about what one would expect from a small town like Modesto in California.  It's obvious that there are not a lot of Orchid hobbyists in New Zealand but for the number of people attending, the display was impressive.  Most impressive was the Disa display.  One would be hard pressed here in the States to have as many quality Disas on display from so many different people.  By now many of you may have looked at the picture that Ron Maunder sent with his article to the DisaPhile and which is reproduced below.  In the picture of George Fuller and I, Ron only caught about one-tenth of the Disa pavilion.  As you can see, the flowers are super and the ones out of the picture were just as good if not better.  The program for the weekend was a little bit different than here in the States. There were a number of group meetings where the focus was on one particular genus. Besides the Disa group, there were also meetings of the Odontoglossum group, the Paphiopedilum group and the Masdevallia group.  The group discussions were mostly informative with minimal politics and resulted in some interesting information being shared.  The topic of main interest this time in the Disa group was whether the yellow tips on the end of the lateral sepals were a result of selection and genetics or environmental factors.  They apparently had an unusual blooming season this year and a lot of these yellow tips were showing up.  I don't think any absolute conclusion was reached but I definitely am going to be more cognizant of their appearance in the future. My former buddy Ron Maunder then sandbagged me into telling the way we northerners grow Disas in the States. (Just kidding Ron, you're still A OK in my book)  I would have much rather heard more about New Zealand growing practices as they obviously have had a lot more success with Disas than we do in the States.   

One very nice feature of this type of a program is the opportunity for one on one conversation with some extremely knowledgeable people.  One of the first that I managed to buttonhole was Cesar Zapata.  As Ron mentioned, Cesar was supposed to have a white Veitchii in bloom, but it was another example of the white bud getting more color as the flower opened.  Cesar is a very interesting fellow and definitely has some secrets to share.  He is the only person I know of that has had any success with racemosa in New Zealand; and besides flowering atricapilla, he has also flowered a xanthic yellow uniflora with 7 blooms on one stem.  It's unfortunate that I was unable to see his growing setup, but maybe next year. 

The other person that I was anxious to meet was George Fuller.  He is probably the person most responsible for the success of Disas in New Zealand.  I had several chances to talk to him over the weekend and the following Monday and the history of the introduction of Disas into New Zealand is really surprising.  He has been playing around with Disas for over 30 years!!  The thing that really got to me was the fact that they were growing Disas in the 70's and since it wasn't publicized, no one knew about it except a small circle of friends.  George has an interesting background.  He worked in England at Kew and Sanders and decided to go back to New Zealand and was offered the chance to supervise the development of Pukekura Park in New Plymouth.  The park is an absolutely amazing place.  Has everything from a cricket field to a waterfall and practically everything else in between.  The part that I liked the best was a series of greenhouses that are collectively known as the Fernery.  To enter, you go thru a tunnel which opens into a grotto with native ferns all around.  The different parts all emphasize different aspects of the New Zealand environment; and there are many interesting botanicals and even a number of orchids.  The picture that Ron took of George standing in the water was taken in one of the greenhouses of the Fernery complex, and if you look carefully over his shoulder, you can see some of the pink Veitchiis on display there.  In the picture, George is actually hiding a big clump of Disas that are immediately behind him on the edge of the pool.  One of the pots that he is holding is uniflora 'Satisfaction' which, when crossed with uniflora 'Torbay Pomegranate', produced a number of awarded unifloras.  George is coming over to the next AOS Trustee's meeting in Ohio this spring to give a talk and if you get a chance, you should hear him.

George and Ron managed to put up with me for several hours on Monday following the show and as a result, I got a behind the scenes tour back at the Fernery. Ken Davey is doing a fine job there helping to keep the Disas and other orchids thriving and also had some good insights at the Disa meeting.  There are quite a number of Disas being grown there so they can rotate blooming plants in the display area.

One miscellaneous observation about the Show was how reasonably priced everything was.  The whole weekend only cost $35 NZD, which is about $16 USD.  For that you got entry to the meetings, as well as Saturday dinner, lunch on both days, and breakfast snacks as well.  One of the high points is the Boot Sale (what we in the western USA know as a Flea Market).  Besides all the misc. orchids and botanicals, there were also 4 sellers of Disas.  A blooming pot of Disas could be had for $10 NZD.  Makes me sick!  If only one could bring back blooming plants without worrying about CITES and all that paperwork nonsense!  Now I understand why Jim Harper goes down there every year to do his crosses!

I didn’t mention Jim earlier and didn’t originally plan on visiting him because I was unsure when and where Jim stayed when he went over there for the NZ summer.  Turns out that he gets plants at the New Plymouth Show and then does his crosses and brings back the seed to sow in the States after he returns in March.  That’s what you call the best of two hemispheres.

The next stop on our Disa safari was at the greenhouse complex belonging to Nola and Grahame Hill.  They have the potential of becoming the biggest seller of Disa cut flowers in New Zealand if they continue with their plans to convert some of their Cymbidium space to Disas.  They have essentially just started and already have an estimated 7000 plants with only half of one greenhouse producing Disas and the potential of another 3 1/2 greenhouses to convert if all goes well.  It will take them a while to get up to speed but they are definitely a couple to watch on the Disa horizon. They are using the reconstituted sphagnum moss that so many of the folks down there are using for potting.  There are some real advantages with using that material for a potting medium as well as some problems.  It seems to definitely be the way to go though, if you want superior growth. They were one of the bigger growers displaying Disas at the show and also a seller at the boot sale.  I can hardly wait to see what kind of crosses they will be producing in the future.

Following a few days of sightseeing, the next grower visited was Ron Maunder.  Ron is without a doubt one of the forces in the Disa World and while I would have liked to see more plants in bloom I certainly can understand that most of them had already been sold as cut flowers.  I'm going to have to come back before Christmas someday.  Even with the cut flower sales, he still had more plants than any other New Zealand grower.  The important thing about Ron is that he has a good eye for quality.  As a result, his breeding program is tops!  If there is a fault to Ron's operation, it is the fact that he still grows too many Cymbidiums. I hate to admit it but I get a bit turned off by Cymbidiums.  I sure wish he would throw all the Cymbidiums out and just raise Disas.   The other part of Ron's setup that no one talks about but is really impressive is the laboratory.  It is huge!  Not only that, but he has two growing rooms that seem like they are about twelve feet by forty feet that are filled with flasks.  He has more than enough work there to keep several people occupied.  He also treated me to a typical Ron Maunder day when as Kathy and I were preparing for bed, he announced that he would show me some things in the lab. This was at 10PM!  Three and a half hours later, I gave up the ghost and told him that I was a wimp and couldn't take it any longer and stumbled off to bed.  The 3 1/2 hours were filled with all kinds of useful tips and tricks of the trade, which someday may show up on my web site.  He demonstrated everything from seed sterilization to greenpod sowing to mericloning using the immature flower buds.  Made it all look so easy that I don't know why I'm having so much trouble.  Ron also has a few uncommon orchids hanging around.  He has a number of Sobralia species that were in bloom and the display was awesome. Huge tubs set in the ground and each filled with a different species.   He has another greenhouse with Odontoglossums and there were some nice ones in bloom.  Seemed like every way we turned, there was something new and interesting to explore.  

Following the visit to Ron, he led the way up the coast to the small town of Katikati.  There we made the acquaintance of Betty and Royce Cullen.  Royce took Kathy for a walk while Ron and I admired Betty's Disas.  Since she was no longer involved in the cut flower trade, she had all her blooms still on show.  And they were fantastic.  Betty has done a lot of crosses and sowed the seed on sterile peat moss to germinate.  While this method is a bit slower than raising seed from greenpod sowings, there is the added advantage of doing a bit of natural selection when you pot up the seedlings.  Since you only take the most vigorous and quickest growing, your population of plants is smaller but is comprised of only the biggest and most vigorous.  You probably lose some tetraploid material this way since polyploids are usually somewhat slower growing.  The fact that some selection had taken place was evident when you examined Betty's flowers.  There wasn't a dog in the bunch.  Since she expressed an opinion that she was loosing interest in Disas, I surely hope someone can encourage her to continue her outstanding work. (Ron you're closest)  It also wasn't hard to see what else was demanding her time.  She is an exceptionally talented artist.  There were a number of her paintings around and the quality was superb.  I could have spent much more time with her discussing her ideas about Disas breeding but we had another stop to make that day so we had to bid a reluctant goodbye.

We only allowed about an hour for a stop at L&R orchids.  L&R raises primarily species and I had seen and purchased some of their plants at the World Orchid Conference last year in Vancouver.  Since I have some interest in species, we decided to make a quick stop.  Huge operation!  Something like 10 huge greenhouses, each with a different climate.  All the computer controlled bells and whistles. I could rave on but there were no Disas.  Took numerous pictures of Phalaenopsis species as well as some of the more unusual orchids that were in bloom.  Definitely a place you want to visit if you have any interest in species orchids.

The final Disa grower we visited in New Zealand had to have some of the most impressive Disas we saw in NZ.  His name is Jack McKinlay and since his only interest is Disas, he never got side-tracked like some of us by trying to accommodate a variety of different growing conditions for a bunch of different orchids.  His plants were the biggest I have ever seen. One picture that I took at his place shows a leaf from one of his plants completely dwarfing a 12 inch ruler.   I was disappointed that it was so late in the season as he had very few plants left in bloom.   His market is the cut flower trade as well as the sale of some pot plants, and most are sold over the Christmas holidays. He did have some flowers saved that he was breeding on from, and there was quite a variety. One of the better ones was a nice yellow Riette. He has succeeded in producing a nice yellow with a standard sized flower. His culture method was similar to others that I had seen in NZ in that he was using the reconstituted Sphagnum moss but was only bottom watering.  I think the key to the whole culture problem is the bottom watering, as it prevents any compression of the surface layer and subsequent liverwort or moss buildup at the surface, which interferes with the air to the roots.  Another thing that was noticeable about his growing setup was the absolutely ideal location.  His growing area is situated on a high ridge where there is constant air movement, and where you can see the ocean both to the east and west.  He waters with rainwater and grows his plants in very bright light.  There are no trees around to cut down on light and he only uses minimal shadecloth covering on the roof during the summer.  The temperature range is ideal.  It never gets down to freezing in the winter and, while the sun gets really hot in the summer, the cooling breeze from the ocean probably limits the maximum temperature at the plants to about the low 80's in Fahrenheit degrees.  I was unaware until I visited New Zealand that the local Maori name for NZ is "the land of the long white cloud".  This frequent cloud covering also helps to cool the plants during the day.  I don't think I have ever seen a location that is more ideally situated for growing Disas.

I feel that I have probably rattled on enough here to at least get across the idea that I was really impressed with the NZ Disa growers.  One thing that was very noticeable was the fact that, with a couple of exceptions, most growers lived in sight of the ocean or a bay which helped moderate the temperature and provided a good growing environment.  Another thing was that with the current relationship of the US dollar to the NZ dollar, you are able to have a relatively inexpensive vacation if you want to visit NZ.  If you have ever considered it, there's no time like the present.  The next Taranaki Orchid Society Summer Display will be held in New Plymouth on Jan 11 - 13, 2002 and I'm sure that they would make you feel welcome.  You can get details from the treasurer, Nola Hill at < hillcroft@clear.net.nz >.

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