The Hills

Grahame and Nola Hill

Nola and Grahame Hill have a large greenhouse complex about 15 minutes north of New Plymouth. They have previously tried a number of different greenhouse crops but lately have gotten into the growing of Disas as a cut flower crop. They currently are only utilizing about half of one of their four 4oo sq meter greenhouses for Disa production and were hoping to further expand the Disa production during their Winter season (Our Summer). 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. 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 currently have two types of water available for growing. They have a rainwater tank holding system and also have either city water or well water which has a TDS of 160 ppm and a pH of 8.5. They have been making their Disa tanks from construction foam reinforced by 2 x 4's. The tanks seem to be rigid enough for the weight and are constructed very easily. Might be something to try in the States if you can find thick enough foam. 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.

Nola and Grahame Hill inside one of their greenhouses
	The surrounding photos show the outside of the greenhouse complex,a table of Disas, and the inside of the main Disa house. Notice that the growing area is heavily shaded.

You can tell some tank detail from this photo. All plants are potted in the reconstituted SuperSphag.	Above is a Colette Cywes with a yellow top and pink lateral sepals. There were a number of these blooms which were very striking but most blooms were past their prime.
The photos above and below show the inside detail of the greenhouses.

	The photos above and to the left show a Betty's Bay that has unusually dark coloration.
	The Colette Cywes shown above and to the left are two different clones from the same cross. I especially liked the clear yellow dorsals with some having just a touch of pink along the edges.
The two photos on the right and above are Diores 'Grace'.
The photo above is Diores 'Pink Delta' while the photo to the right is Disa Kristo Pienaar which is Veitchii x Watsonii
The photo above is a nice racemosa. The plant to the right is a Tridior.
	The plants above and to the left are two color variations of Disa tripetaloides.
Above is a Unifoam	Above and below are two unifloras from the cross (Torbay Pomgranate x Satisfaction)
Another uniflora
	Four different unifloras surround this caption.

Three unifloras to the right, above and below.

	The photo above and below are two different clones of a uniflora x Tridior cross.
	The photos on the left, below, and above left are all different clones of Watsonii.