Our ghost orchid—a star at London’s Chelsea Flower Show and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew—was set up for success by an international conservation team.
The unexpected call came in mid-February. Could the Chicago Botanic Garden present a blooming ghost orchid on a global stage in London?
An international team of orchid experts would work with us to get the rare plant to the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show in late May. At Chelsea, one of the most prestigious flower shows in the world, the endangered ghost orchid would star in a first-of-its-kind conservation exhibition.
Never mind that the ghost orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii) usually blooms in summer—not May. Never mind that we didn’t have enough time to get the special permits to transport the plant into the United Kingdom. Never mind that we weren’t sure how the heat- and humidity-loving ghost orchid would hold up in travel.
The Garden is one of the few institutions in the world to have ghost orchids; the plant is notoriously difficult to grow outside of its natural habitat in Florida and Cuba. In the Mildred Plant Orchidarium, we've raised ghost orchids from tiny seedlings in flasks, with roots an inch or so long. We’ve even had a ghost orchid bloom before, under the care of Johanna Hutchins, the Garden’s Julie Plant Grainger orchid floriculturist.
When we got the phone call about Chelsea, we had a bit of hope—one of our ghost orchids had a small spike, a sign of a potential bloom.
Hutchins jumped into Zoom meetings and email conversations with Chelsea’s Orchid Conservation Team, along with Adam Dooling, our director of collections. The international team helped us work through the complicated permit process and other issues. These top orchid specialists from eight institutions put their collective might and expertise behind us. Senator Tammy Duckworth and Congressman Brad Schneider also supported our efforts.
One week before her departure date, Hutchins had the required permits. She boarded a red-eye flight to London with a single budding ghost orchid in hand.
In a protective case, the ghost orchid made it through the flight, customs, and a quarantine at Kew Gardens. Meanwhile, at Chelsea, Hutchins and the international team got to work on the exhibition.
All collaborators brought a wealth of knowledge and added their own touches to tell people the story of the night-blooming ghost orchid. Stetson University researchers, for instance, re-created the plant’s sweet, fruity scent—which attracts pollinating moths—and brought along vials of the fragrance.
Together, team members built a scene reminiscent of tropical Florida. They covered a giant crabapple tree with air plants, Spanish moss, and bromeliads, as a backdrop for our ghost orchid. The display also included orchids donated by the Chicago Botanic Garden and other institutions, as well as native orchids from Britain and the Republic of Cameroon.
As people took in the eye-catching display, Hutchins and other experts talked about conservation efforts for Dendrophylax lindenii.
The ghost orchid was a jumping-off point for a broader discussion of all orchids threatened with extinction worldwide, along with their habitats.
In the chilly pavilion, temperatures dropped to the upper-40 degrees Fahrenheit. On some nights, Hutchins tucked heat packs into the crook of the crabapple tree to try to keep the ghost orchid warm and its chances for a bloom alive.
The budding ghost orchid drew huge crowds and media attention. Some visitors kept returning to see if the ghost orchid had bloomed, especially after they spotted tantalizing hints—a swollen bud and elongated nectar spur.
Johanna Hutchins, the Chicago Botanic Garden’s orchid floriculturist, tucks heat pads near the ghost orchid to keep it warm.
Our budding ghost orchid drew crowds at the Chelsea Flower Show.
Hutchins answers questions at the Chelsea Flower Show about the featured ghost orchid.
The Chicago Botanic Garden’s ghost orchid bloomed at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London.
As it turned out, the plant was just getting ready for its second act.
When the Flower Show ended, we donated our ghost orchid to Kew Gardens. Hutchins dropped by for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Princess of Wales Conservatory and look at the ghost orchid, mounted behind two layers of glass in a terrarium.
After she left, her collaborators at Kew texted her daily pictures so she could track the bud’s progress. Finally, a few days later, Hutchins got the news that she had been hoping for—the ghost orchid was in bloom.
The BBC, The Times of London, and other media covered the big news. Stories noted that Dendrophylax lindenii had bloomed for the first time in the United Kingdom—and that the ghost orchid had come from the Chicago Botanic Garden.
In the end, everything worked out for the best. The ghost orchid captivated an audience at Chelsea and another one at Kew. And the Orchid Conservation Team is already discussing other potential collaborations.
“I am thrilled, honestly, that our ghost orchid is part of the collection at Kew and was so effective at spreading a conservation message,” Hutchins said.
Together, we showed what was possible—for a glorious, shining moment, a single ghost orchid had captured the public’s imagination and symbolized the importance of protecting plants in our fragile world.
Hutchins and Lynnaun Johnson, Ph.D., who studied ghost orchids while pursuing his doctoral degree at the Garden, and other Garden staff at Chelsea: Jessica Wong, Veronica Harry-Jackson, and Hilary Noble.
All photos courtesy of Johanna Hutchins