Lalbagh to get orchidarium

Lalbagh to get orchidarium
Vijay Times

NO plant has captured the attention of humans, or stirred their passion, in the way that orchids have. For ages orchids have remained as a popular yet rare variety of flowering plant that have been the obsession of mankind. Good news is that Bangaloreans need not go out hunting for a glimpse of orchids. The Horticulture Department has taken the initiative to construct an orchidarium within the Lalbagh Botanical Garden campus.

"Humid season is ideal for the growth of orchids. So , we have selected the island in the lake of Lalbagh to construct the orchidarium," said M Jagdish, deputy director of Lalbagh. Generally , to grow orchids, a suitable temperature is necessary . Orchids grow well in high elevations and adapt to one of the three temp e r a t u r e b a n d s - c o o l , i n t e r m e d i a t e or warm with normally a temperature drop at night. "An idea of which temperature band the orchid belongs to may be gleaned from their leaves. While cool growing plants generally have thin leaves and those used to much warmth have thick fleshy ones," said Jagdish.

Of the 20,000 wild varieties of orchids available, around 40 to 50 species will be brought to Lalbagh from W estern Ghats and Assam. This will include different varieties like jewel orchids that grow on the g r o u n d , terrestrial o r c h i d that creep on the trees and epiphytic orchids that are purely parasitic.

"Most orchids are epiphytes and they can well absorb moisture through air ," said Jagdish. Thus maintenance of this orchidarium won’t be a problem. However, occasionally sprayers will be used for watering.

"Around two lakh rupees has been estimated for the purpose of getting the plants and another two to three lakh involving the civil work," said Jagdish. The entire amount will be financed by Bangalore Garden T rust (BGT ).

Orchids have always been among the most beautiful and exotic of all flowers. It is believed that they are difficult to grow and yes it’s true that some need special conditions. The Horticulture department has taken up the challenge to venture into this new field and soon Bangalore will have quite a good collection of orchids as the project is awaiting its completion within the next year .