For years, Jim Hawk was all about roses.
But then, he just couldn’t take it anymore.
Florida’s humidity is conducive to black spot, and Hawk got tired of waging a chemical war to protect his floral beauties.
“Even though I would spray every week, I would still lose the battle,” said Hawk, who lives in Odessa.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
“I didn’t like the fact that I would have to put on a mask and get a backpack spray, and go out in the yard and be walking around in a cloud of fumes. I thought it was probably killing me,” he said..
So, around 2003, he gave up on roses and made the switch to orchids.
At first, he had just a few.
The Hillsborough County master gardener reasoned that he should have a sampling, so he could learn more about them.
“Well, it got infectious, and I just couldn’t stop myself,” said Hawk, who is the corresponding secretary of the Tampa Orchid Club.
“Of course, you have to really protect orchids at about 45 degrees,” Hawk said. So, every time he heard a weather report that the temperature would be dipping into the 40s, he’d get busy.
“I would have to haul the orchids around the house — because I was growing them here in the pool cage — and put them in the garage,” he said.
That’s no problem when you just have a few orchids, but it gets tougher when you have 100 or 200 – or roughly 300, like he has.
Hawk decided to create a new environment for the orchids in his care.
He replaced his old pool cage with a greenhouse.
It’s large enough to hold the family’s pool and its waterfall. It includes a place to eat meals and to entertain guests. And, there’s plenty of room for his vast orchid collection.
Many of his orchids sit in pots on shelves. Others suspend from hangers, with their roots dangling out.
All are under Hawk’s watchful eye.
He makes sure they get water – but not too much. He shields them from the cold.
“In the winter, if I close the windows in midday, I’ve never seen it get below 54 degree,” Hawk said.
The family still uses the pool, but it serves another role, too.
“What this, in essence, is now, is a 15,000-gallon humidifier for the orchids,” Hawk said.
As his collection has grown, so has Hawk’s knowledge about these plants with the exotic blooms and complex names.
“Orchids, generally speaking, like to be warm — not hot, but warm. They don’t like temperatures in the 40s,” Hawk said. “They like to be humid. They like to be watered, but they don’t like to sit in too much water. I think watering is probably one of the biggest killers of orchids — poor watering techniques.
“Orchids are, generally speaking, shade lovers,” he said. There are some, though, that prefer the sun.
“You need to read about them, and find out what they like and what they don’t like.
“Just like with all plants, I think people go to nurseries and buy stuff because it looks pretty,” he said. Unfortunately, he said, many people “don’t take the time to research the plant. They just don’t care for it properly.”
Hawk enjoys experimenting.
He has one orchid growing in a natural sponge he purchased in Tarpon Springs. Another is nestled in a small log that he bought in the lizard section at a pet store.
Orchids are epiphytes, meaning they need air.
“Orchid pots have slits up on the side, not only the hole in the bottom. That increases the air that you get in there. Instead of using dirt, you use bark or stones or chunks of tree fern and things like that.
“Plastic pots are really kind of a no-no. Clay pots breathe,” Hawk said.
There is a nearly endless variety of orchids.
“There are more orchids than any other plant. They come from all over the world, except for major deserts and Antarctica. There are orchids growing in the wild everywhere,” Hawk said.
Hybridizing orchids require specialized equipment and expertise, Hawk said.
“I just buy, and grow and enjoy,” Hawk said.
Published May 13, 2015