Orchid Extravaganza Returns To Chicago Botanic Garden

The Chicago Botanic Garden will host the Mid- America Orchid Congress (MAOC) in conjunction with the Illinois Orchid Society (IOS) Spring Show & Sale on April 28 & 29 in the Regenstein Center. Fifty-eight sister orchid societies have been invited to join in this major celebration of orchids. The Garden and the IOC last hosted the MAOC in 2002, attracting approximately 15,000 visitors.

MAOC conference registrants can attend lectures by internationally recognized orchid experts at the Renaissance Hotel. The public will have the opportunity to view orchid displays and shop from vendors from around the world at the Garden. Forty displays of the "queen of flowers" - from the rarest orchid species to cultivated hybrids from the world's most renowned orchid growers - will be artistically arranged among ferns and moss in Nichols Hall. Individual orchids in 128 classes will vie for red, white and blue ribbons. Twenty-five entries will receive "best of class" purple ribbons, and the best appointed plant in the show will receive the Chicago Horticultural Society Award from American Orchid Society judges. The MAOC also will award six special gold ribbons.

More than 35 orchid growers and vendors from the United States and exotic lands such as Equador, Mexico and the Phillipines, will sell elegant, graceful orchids in many varieties. Other items available for purchase include supplies and equipment, books, pins, clothing and the society's custom bark mix and fertilizer. Michigan State University's Horticultural Sciences Department formulated the fertilizer specifically for orchids grown with Chicago tap water.

A repotting service to help get plants back on the right track is available for a $5 fee. Tours of the orchid show will be offered and professional growers will be on hand to answer questions throughout the show. Other activities include an auction of plants, pots and prints to benefit the MAOC, and a corsage-making demonstration and sale at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The show will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, with a special hour for photographers on Sunday at 9 a.m. Admission to the Garden and the Orchid Show is free. However, the IOS will welcome donations to support its charitable and educational programs. Parking is $12; free for members.

The MAOC is an organization of orchid societies from 38 states and two Canadian provinces, dedicated to the preservation of orchids in their natural habitats, the propagation of orchids by seed and cuttings, the development of new and better plants through breeding, and providing information to growers who subscribe to their principles. The MAOC holds a meeting and show each spring and fall sponsored by one or more member societies. -- www.chicagobotanic.org