Twenty years ago, Marion resident Valerie Knott bought an orchid and wondered if she could keep it alive.

“I said to myself, ‘If I can get this to bloom, then I’ll go on with it,’” Knott said.

Sure enough, it bloomed.

Knott took it as a sign and began attending orchid shows to learn about the variety of orchids and how to take care of them.

Growing orchids is a hobby shared by Mattapoisett resident Joyce Kodis. Kodis says the appeal lies in the vast amount of knowledge to be learned.

“There is no such thing as a general orchid,” Kodis said. “The spectrum is so broad.”
While Kodis has been growing orchids for 12 years and Knott for nearly 20, both say they are still learning.

“It’s amazing how something so tiny could be so unique,” Knott said.

There are about 26,000 known species of orchids bred in nature, and 100,000 hybrid orchids, which are bred by man.

Kodis and Knott both currently have 60 orchids comprised of a variety of hybrids.
Knott and her husband, David, own Inshore Boat Shop in Marion, and while she works as a bookkeeper for the business gardening is her passion. Knott is a certified “Master Gardener” by the Massachusetts Master Gardener’s Association.

Kodis worked for Garlington Florists in New Bedford for 12 years, and after her retirement began growing orchids in her kitchen.

The flowers have since spread from her basement to her upstairs bathroom.

Her love of gardening also made its way into her artwork, Kodis said. She has been an avid painter for the past 15 years.

Learning how to care for an orchid is important they say. There are techniques involving how much light, humidity and temperature each particular orchid requires.

Caring for one orchid may not be the same for another, they said.

“You can kill them with too much love, and you can kill them by ignoring them,” Knott said.

“You have to water them and fertilize them, but don’t over water or over fertilize,” Kodis said. “It’s easy to do. We’ve all done it.”

The No. 1 rule of orchid growing: “You can’t just leave them,” Kodis said.

Kodis and Knott say their advice to anyone interested in growing orchids is to go to a show and learn what you can from other growers.

Knott and Kodis belong to the Cape and Islands Orchid Society, which will be holding its annual Orchid Show in Hyannis on January 28. Both ladies plan to enter their orchids in the competition.

Knott said she brought an orchid as a fill-in for a display, but was convinced by the members of the Society to enter it into the contest. She took home first place for her Apple Blossom orchid.

“It was quite a boost because I waited for so many years for it to bloom and, when it finally did, it was at the perfect time,” Knott said.

“That’s the way to do it,” Kodis said. “Go in there without a plan. Go in to learn, because the growers will tell you how to take care of your orchids.”

While an orchid can cost between $100 to $130 a piece, Kodis and Knott say their hobby is time well spent.

“God forbid you sit around watching TV and drinking martinis all day,” Kodis said. “It can be an expensive hobby, but it’s wonderful for people to develop an avid interest that keeps them busy. My husband always says that, when he dies, he wants to come back as an orchid, because he knows he would be well taken care of in my house.”