Bedford Orchids began as a hobby. Buying phalaenopsis for my own collection that were novelties: mainly yellows, art shades and reds but, of course, if it was good and different, I got it. Slowly but surely I realized that the best novelties were being bred in Taiwan. After a friend had promised to accompany me on a trip to Taiwan and cancelled twice on the eve of departure, I finally decided to go on my own in 1994. What a trip!

As most of you know, since that fateful trip in 1994, I go to Taiwan every March. This year I really had a tough time deciding if I was going. Due to the horrific ice storm in and around Montreal, and the ensuing blackouts and disastrous problems subsequently, I had a tough decision to make. Following this crisis, the Canadian dollar hit all-time record lows compared to the U.S. dollar (in retrospect, nothing compared to how low it is now). That would not be a problem except for the fact that in Taiwan everything is sold to foreigners in U.S. dollars.

Well, I did go. As usual, I arrived in Taipei and, as I usually do, went to the Taipei flower market. (Apparently, there are similar markets in almost every major city in Taiwan.) The Taipei flower market is unlike anything I have ever seen in the world. It is located under an elevated highway and goes on for several blocks. At the market, you can buy anything related to plants and every type of plant imaginable. You can buy fertilizer, sod (grass), pots of tulips and/or freesias, sculptures, gardening paraphenalia, bonsai (maybe I should use the Chinese word "penjing"), expensive stems (usually meristems) of phalaenopsis, etc.

There are several vendors who are there on a regular basis and others that seem to change every time I go. People have asked me what I look for, what I buy. There is only answer: quality plants. It doen't matter what colour they are: a good white is just as valuable as a good red. Small flowers, big flowers, species, hybrids, yellows, pinks, etc. What they are doesn't matter as long as the quality is there.

And there are plants in the market that are not Phalaenopsis. There are Paphiopedilums ranging from those that seem to be jungle-collected such as a natural hybrid of Paph. Conco-bellatulum to all of the parvisepalum species, such as Paph. armeniacum and Paph. micranthum. There are also many, diverse hybrids. In all honesty, I must admit that I don't remember seeing any Paphs. in 1994 but, in 1998, they were everywhere.

Of course, there are all kinds of Cattleyas: species, hybrids, miniatures and giants. Taiwan originally exported lots of Cattleyas, long before anyone thought of getting Phalaenopsis from Taiwan. There are also plants from the Oncidium alliance and various miscellaneous other plants. To say that it is overwhelming is an understatement. And guard your money. Plants are not necessarily inexpensive, especially to "foreign devils"!

Of the regular Phalaenopsis vendors, perhaps the person with the most diverse plants on my various trips is Mr. Huang. He sells orchids and I believe that this is his sole profession. His greenhouse is on his roof and you can find a variety of goodies there: some real wonders and others that are so common that you wonder what they are doing there. No matter what, there are always a great many plants that are special.

In addition to Mr. Huang there are several other people and places in the market that must be mentioned.

Probably the most important other vendor is Yung Ho Nursery. This nursery has been around for some time, although on a relatively small scale, but it is quite well known as are many of their plants such as Phal. Ohl Flame 'Yung Ho' and Phal. Coral Isles 'Yung Ho'. Their stand in the market probably has the most variety. There are flasks which range from relatively standard crosses to some very innovative novelties (and rarely species). In the past, I purchased flasks of Phal. gigantea (sibling cross) as well as Phal. Auspice Green Lake (Coral Isles 'Yung Ho' x gigantea).

Occasionally, there are a few assorted compots. Like the flasks, these can vary widely but, in the past I have purchased a remake of Phal. Brother Zip as well as Phal. (Fortune Buddha x Ambonosa). This year, I even got one pathetic compot of Phal. (Coral Nosa x gigantea). It had two decent plants, one that looked like it would possibly live with a lot of TLC and one plant that should have still been in flask. Well, they all survived - and will probably bloom in another two years if I'm really lucky. When I looked for the registration, I realized that this was Phal. Black Beauty, a truly magnificent cross.

No matter how good the flasks and seedlings are, the most important thing to me are the plants in bloom. These range from first-bloom seedlings to some relatively common meristems as well as other meristems that are not only rare but also extremely expensive.

N.B. I do want to dispel one fallacy about Taiwan. What people in North America are buying is in all probability a meristem and NOT a stem prop. Oh sure, there are stem props being sold in Taiwan BUT they are few and far between. They are expensive and they are usually reserved for close friends. (Of course, everything depends upon your definition of a meristem and a stem prop. At what point does a propagation from a stem become a meristem? i.e. How many plants have to be made for it to be called a meristem?)

Many of the meristems sold by Yung Ho are either VERY expensive or in very short supply. They are not necessarily exclusive and may even come from other nurseries. The most interesting as well as the most expensive plant I ever saw on their table was a seedling of Phal. Jenco Ruby Princess (Brother Fancy x Princess Kaiulani). I had previously seen several plants from this cross in bloom and have had the opportunity to see many others since. But this one was and remains the best by far.

The two flowers on the rather short inflorescence were solid deep red purple. They were flat as a pancake and the fullness of the petals gave no indication of the Phal. Princess Kaiulani parent. These petals were FULL. The asking price was almost US $ 1,000.00. Either she thought that it was worth it or she wanted to keep it. She is there every Saturday and her husband is there with her on the Sunday. In 1998, I purchased two first-bloom seedlings of Phal. (Black Beauty x Coral Isles 'Yung Ho'). Also found a plant of Phal. (Ambonosa x Maritea) which I thought was phenomenal but found out later that it was a meristem. Wish I would have known earlier. I would have tried to buy more of them. All three of these plants were about the same price - US $ 100 each.

That's something else that I should mention. Meristems. In North America, plants that are reproduced (i.e. cloned) from other plants have a clonal (or cultivar) name. This clonal name tells you where the plant came from, whether it is awarded, etc. In Taiwan, for whatever reason, clonal names are not necessarily given when a plant is sold. That may mean several things including: