What would induce someone 34 years old to pull up roots with his wife and four young children in tow and move more than 5,000 miles away to start fresh? Moreover, what qualities would it take for such an individual and his son to build, in just 20 years, the third largest orchid growing operation in the U.S. with more than 4 million plants sold each year?
In 1978, Joop (pronounced Yope) Overgaag, a greenhouse farmer in the Netherlands, made a transcontinental journey to Carpinteria. His son Toine (pronounced twan, as in swan) described this move as a means for his father to assert his identity and chart his own path in life. The years following the close of World War II were a baby boom period, even more so in the Netherlands, it would appear, than in America. “My father was the ninth of ten children,” Toine confided, “and in such a large family, especially when other families of a similar size surrounded him, he developed a strong desire to stand out and chart his own path. Still, some of his countrymen had already come to Southern California, so there was a community of compatriots available here for support.”
In Carpinteria, Overgaag built his first greenhouse utilizing recycled oil pipes. For 25 years, he grew roses for the cut flower market with some success, but then, in 2003, together with his son Toine, began growing orchids. too. The reason for this decision was the increasingly competitive market for cut roses, thanks to Colombia and Ecuador, where the labor cost involved in growing the world’s most popular flower was considerably lower than elsewhere. This decision of the Dutch growers was prescient since growing roses for cut flowers in the U.S. became drastically reduced over the years, so that today only 2% of cut roses sold in this country are now grown domestically. This is true not only of roses but of virtually every other cut flower as well. Tulips and lilies are the exception since they are not especially labor-intensive, while Gerbera daisies must be grown locally since they are difficult to ship.
Initially, father and son grew mostly Cymbidium orchids, but gradually transitioned to growing Phalaenopsis or moth orchids so that today virtually all of their orchids are of this type. Cymbidiums, after Cattleyas, are the most popular corsage orchid, so they do have their place in the nurseryman’s repertoire. However, as Overgaag explained: “From a commercial grower’s standpoint, Phalaenopsis are preferable to Cymbidium orchids since the former can be brought to bloom at any time of the year while the latter’s bloom is typically confined to late winter and early spring. Furthermore, Cymbidiums are really meant for outdoor growing in Southern California, so their cultural conditions are challenging to regulate, whereas Phalaenopsis are indoor plants and their growing environment can be strictly controlled.” In order to have Phalaenopsis bloom throughout the year, Toine receives a shipment of a few thousand starter plants each month.
The tiny orchid starters that Toine receives are grown from tissue culture. Tissue culture is a cloning process where, for orchids, shoot tips and axillary or side buds are sterilized and placed on agar — a jelly-like material that hardens into a firm gel — that contains plant nutrients and hormones. After these starts or plugs grow for 26 weeks at 85 degrees, they are transferred to grow pots exposed to the same temperature, where they spend another 30 weeks, whereupon the temperature is reduced to 65-70 degrees for 18 weeks to stimulate flowering. It was the Overgaags’ good fortune that just when their greenhouses were transitioning to orchid production, tissue culture was coming into its own as a widespread orchid propagation technique.
As to the reasons for the Overgaags’ phenomenal success after only two decades of orchid growing, Toine says: “My father was driven by belief in himself, but he always prioritized treating his employees well, and I learned from him the importance of this aspect in running a successful business.” While his workforce generally numbers 160, for the Mother’s Day crush, which involved shipment of 700,000 plants, another 40 employees were hired. For quality control purposes, Toine only sells orchids in Western states, and they are transported exclusively by truck.
I asked about orchid sales during challenging economic times and learned of their persistent popularity. “Orchids have the stature of an affordable luxury,” I learned. “Even during the recession of 2008, business was good. Orchids are a resilient product when it comes to coping with adverse financial conditions.”
Toine, who purchased Westerlay Orchids from his father a number of years ago, has turned his focus in recent years to the sustainability of his greenhouse growing operation. “I have improved our energy efficiency through solar applications,” he explained. “In order to dehumidify the air to prevent fungal and bacterial diseases, we formerly opened windows and blasted the air with gas-powered heaters. We now have dehumidifiers that use 20% less energy than the heaters. We also have a closed floor, meaning the water that accumulates there from overhead irrigation is recaptured.” Toine waters his orchids overhead to replicate their Southeast Asian rain forest habitat, where the moisture that sustains orchids comes from precipitation dripping into the tree canopies where they live.
Toine says the two most common errors in orchid maintenance result from misunderstanding light and water requirements. “They should be kept in a bright living room or kitchen, but not where they receive harsh sun. When watering, place your container in a pot of water and let it sit for half an hour. Orchid roots are like sponges, which should be fully saturated to keep foliage well-hydrated and flowers blooming. An orchid taken care of properly should bloom for four months.” Phalaenopsis plants grow to different sizes, indicated by the size of the pot in which you find them. A Phalaenopsis in a 2-inch pot grows 8-10 inches tall with 1 and 1/2 inch flowers, while one growing in a 5” pot will rise to a height of 26 inches with flowers three inches across.
Westerlay Orchids has a retail store onsite in Carpinteria, but, as the owner enthuses, “We also want to make our orchids priced wholesale for every customer.” I learned this to be true from their website at westerlay.com, where 15 orchids in assorted colors are offered for $240, including shipping. This website is also the best I have found on the subject of orchid care. There is meticulous information presented on every detail of orchid culture in general, and of Phalaenopsis care in particular.
Do you have an orchid tale to tell? If so, please send it via Joshua@perfectplants.com. Your questions, comments, and insights, together with your gardening conundrums and successes, are always welcome.
California native of the week: Desert wishbone-bush (Mirabilis laevis) is a wonderful drought-tolerant ground cover growing one foot high with a spread of eight feet. Native to Southern California, five varieties exist with flower colors generally ranging from pink to magenta. This plant is a relative of the most floriferous weed I know, Mirabilis jalapa, called four o’clock because its flowers close in the late afternoon on hot days, a characteristic shared by our native Mirabilis. Desert wishbone-bush is summer deciduous, meaning it loses its leaves in scorching heat.