![TONGUE IN FLOWER: Grand champion orchid grower Chris Godde at the Albury-Wodonga orchid show with his winning 'tongue orchid'. Picture: MARK JESSER TONGUE IN FLOWER: Grand champion orchid grower Chris Godde at the Albury-Wodonga orchid show with his winning 'tongue orchid'. Picture: MARK JESSER](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/5AaW8Hup7jGaBbqh62UAcr/b5d10667-5e55-402a-953f-521d7dbfa4fe.jpg/r238_0_4251_2973_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
ORCHIDS have the unique ability to last longer than many other flowers.
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The 2015 Albury-Wodonga Orchid Show involved almost 800 different displays of the species at the Mirambeena Centre in Lavington on Saturday and Sunday.
President of the Albury-Wodonga and District Orchid Club Keith Kilo said the interest has continued to grow since the 1990s.
“We’ve slowly grown from a few members to having between 60-80 each year,” he said.
“Everybody has a common interest in growing orchids and that’s where it starts from.”
Mr Kilo said most orchid species usually bloomed for longer thanks to their regeneration capabilities.
“Some species don’t last very long, but symbidians and phalaenopsis (moth orchids) can last for three to six months,” he said.
“They keep regrowing new leaves on the stem when the older ones drop off.”
Some orchids last much longer than a lot of other regular flowers and they're almost hypnotic to look at.
- Keith Kilo
Mr Kilo said the sales numbers and demand for potting demonstrations had skyrocketed in recent years.
“Once we open the doors the customers come in and hit the sales are pretty hard,” he said.
“You couldn’t move for the first couple of hours.”
Winner of the grand champion ‘tongue orchid’, Chris Godde, said his prized winner was lucky to be in bloom.
“It doesn’t flower for very long so luck is everything to get in full flower at the right time,” he said.
“It is an Australian native species that grows along the NSW coast and into Queensland.”
Mr Godde said the plant is given its name due to the way the leaves grow.
“They grow flat and very big and look like a tongue,” he said.
Mr Godde said his passion for growing orchids stemmed from attending the show several years ago.
“I went to the show in 2009 and was amazed,” he said.
“I joined the club the following year and became addicted to growing orchids.”
Mr Godde said careful treatment of each species was vital to sustain growth.
“I buy them as very young plants and it can take two to 10 years for them to grow a first flower,” he said.
“They cannot grow outside in Australia so they need to be under a shadecloth.”
About 400 visitors were expected to attend the show on the weekend.