Edible gardening in South Florida is not really about tomatoes and peppers. Certainly, we have a few months where we can have an impact in the vegetable arena, but we are ultimately at the mercy of our tropical weather. Yet, we are pushed by the media and by our friends
No one has ever seen a non-cultivated Mangifera indica, the mango from which South Florida’s multitude of cultivars have been selected, according to Dr. Richard Campbell, Fairchild’s senior curator of tropical fruit. “There’s no record of it being collected,” he says. “Is there such a thing?” Mangi is the Indian
For years, mangos have been of great value in South Florida, grown with pride in the garden—a fruit to eat when ripe and at all stages of growth. Enjoying truly fresh mangos is a Floridian’s privilege, but there are also many ways to preserve the fruit. Since this is a
We think we know our mangos, but much of their origin is a mystery researchers are trying to unravel through exploration, DNA research and other methods. They’ve even begun to ask if all cultivars of this incredibly diverse fruit are truly the same species. In South Florida, we know our
Why the search for our cultivated foods’ wild origins is so important. Unlike previous years’ events, the 2017 Mango Festival at Fairchild did not feature mangos from any particular country. Instead, 2017’s festival celebrated “from wild to table.” But what does that mean? What’s wild about mangos? As with most
Orchid hunters have long known that where resurrection ferns are found, so are orchids. Student orchid hunters are looking for the reasons why—and they’ve started with shared mycorrhizae.
South Florida’s climate is friendly to growing vanilla orchids, and if you’re willing to hand-pollinate, practice patience and carefully cure and sweat the pods, you can even have home-grown vanilla.
Did you know that the vanilla orchid, Vanilla planifolia, is the only orchid with black seeds, and each vanilla bean (really the pod) contains thousands of seeds?
More orchids are killed by incorrect watering than by any other means. There are two separate components to proper watering: when and how.
Have you ever wondered how the names of orchid flowers originated? From “Drawings of Florida Orchids” come the etymologies of some of our orchids. Don’t Miss Fairchild’s Orchids in Bloom Explore, learn, and revel in the splendor of orchids like never before! Tickets Available Now for March 9-10, 2024 Bletia: