THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 5, 1996 TAG: 9605030222
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 30 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSAN W. SMITH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 143 lines
Plato P. Mathews traded his wrenches and ratchets for garden tools and switched from catalytic converters to cattleyas.
He washed his hands of brake fluid and went for the grime of potting media, walking away from work in a garage to life in a greenhouse.
Once an automotive specialist, Mathews now is an authority on orchids, particularly the phalaenopsis and cattleyas families.
In 1964, Mathews purchased his first orchid at a grocery store in Norfolk. The one pale, flowering plant drew him into a fascinating hobby, and then slowly into a flourishing business of more than 40,000 orchids.
His first greenhouse was built from glass salvaged from homes in Ocean View. Now Mathews works in a custom-built greenhouse on Bunch Walnuts Road in Chesapeake, where fans and sprinklers pamper his plants.
Orchid Alley, Mathews' business, supplies most of the florists and orchid lovers across Hampton Roads with corsage flowers and potted plants. He has decorated receptions, gala events and even the Chrysler Museum with his treasures.
Cattleyas were once the most popular varieties of orchids. They have thick stems, one or two large, thick leaves and big, showy flowers.
Phalaenopsis are air plants, which grow on tree trunks and branches in tropical climates. They are leafy and have many flowers.
At Orchid Alley, the plants grow in two- to eight-inch pots that line up by size, color and family on long benches. Some tables may hold as many as 3,000 plants. The air plants hang from poles and rafters to create a sort of tropical grotto.
Mathews welcomes buyers and flower-loving browsers to scan, sniff and take in the blooms that range from delicate white, cream, yellow, rose and lavender to rich, robust reds and purples. Many flowers have speckled throats of gold, fuchsia or blue while others have streaks of scarlet or lavender. The white and purple Oncidium Alliance has a spicy smell, and Maxillar has a coconut scent. Others are like whiffs of exotic perfumes.
``Orchids are like people,'' Mathews said. ``They come in all sizes, shapes and colors.
``Like most people, they respond beautifully to a little care. And like people, they should be enjoyed.''
Mathews said that orchids are not delicate, hard-to-grow plants. But they do need just the right amount of light, water and humidity and a controlled temperature to do their best.
The greenhouse beauties have a loyal following locally and nationally.
Just one plant hooked Gladys L. Racette of Elizabeth City. Her sewing room has become a mini-greenhouse with two large tables of plants that bask under special lights.
For months, Racette made the trip several days a week from her home to volunteer at Orchid Alley to learn more about plants. Now she is an employee who spends her days clipping leaves, dividing plants and re-potting, misting, tagging and admiring orchids. This month's chore is to divide and re-pot more than 25,000 plants. Racette calls herself an apprentice, but Mathews calls her his right hand.
Retired Rear Adm. Thomas M. Ward Jr. of Virginia Beach became enthralled with orchids after someone gave him one plant in 1980. Now he has his own greenhouse, is past president of the Tidewater Orchid Society, is a trustee for the American Orchid Society and is a nationally accredited judge of the plants.
Ward frequently stops by Orchid Alley for supplies and to exchange tips with Mathews.
Brian M. Payne of Virginia Beach and Dennis M. Payne of Texas found Orchid Alley recently. Brian, who said he knew nothing about plants and had no intention of purchasing one, was acting as local tour guide for his brother. Dennis wanted to add to his orchid collection. Brian wandered the aisles, amazed at the variety, while Dennis studied the selections.
``I thought flowers were basically the same,'' Brian said. ``I've never seen anything like this.''
He bought one as a gift for his wife.
There are more than 20,000 species of orchids, making it the largest flower-bearing family in the plant kingdom. Orchids grow naturally all over the world, except for Antarctica. Orchids also have the distinction of having the smallest seeds of any flower - so small they resemble dust. The smallest plant is less than an inch tall, while some of the larger vine types can grow up to 100 feet long. Lady's Slipper, a native Virginia orchid, can be found in wooded areas. Vanilla is produced by a tropical, orchid vine. The cattleya family produces the easily recognizable florists' orchids used for corsages.
The irregularly shaped orchid flower has only three petals, with the central petal or lip usually larger and more showy than the other two. The petals can look like a cup, a scoop, a trumpet or a fan. Depending on the type of orchid, the leaves can be narrow and grasslike or thick and fleshy.
The names are as interesting and varied as the colors of the plants. There is the lavender Christmas orchid and the cream-colored star orchid with its fuchsia speckles. The richness of the golden boat orchid contrasts sharply with the scorpion orchid, whose flower looks like the poisonous arachnid. Red Empress, Pixie Pearl and Raja's Ruby are a several more of the treasures.
Mathews has created hundreds of hybrids, which he has named after friends and family members. The Helen Galanides, named after his sister, is peach veined with fuchsia streaks. He also has hybrids named after his children, Alicia and Peter.
The plants cost a little more than fresh-cut flower bouquets, but orchids bring enjoyment for months instead of days, said Paul J. Farrell of Virginia Beach, an Orchid Alley customer. The orchid is also a perennial - with the right care, it will bloom again year after year.
Plants sell from $15 to several hundred dollars at Orchid Alley.
There's a large table of plants that are not for sale. Some of the beauties are used for pollinating and creating hybrids; others just do not meet Mathews' standards. Mathews or Racette inspect each pot before a sale is made.
``If it is not almost perfect, it is not for sale,'' Mathews said. ``If the leaves are not the right shade of green, or not enough buds, or if the flower is not the right tint, it will not leave the greenhouse.''
Parent plants are matched very carefully to improve color and foliage or to create a new variety. Sometimes it takes four months or longer for the first sprouts to appear from a germinated seed.
From the seedling tray, it takes five to seven years of clipping, misting, re-potting and nurturing before an orchid plant will produce its first buds. Even after all the years of tender love and care, Mathews throws a plant out if it is not right. This spring, he discarded more than 6,000 plants that did not meet his strict criteria.
Mathews can trace the history and lineage of orchids the way some families recite their family history. Orchids historically were imported from the tropics and enjoyed only by the wealthy. In 1856, an English horticulturist successfully raised the plants from the dust-sized seed, which led to greenhouse production and the beginning of the flower's popular appeal.
Detailed records of the hybrid plants have been recorded so that every orchid's genealogy can be traced. At Orchid Alley, every plant has a sticker with the plant's name and the name of the parent plants.
For example, Tiger Eye is a hybrid of the plants Psyche and Phena. The parent families of both Psyche and Phena can be located on the chart as well as all previous family members. A plant cannot be entered into an official competition without its name tag.
Mathews' greenhouse walls are dotted with certificates of botanical merit, judges' commendations and awards of distinction for his plants. Now he attends showings where he helps determine the quality and merit of plants raised by others. He has completed a six-year program with the American Orchid Society to become a qualified judge. He travels to Washington, D.C., every month for flower shows. MEMO: For more information or directions to Orchid Alley, call Plato P.
Mathews at 421-7706.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN
Plato P. Mathews works in his custom-built greenhouse at Orchid
Alley on Bunch Walnuts Road in Chesapeake. Many Virignia Beach
residents find it.
by CNB