Seed pods are harvested and cured for a specific time and brought to
Minglanalia near Cebu city to be cultured until they are transfered to
the bottles.
The young orchid starts are grown in glass bottles with newspaper over the opening which creates the humid envirornment they thrive inT.
When they get a little bigger they are removed and placed in small wire
baskets or clay pots and left to grow into their new home.
A bottle of starts costs 300 pesos or 7.50 US which is about the same price as a common two year old orchid. The rarer varieties start around 12.50 US.
There might be 2 dozen or more starts in one bottle so if you have the time and patience you can have a bunch of them for the same price and have the enjoyment of watching them grow.
Each bottle is is marked showing what variety it contains.
A worker at the Orchid Gardens in Moalboal, 2 hours form Cebu told me all you have to do is water them once a day and protect them from direct sun.
Some varieties seem to do better in a clay pot filled with coconut husks. Others are just suspended on hooks in rows under the shade screen.
The picture at the right is just one of the staghorn ferns that are grown along with the orchids. They have some beauties in there.
They aren't orchids but seem to enjoy the same conditions.
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