Terrestrial Orchids Emerge As Profitable Market Crop
A Chiang Mai farmer has developed hybrid terrestrial orchids as a profitable market crop through selective breeding, creating plants with vibrant flowers and easy maintenance that bloom once yearly between December and January.
Terrestrial orchids are gaining increasing attention among collectors and commercial markets alike, thanks to their distinctive flower shapes, unique colors, and hardiness in diverse growing conditions.
Khun Kla Chanintree Songsueang, a Chiang Mai farmer, has seriously developed terrestrial orchid cultivation, starting from a passion for orchids during university that evolved into a private business after graduation. Through years of study and collecting various orchid species, he discovered his true calling: terrestrial orchids, a group with strong potential for both breeding development and long-term market viability.
The core of Khun Kla's terrestrial orchid garden operation is in-farm hybridization, where he selects parent plants with distinctive characteristics and crosses them according to his vision and goals. Through continuous experimentation across multiple generations, he has developed new plants that satisfy both aesthetic and cultivation requirements. The resulting plants excel in flower production, vibrant colors, well-shaped petals, balanced plant form, easy maintenance, and minimal leaf drop—qualities highly valued by the market.
"I consider it a success to have developed plants that meet my original vision," Khun Kla said. "But one element I've lost is the petal markings. Initially they were distinct, but in this generation only some plants have markings, and they're not as well-defined as in earlier generations."
He explained that his future goal is to develop larger flowers with more prominent petal markings while maintaining the plant's ease of care and market appeal. Despite blooming only once yearly between December and January, the orchids remain commercially viable.
Once the terrestrial orchid varieties are stable and meet desired characteristics, Khun Kla explained that the next step is propagation through tissue culture to produce sufficient plants for market demand. This begins by removing plants from laboratory bottles after acclimating them to sunlight for about a week.
When removing seedlings from culture bottles, roots must be thoroughly cleaned and growing media removed completely. The plants are then soaked in antifungal solution for 4-5 minutes before planting in trays using finely chopped coconut husk as growing medium, with roots covered firmly.
During the care phase, plants are watered daily and fertilized with pesticide and insecticide spray every 7 days or every other week. This maintenance period lasts approximately 8 months to 1 year before seedlings can be moved to 4-inch pots. After another year of care, the young plants begin flowering and are ready for sale.
Regarding pests and diseases, rot and scale insects are the main problems in terrestrial orchids. These can be controlled through regular field monitoring and consistent application of commonly available pesticides.
On marketing, Khun Kla believes orchids remain a viable commercial crop even during economic downturns, as buyers have specific preferences and tend to make repeat purchases, especially for pure-strain orchids—the garden's core strength. Customer preferences vary by country; some markets prefer orchids with full blooms and striking flowers. Variety development must align with these market demands.
"When cultivating orchids, I don't initially see myself as a full-fledged businessman," he reflected. "Rather, I started by doing what I love. Once I've developed plants to my satisfaction, I then seek out markets and customer groups that appreciate them."
