A few years before Hurricane Katrina forever changed the lives of Louisiana residents, Bob Kunst, president of Fischer Environmental Services in Mandeville, La., took an interest in orchids because he thought they looked interesting. In the storm’s aftermath, he viewed the rebuilding process as an opportunity to erect a greenhouse for his orchids.
“After the hurricane, we needed all the beauty we could get in our lives,” says Kunst, a member of the Pest Management Professional (PMP) Hall of Fame Class of 2010.
There’s no sign of the devastation now, as the land surrounding the greenhouse resembles a Louisiana swamp with lush, subtropical plants. The greenhouse is the perfect place for the beautiful flowers Kunst raises because he can control the ventilation as well as the temperature and lighting cycles to ensure his plants thrive all year long. Keeping the plants in one place is important, too, because orchids do best when left in one spot.
Kunst says he visits the greenhouse once a day to pull weeds from the pots, check the leaves of the plants for whiteflies (Aleyrodidae) and fungus, and take in the beauty around him.
“I spend about an hour in there most days, just enjoying the orchids,” he says. “It gives me a lot of pleasure.”
With 25,000 to 30,000 species of orchids, most people who raise them have a favorite, and Kunst is no exception. The lady’s slipper (Cypripedium) is his, and he has about a dozen that grow regularly.
“I think it’s one of the most complex flowers you will ever see,” he says. “It’s truly a beauty.”
His wife, Barbara, launched his interest in orchids. Because she always liked them, he frequently brought some home from the store. He didn’t have much success with them at first, however.
“When I started, like a fool I didn’t read about them,” he admits. “I’m in pest control, and I wouldn’t use a chemical without reading a label. Apparently, I thought I could grow a plant without reading about it.”
Reading about orchids and talking to people who raise them taught him that the plants do best when they are left alone in a quiet place with the right amount of humidity, water and sunlight.
“I built the greenhouse and I started to learn about them,” Kunst says. “And they rewarded me every winter with bloom upon bloom upon bloom.”
Now, the orchids he raises are picture-perfect. In fact, Kunst says the number of photos he takes of his flowers is close to the number of photos he takes of his grandchildren. He uses the prettiest images as screensavers on his phone.
“When people ask, ‘Where did you get that screensaver,’ I very proudly turn to them and say, ‘That’s in my orchid house,’” Kunst says. “And that makes me feel really good.”
Managing Editor Diane Sofranec can be reached at dsofranec@northcoastmedia.net or 216-706-3793.
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