Romain Maire: "Orchids are victims of excessive consumerism"

How did this passion for the orchid come about?

To discover

• Garden: what to plant, sow or harvest in November?

• November: what are the seasonal vegetables and fruits?

About 15 years ago I was offered a simple white orchid and it lost its flowers so I panicked like a beginner because for me it was dead.

I looked at how to save her and signed up on forums with information to later realize that she could be reborn.

I also discovered that the phalaenopsis was one of 30,000 species, so I had a whole world to discover.

I exchange regularly with enthusiasts and I own a hundred books.

I even downloaded theses in English and I also find information on the right and left.

I have lost a lot of orchids but I am learning from both my failures and my victories.

How many do you have?

Today, I have 1,200 - some of which are forty years old - in a tropical greenhouse in my garden, in Chantilly (Oise), but also in an indoor greenhouse in my office, in the house as decoration. .

They coexist with green plants because I try to reproduce the equivalent of their conditions in nature.

I take a lot of time, observation, watering, in order to maintain the ideal conditions against pests.

I had everything, like, for example, the mealybug.

Regularly, as soon as we introduce a new plant, I eradicate the pests with a relatively natural formula (lukewarm water + black soap + essential oils such as rose geranium, lavender or peppermint).

Read the fileOrigin, culture, flowering: all our advice on orchids

Your Instagram account dedicated to orchids, which currently has 23.8K followers, has it become a reference right away?

In 2011, I started on Instagram posting my vacation photos or selfies, then I wanted to share my experiences with orchids and the community quickly took hold.

Before the first lockdown I had around 10,000 followers and it exploded while people were at home.

I have noticed that there is a real need to get back to nature.

Orchids are the best-selling plants in garden centers around the world.

The problem is that they have become disposable: the phenomenon has grown, they have suffered from this globalization of the mass-produced market.

In fact, they are victims of excessive consumerism.

Approximately how many messages do you receive?

And of what kinds?

I receive an average of 200 messages per week (What substrates to give them? Should they be placed in the light or not and all the conditions to take care of them).

But I think that you must first ask yourself the right questions before buying them, especially depending on your home (indoors or outdoors, etc.) because you must not forget that they are living beings.

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