In the “Wild Orchid Man” series, former Selby Gardens botanist and orchid expert Stig Dalström and local film-maker Darryl Saffer team up in an around-the-world search for rare, and rarely seen, orchids. The hunt in 2011 will take them from the jungles of South America to the home of polar bears in Canada, often combing dense, hostile terrain to catch sight of one of these exquisite, natural masterpieces. In “Wild Orchid Man In The Ghost Orchid Swamp”, Dalström and Saffer trek deep into the heart of the Everglades, to Florida’s wildest swamp, the Fakahatchee, home to the rare ghost orchid, Dendrophylax lindenii. Tangled jungle, alligators and snakes and fierce tropical storms seem to guard the orchids hiding and blooming there. And though the story is about the orchid quest, the series will speak to the fragility of the world’s ecosystem, and what humans can learn from these mysterious, magical plants. “We can learn much from the orchid about survival and adaptation,” says Dalström, pointing out that orchids grow on host plants. “Orchids use other organisms to survive, but they never kill them,” he says.

Wild Orchid Man in the Mountains Of Amazonas

A Documentary Project in Sarasota, FL by Darryl Saffer

The Mountains Of Amazonas will be the second Wild Orchid Man film.

The team's first film, Wild Orchid Man In The Ghost Orchid Swamp (http://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/festival/play/7306/Wild-Orchid-Man-In-The-Ghost-Orchid-Swamp), was shot in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve and Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Florida. It premiered at Burns Court Cinema to a standing room only audience and has now screened worldwide with favorable reviews and received the Best Of Suncoast Critics Award for nature films. The Wild Orchid Man films take the viewer on the adventure and, with Stig's humor and Darryl's cinematography, the journey is educational, enlightening and entertaining.

We (orchid expert Stig Dalström and filmmaker Darryl Saffer) have just returned from a four week expedition to Peru, documenting and filming orchids and their ecosystems. In the search for primary forests, we found widespread destruction of entire ecosystems that has had dire consequences locally and affected the entire region. We want to create a one hour (approximately) documentary that shows the exquisite beauty and environmental challenges of this unique region.

Darryl is an experienced documentary editor and composer with his own studio. Because all post production is done in house, we can keep the expenses down.

From experience, we budget a 16 week post for this length project at $1000 a week, plus an additional $2000 for drives and materials.

Blue-colored orchid raises suspicion

A natural wonder or pricey man-made creation?

Posted: 06/20/2011
By: Katie LaGrone

Long known as a flower of distinction, orchid lovers often describe the plant as sensual, or majestic. Shane Carswell, an orchid enthusiast, prefers the word 'perfection.'

"I love orchids, it's just a beautiful flower," say Boca Raton resident Lauren Armetta. This past Mother's Day Armetta received 3 orchids, one of which was blue.

"It was the first time I've seen blue orchids and something told me they got to use food coloring or something," she told the Contact 5 Investigators.

"Nothing on the label in any way shape or from that says it's natural or fake," said her daughter, Eisa, who contacted the Investigators after she saw the blue-colored orchids selling for double the price of its more commonly-colored counterparts.

Armetta's suspicion only grew when it was time to water her new blue bloom.

"Once the bottom filled up and I tipped it over--- the blue water came out, it was really bright blue," said Armetta.

Turns out, Armetta's new blue orchid is actually called the Blue Mystique. The flower is dubbed the world's first phalaenopsis blue orchid.

The Contact 5 Investigators found the blue-colored orchid on display at major retailers like Home Depot and Lowe's.

At the American Orchid Society's world headquarters in Delray Beach, the Blue Mystique has been cultivating questions for months.

"We don't sell them," said chief operating officer Ron McHatton.

"We don't sell them because that would be an endorsement," said McHatton who tells the Contact 5 Investigators the Blue Mystique may be pricey, but consumers should also know it's plain.

"No they're not real blue orchids, they're white orchids that have been dyed," he said.

McHatton doesn't know exactly how the Blue Mystique gets its blue color.

So the Contact 5 Investigators contacted Silver Vase Incorporated, the company that produces the Blue Mystique.

The grower is based in Homestead, but refused to speak with the Contact 5 Investigators, cancelling our interview at the last minute. Company reps wouldn't divulge how they make the Blue Mystique, only saying it's an infusion process that is patented and kept very secret.

On its website, the company touts its blue color as, "the result of a patented process that infuses white orchids with a special medium."

"That's such a scam to charge twice the amount. it's one thing to charge $20 but $40, that's highway robbery," said Elisa Armetta who, along with her mom, just wanted the truth.

"At least market it to say not a hybrid, not natural, Mother Nature did not create this," said Elisa.

Her mom, in the meantime, feels satisfied, her suspicion was right.

"See, I was right, I knew it couldn't be real. Now it's not that appealing anymore," she said.

Armetta is also suggesting a much simpler name for the Blue Mystique.

"I would call it pretty white orchid turned blue," she said.

As a result of customer concerns, Silver Vase has developed new labels that will accompany the Blue Mystique on store shelves. The new labels state, in part, "with a little bit of magic we turn a white orchid blue."

The company also now warns customers that new blooms on the Blue Mystique will be white.

Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

RIDGE ORCHID SOCIETY

Wild Orchid Man in the Mountains Of Amazonas

Wild Orchid Man in the Mountains Of Amazonas