US (NC): Grower started with 1 orchid, now has 6,000
After that, she was hopelessly hooked. Today, she operates Seagrove Orchids at 3451 Brower Mill Road, Seagrove, North Carolina. In operation since 1999, it is filled with over 6,000 orchids in various stages of development. She ships plants all over the US.
The greenhouse is filled with exotic beauties with names like Cattleya walkeriana, Brassavola cordata, Phragmipediums and Paphiopedilum. Visitors will also find Phalaenopsis, Vandas and Ascocendas. If the names are a bit intimidating, Thorne recommends new orchid owners get to know them by their more enticing names. Names like Lion Star, White Beauty or Regal Jewels.
As much as she loves orchids, Thorne says she realizes many people are afraid to tackle the tropical versions of this plant. Most people think of orchids from the tropical areas of the globe when they think of orchids although orchids are found throughout the northern hemisphere.
“When I got my first orchid, I set it on my desk at my office,” she says. “It stopped blooming until I took it home and put it in a sunny window. It bloomed again in about a month.”
What Thorne has learned through years of experience, she willingly shares with all who come to buy orchids from Seagrove Orchids.
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