Guest Pass: Orchids Limited In Plymouth
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Matt Brickman asked viewers' help in finding something to show off in Plymouth. There were lots of good ideas, but a family business with an international reach caught our attention.
This week, your Guest Pass is to Orchids Limited.
"My father registered this hybrid after my name in 1996," said Jason Fischer, while holding a "Jason Fischer" orchid.
When there's an orchid bearing your name, you're probably doing something right. That something right is especially tough to do in Minnesota.
"Most of the orchid nurseries in the USA are either in Hawaii, California or Florida. Those are the three big states. Weather helps," Fischer said.
The heating bills at Orchids Limited, which are the nursery's second biggest expense, would lead lesser men to wilt. But the Fischers have stuck with it, since Fischer's father, Jerry, caught the orchid bug in the late 1970s.
In the 30-plus years since, their business has blossomed beyond the north metro.
"We ship a lot to Europe, sometimes Japan, Canada is a very good neighbor of ours," Fischer said.
The demand comes from the variety that the flower supplies.
"Orchids are unique in that they come in so many different colors and sizes and shapes," Fischer said.
They have many odors, too. The most common orchid variety, the phalaenopsis, isn't fragrant, but many produce a distinct smell.
"I've got some orchids that smell like grape candy, some that smell like bubble gum, some smell like chocolate," Fischer said.
Native North Star Staters might know a bit about orchids from studying the flower in grade school.
"A lot of Minnesotans are familiar with it because our state flower is Lady Slipper, which is also an orchid. These are all distant relatives of each other," Fischer said.
Like most family trees, this one has branches that extend into the high rent district. Fischer once sold an orchid to a client in Thailand for $6,000.
"He had this other nursery take care of it for him before he could take it into his greenhouse, and in that time, it unfortunately died," Fischer said. "But he was very understanding, he said just let me know when you have another one and I'll buy another one."
Orchids Limited also has several orchids for less than $50. You can visit their nursery in Plymouth or order a plant online.