Our Nursery
Akerne Orchids is a family owned business, run by the owners.
The business started in 1971 as a hobby, with the purchase of the first plant : Cattleya labiata 'mossiae'. This plant is still growing happily in the private collection where it enjoys a bit of a special status.
Akerne Orchids (Akerne being the Celtic name for 'Ekeren' the village where the hobby originally started) is the only Belgian nursery highly specialising in botanical orchids.
Today Akerne Orchids has :
- A private collection of scientific value.
- A seed and pollen bank, a source of genetic material for the breeding program.
- A laboratory and climate chamber for the in vitro propagation of orchid species
Over the years the Belgian nursery has acquired a solid international reputation and won many medals and prizes for the quality of its orchids and their presentation.
- Gold medal and 1st prize Dendrobium category for Dendrobium aphyllum 'Champs de Mars' at the EOC Paris, France, 1988.
- Gold medal for Pleurothallis grobyi at the Ghent International Orchid Show, Belgium, 1993.
- Gold medal for the best botanical collection, category orchid nurseries at the Ghent International Orchid Show, Belgium, 1993.
- 1st prize Laeliinae species 1 category for Laelia jongheana 'Don Magnifico' at the BOC Brighton, United Kingdom, 1995.
- 1st prize Lycastinae species category for Lycaste campbellii 'Orfeo' at the BOC Brighton, United Kingdom, 1995.
- 1st prize Pleurothallidinae species category for Masdevallia coccinea var. alba at the BOC Brighton, United Kingdom, 1995.
- A CCC/RHS award for Dendrobium beckleri 'Bianca Castafiore' at the BOC Sheffield, United Kingdom, 1996.
The 700 m² glasshouse is divided into three sections:
- The growing area where seedlings and backdivisions are nursed until they are ready for sale.
- The sales area, where the customer can freely choose his own plants, each orchid being labeled and priced.
- The private collection, housing over 8000 motherplants used in the breeding program.
Right from the start a strong selection takes place, weak growers being discarded as only the strong growing orchids will in due course go to the amateur. This is of course only one of the advantages of controlling the whole production line from the seedpod on the motherplant to the flowering size plants in the sales area.
All our orchids are grown in either clay or plastic pots, baskets or mounted on cork slabs and are watered exclusively with the best flemish rainwater to which we add a well balanced fertiliser. This fertiliser is a product of Akerne Orchids.
For many years we have shipped our orchids all over the world. So for those of you who cannot visit our nursery in person, we heartily recommend our mail order service.
Happy orchid growing!
Dirk & Diane Bruyninckx - De Langhe.
