Hobby Has Blossomed For 'Orchid Man'

Sometime in fall or early spring, Ed Fabik's backyard greenhouse will light up with color as hundreds of potted orchid plants - from palm-sized cattleyas to exotic-looking air plants with more root than stem - blossom for the year.

Orchids are known as exotic and expensive. These days they often are not, especially in Florida, but they do belong to the family with the largest flowering plants. It's this variety that has drawn the 68-year-old to orchids.

Fabik got started 30 years ago in Chicago after ending up with some orchids a botanical garden was trying to give away. From there, his collection grew and so did his hobby.

Now, he describes it as more of an addiction, and his wife, Paula, agrees with a grin and a nod.

About 450 potted orchids pack his greenhouse or hang in his shaded Placid Lakes backyard that slopes to a Lake June canal.

Wednesday, the tall, trim man who once worked for Motorola, showed off some of his orchids in bloom.

He pointed out the dark pink cattleyas - also his favorite orchids - the delicate white dendrombiums with purple hues at the throat, and air plants with tiny, orange unorchid-like flowers. Twenty years ago he brought an orchid plant now anchored on one of his trees. Until today, he has never seen it blossom.

"There's so many different types, colors, and shapes of flowers in orchids," Fabik explained. "There's something to everybody's taste."

Nine years ago, when he and Paula moved out of their Broward County home to retire in Highlands County, the orchids came along with the furniture and the family. The house they had in mind did not finish on time. The Fabiks had to move in and out five times before they finally settled down. The orchids came with each trip.

The Fabiks didn't just find a new home. Around that same time, Ed Fabik - who had been the president of the orchid society in Sunrise, a community close to Fort Lauderdale - happened to stop by a meeting of the Highlands County chapter of the Orchid Society.

Membership had been dwindling and the society was on the verge of folding up. Officers were needed, and Paula volunteered her husband for the job.

In the nine years since he's been chapter president, Ed Fabik has helped build the group to 250 members. They meet monthly, take bus trips to nurseries across the state and even have orchid experts stop by to share tips.

When time comes for the Orchid Society's annual auction or show, Fabik is usually at the forefront, getting things done. He also does the monthly newsletters and handles the publicity. To many, he's simply the Orchid Man. Wednesday, the Orchid Man was even dressed in a red Hawaiian shirt - with yellow orchids.

Ed and Paula have been married for 14 years. They both met at work. He wasn't just a soft-spoken man who liked to grow flowers. "He also likes to give them away," his wife said.

The vivacious 58-year-old with a broad smile is more than happy to indulge her husband's pastime.

She does not grow orchids but she's got her own orchid collection going, her husband says mysteriously, before darting into the living room.

Inside is a curio cabinet by the front door packed with jewelry, china and other knick knacks. There's paintings on the wall, and more china and crafts items on other shelves. It turns out they all have some form of orchid painted on them.

Some of them are custom made by friends and associates like the ceramic vase with a big, blue orchid, and the orchids painted on the wall by the dining table.

When the Fabiks went to Costa Rica with Orchid Society members, they came back with a portable liquor cart embellished with red orchids, which now sits close to an arrangement of silk purple-colored orchids.

Growing orchids - the real ones - is easy if owners are aware of the type of orchid they have, Fabik explained.

"If you know the culture, you have no trouble growing," he said. Some need more water than the others. The fertilizers and the soils vary. Some blossom at different times. Orchids have to be potted. They can't be planted in the ground, Fabik added.

Those who want to know more about orchids are invited to the monthly meeting of the Orchid Society. Meetings are held on the fourth Mondays at 7 p.m. at the Agri-Civic Center.

At its upcoming meeting, Martin Motes, an award-winning hybridizer and internationally recognized expert on vandas (a type of orchid), will address the group.

Motes writes frequently for orchid publications and is sought after as a speaker to horticultural groups and symposia. He resides in Homestead.