Inside the Largest Rare Orchid Collection in the US - San Diego Magazine (2024)

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Beyond an unassuming red gate in Leucadia lives a Willy Wonka–esque wonderland of plants: orchids and ferns clinging to the limbs of an 80-year-old sycamore tree that shades the entrance, orchids growing 20 feet tall, orchids hangingwet and mossy with chocolate chip–sized flowers in a claustrophobic greenhouse labyrinth of more than 750,000 plants from every corner of the world. If you’re a fan of flora, this is a house of worship.With more than 7,000 different species, Andy’s Orchids is known as the largest rare orchid collection in the US—and possibly the world, says owner Andy Phillips.“We’re definitely the most diverse,” Phillips adds. “Nobody grows the way I grow.”

Inside, it’s hot and fragrant. Plants, many in bloom, hang thick on the walls and crowded high on racks running the length of Phillips’ hot houses, forming a song of colors, shapes, and patterns only nature could be creative enough to compose. Some flowers emanate a piña colada perfume; others, the scent of apricot candy.Phillips walks the rows, pointing out peculiarities, naming where each plant originated. Brazil. Honduras. New Guinea. Sulawesi Island in Indonesia. The man is an encyclopedia of epiphytes, or plants that grow on the surface ofother plants.“It’s very three-dimensional,” Phillips says. “I grow the way nature intended. Nature is three-dimensional.”

Born and raised in La Jolla, Phillips, 60, found his passion at a young age.“I was a plant nerd as a little kid,” he says. His mother was from Mexico. At 13, he returned from a trip to visit her family with more than 1,100 plants, some of which he still has.Today, orchids are his life. He’s converted the property his grandparents bought in 1932 for $500 into a successful online business. In-person appointments can be arranged for serious buyers. Phillips also hosts open houses four timesa year. They’re a rare chance to see rare plants.“It’s a Noah’s Arkof diversity,” Phillipssays. “My philosophy is that things might disappear in nature, and once they’re gone, they’re gone forever. But if someone propagates them, they can be reintroduced.”Andy’s Orchids will host its next open house Sept. 15–17.

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