Ragunan Orchid Garden: A mecca for orchid fans

JAKARTA (JP): Where can you find thousands of colorful blooming orchids? Don't bother going to Puncak, West Java. You can find them here at Ragunan Orchid Garden on Jl. Harsono R.M. near the Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta.

The Ragunan Orchid Garden was developed in 1973, but it has not yet become popular among Jakartans. Currently, the city's agriculture agency manages the five-hectare garden.

There, you can buy various kinds of orchid plants, one of the most beautiful flowers in the world. Or, you can just go there to enjoy the scenery for free as there is no entrance fee for visitors.

Most of its visitors are orchid collectors and sellers. The collectors usually visit the garden on weekends while the vendors come on weekdays.

Dedi Darmawan, an employee of a private company in Kuningan area, said that he visits the orchid garden at least three times a month.

"I love this place. It's green, quiet and I can enjoy the beauty of various kinds of orchids for free. I don't feel like I am in Jakarta," he told The Jakarta Post here over the weekend.

He admitted that he was not an orchid or plant collector. But he bought several pots of orchid plants since he was attracted by their beauty.

Another visitor, Rita Keanne, an orchid collector who visited the garden with her children, said that the orchid garden was an excellent place to get new kinds of orchid plants and a healthy place for children to visit.

"Here, we can exercise by walking and breathing fresh air," she remarked, saying that she did not expect her children to spend their weekends only going to malls or using computer playstations.

Rita, who lives in Pondok Indah housing complex, said that as an orchid collector, she would be contacted by orchid vendors there to offer her a new species of orchid plant.

"I don't think about the price. I have to get new orchid plants if possible," she said, adding that she had even bought a rare orchid for more than Rp 1 million (US$118).

Actually, the prices of orchid plants here varies, depending on their species and size.

Hundreds of kinds of orchid, from genus such as dendrobium and orcidium to crossbreed orchids, are sold for between Rp 4,500 to Rp 40,000 per pot. You can get a lower price if you are a regular customer.

Exotic and rare orchids are very expensive. Among them are butterfly orchid (Dendrobium offine) from Timor and Maluku, and mini orchid (Ascocentium miniatum) from North Sulawesi.

Currently, the garden has 42 lots and each of them has thousands of pots of orchids. One lot covers an area of about 1,000 square meters.

Around 30 orchid vendors lease the lots from the agriculture agency. The monthly fee for leasing each lot reaches some Rp 150,000.

According to Samadi, an orchid vendor, the visitors to the garden include orchid vendors from Semarang and Solo (Central Java) and Bandung (West Java).

"Every time they come here, they buy up to thousands of pots of orchids," he said.

However, he favored orchid collectors as his customers since they would buy a new hybrid or rare genus of orchid at any price.

Samadi said that most orchid vendors in the garden also rented their orchid plants to hospitals, hotels and buildings around the city.

The agriculture agency also offers guidance for visitors wanting to grow orchid plants.

According to Mulyadi, the agriculture agency's representative to the orchid garden, the agency offers orchid cultivation training for visitors.

A two-day training for a group of four to five participants cost Rp 400,000 for each participant. The training cost includes written materials about orchid plant cultivation, gardening equipment and practice in cultivating orchids.

"They could bring home some orchid plants after the training," he said, adding that anyone could ask for advice on orchid cultivation from the officers in the garden for free. (04)