S.B. International Orchid Show March 20 - 22

Often called the "American Riviera", Santa Barbara has an ideal climate for growing orchids. In fact Santa Barbara now produces more orchids then any other region in the country. Every year Santa Barbara hosts the international orchid show at the Earl Warren Showgrounds located at the intersection of the 101 freeway and Las Positas Road. This year, it takes place from March 20 - 22. Many orchid dealers are present at this show. Some local nurseries that are usually not open to the public exhibit their orchids and are open to the public for tours of their greenhouses.

You will be amazed to see the large number and variety of orchids displayed. People come from all over the world to see this great show and display their orchids. You will see many orchids in the main pavilion. Some are displayed by private growers, others are displayed by public growers. They are judged and then awarded prizes. Then in a smaller room many dealers sell many different varieties of orchids. The prices range from 10 to over 100 dollars, with most Orchids in the range of 15 to 45 dollars. Orchids were originally introduced to Santa Barbara around the early 1900's when wealthy industrialists came to enjoy the spa resorts. Many of these people fell in love with the climate (its not hard to do!) and they commissioned world class horticulturists to plant orchids in their elaborate gardens. Exotic orchids soon became popular and were heavily planted in the Montecito and Hope Ranch estates. After World War II, the oil baron Samuel Mosher spent $ 1.5 million on breeding orchids at his Dos Pueblos Orchid Company. His breeding grounds provided young plants for other growers who would often times pay up to tens of thousands of dollars for rare varieties. Today the prices have dramatically dropped due to the cloning of many orchids and various laboratory techniques. There are various Orchid growers that are present at the Orchid Show.