I have been looking everywhere for Dendrobium Jac-Hawaii 'Uniwai Pearl', but I haven't been able to find it. This is a little surprising, considering that everybody and their brother used to sell this orchid hybrid but now, with the power of every search engine on the internet, nobody seems to have it for sale. I am looking to purchase this orchid (preferrably blooming size, or previously bloomed).

If I can tug at some heartstrings to make this a little more effective for me... here it goes. When I got married 29 years ago, the Boutonnière that I wore was three flowers of Dendrobium Jac-Hawaii 'Uniwai Pearl', which I grew myself. If you know about these things, the 29th anniversary is the "orchid" anniversary, so I would really like to get a replacement for this orchid (the one I had died maybe 15 years ago) before my 30th anniversary. This also is one of my favorite orchids, as I previously had this orchid continuously in bloom for almost 3 years (2 years, 10 months, and 6 days if you wanted to be specific).

So, if you have one that you are willing to sell to me, or "know a guy that knows a guy" that has one, PLEASE let me know.

about 2 years ago

Hi Mark, I volunteer at a botanical garden. I am part of a handful of volunteers that curate the orchid collection. I am sure that I can acquire one of what you seek with somewhat of a caveat. Our online records system shows that we have 21 of them registered. It is not up to date, so we probably don't have that many. However, I am sure we can find either some Keikis or small ones we can ship you. I have to clear it with our supervisor but that shouldn't be difficult as I donate divisions and whole plants to the collection, regularly so I like to think they owe me! I also had a similar search of my own, trying to locate a Aliceara (Degamoara) Winter Wonderland 'While Fairy'. Took a while but I finally got some from Ecuagenera in Ecuador. Finally, I know I tested one a while ago for Viruses and it was positive. I will do my best to find a virus negative one. I have my own test kits. Our DB shows that we also have 5 of the Dendrobium Jaquelyn Thomas....just not sure if count or virus status is real. - will check this too. I work at the greenhouse tomorrow - Thursday, Oct27th. I'll give you an update within 2 days if you are still interested. Where would we have to ship to?

Carol Holdren

Thank you Jurahame! I love knowing the back story. One of our members is related to Jacquelyn Thomas, the person, who lived in Miami.

Jurahame A. Leyva

Aloha Mark, Part of the reason Jaq-Hawaii is no longer so prevalent is that the University of Hawaii (UH) was always rather reluctant to share mother plants with anyone, including growers in Hawaii. A few years ago the greenhouse housing these plants was severely damaged and most of the plant were lost, including one of the parents of Jaq-Hawaii- Den.Neo-Hawaii. Since this is all fairly old breeding (think back to the 60's...) and orchid hybridizers in general are a diminishing crowd- no one has yet revisited this particular hybrid. Even here in Hawaii, these plants have become almost impossible to come by. Sorry for the long winded story but I thought you'd appreciate an explanation. Your best bet is to find a Den.Jaquelyn Thomas (the other parent of Den.Jaq-Hawaii). I'm sure it won't be exactly like your old plant you had, but the flowers should be very nearly the same. Best of luck to you, - Jurahame A. Leyva

Hi Mark, I tried looking up your orchid and only found Den. Jaq-Hawaii ‘Uniwai Pearl’. There are 2 awards and then additional photos in OrchidWiz by Claude Hamilton of Hamlyn Orchids in Jamaica and Richard Pippen who is involved with Naples Orchid Society. You could ask both of those. But I would look for a cousin to Jaq-Hawaii which has nearly the same make up and looks identical. Those are Den Jo Black, Den. Hawaiian White, Den. Singapore White and Den. Emma White. Den Emma White is widely grown for cut flowers and might be your best choice. Good Luck, Carol Holdren Orchids.org

Looking for Dendrobium Jac-Hawaii 'Uniwai Pearl'

by Mark Kaczynski

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