As the Bermuda Orchid Society celebrate their 50th Anniversary, they are planning a commemorative sale of 800 orchids on Saturday.

The Bermuda Orchid Society past president Toni Butz and president Deanna Smith said the last sale the Society had was so popular they decided to repeat it.

Over the centuries orchids have been known as a flower of magnificence that brings a universal message of love, beauty, wisdom, and thoughtfulness. And in China they signify refinement and the innocence of children.

Mrs. Butz said she started collecting the blooms in 1976 and she still has one, which is on a stamp and it has been around longer than she has been collecting. She has orchids known as Phragmipedium and the Paphiopedilum, which are on the endangered species list.

She said: ?The only way you can bring the species into the Island is by flask and the hybrids can be bought in with all the correct paperwork,? said Mrs. Butz, ?Which is quite a production.?

Mrs. Butz said she grows her orchids in a combination of organic matter.

?It is a mixture of coconut chunks and alaflora, which is an inner pebble, perlite and some bits of fir bark,? she said. ?Some of them are just grown in New Zealand sphagnum, which of you have to import as well.?

In her slat-house Mrs. Butz also has orchids called the colmanara wildcatt, sherry baby, and the oncidium to name a few and she said her passion for the orchid came after her aunt gave her an orchid for Christmas.

On the other hand, Mrs. Smith began collecting about seven years ago. Mrs. Butz said orchids come in all different shapes and sizes and they can take up to 12 years before they bloom.

?We usually bring the flowers in,? she said. ?I have some that I bought in about 8-years-ago that still have not bloomed. The plants in the flask are usually about a year from being germinated from the seed and it will take seven to 12 years before they bloom. So you don?t want to wait that long because the mortality rate can be quite high.

?So we like to bring in the bigger plants.?

To care for the orchids Mrs. Butz, who has cared for 1,000s of the plants over the years said: ?Water and then fertilising once a week and I use a bloom booster starting in September.

?So a lot of the Phalaenopsis? are just beginning to spike and they will be ready for the Annual Exhibition next year.?

Mrs. Smith said The Bermuda Orchid Society always have a pretty big show at the Agricultural Exhibition.

?So last year we had our own show because we were so disappointed with the cancellation,? said Mrs. Smith.

?To support the show and the pay for bringing the grower and judge in we decided to have a public sale and it was so successful that we decided to do it again because people could only get two plants each.

?It was overwhelming and we are hoping that people come again and buy things.?

Mrs. Butz added that the Society was also offering a potting service for buyers.

?If people come and buy the plants and then ask, ?now what do I do with it??,? she said, ?They can pay another fee and we can pot it right up for them there. Christmas presents all ready.?

Mrs. Smith also said they also will have cultured sheets to tell people how to take care of the plants. Or people can join the Society to learn more about the blooms.