Malibu Orchid Society leaders Gerlinde and Georg Stelzner guide others in caring for the temperamental blooms and may have landed themselves roles in a motion picture starring Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep.
By Vicky Newman/Special to The Malibu Times
When Gerlinde and Georg Stelzner bought their first orchid plant they never expected that growing them would turn into a lifetime hobby.
Their self-described addiction has them traveling around the world to international orchid conferences and building 400 square-foot sets for orchid shows around the state. It might even have gotten them parts as extras in a major motion picture opening next month.
“You buy a plant for Mother’s Day and you get hooked,” Gerlinde says of the orchid-growing process. “You baby a plant knowing it won’t blossom for years.
Whether bubbling over with information at a major orchid confab in downtown Los Angeles, the East West Orchid Show, which they helped develop, or hosting orchid-care clinics at their home, these leaders of the Malibu Orchid Society can’t disguise their desire to encourage others to grow the temperamental blooms.
When they started growing orchids 30 years ago, Gerlinde says, they got advice from the Malibu Orchid Society. Today as then, the society, founded 40 years ago by the late Malibuite Hugo Freed, brother of the late movie producer Arthur Freed, is a great resource.
The Stelzners actively keep up the tradition.
They are often panelists in the short seminars, the “hands on” orchid culture sessions, which take place at every meeting.
People bring their orchids, Gerlinde says. They want to know why their plants aren’t thriving.
Carrying portable microphones and walking through the audience with an ailing plant, the Stelzners might explain how to treat it. Or they might ask other panelists or the audience for their input.
“We want to help people enjoy affordable plants for years,” Gerlinde says of orchids you can buy for $20.
After they attended a triennial world orchid conference, the Stelzners show slides of the trip at society meetings. For the past 20 years, the Stelzners have screened their slides of orchids in Scotland, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
This year’s conference took place in Malaysia. Besides scenes of orchids in Kuala Lumpar, the Stelzners also snapped shots of native species in Sumatra and the Langkawi Islands, where there are orchids enthusiasts rarely see.
“We see plants in their native habitat,” Georg says about the conferences. “We enjoy learning about worldwide trends.”
Competitions dubbed “plant forum ribbon awards” and orchid raffles held at every meeting are also wonderful ways to learn, Gerlinde explains.
“The competition is exciting for the members,” Gerlinde says. “People want to know the techniques that make a winning plant.”
“If people win, it’s a reflection of their good care,” she adds. “The competition shows that people give priority to their plants.”
It takes years for a seedling to flower, Georg explains. You have to control drainage, humidity and air circulation to protect the plants from mold. You also have to guard against snails and other pests.
At the raffle, people can buy an unusual orchid at a fair price and can network with fellow growers, Gerlinde notes. “We want to make people comfortable buying orchids.”
Malibu Orchid Society meetings are also a source of volunteers for regional competitions. Hans Nagel of Malibu’s Nagel Nursery regularly brings greenery and trees for the displays, Gerlinde says. Malibuite Bob Koller brings heavy equipment and helps build the sets.
Another way the Stelzners share their love of orchids is through the Malibu Arts Festival, where the Stelzners staff a society booth. People ask questions or relay their orchid-growing experiences.
“We give a lot of advice,” Gerlinde says. “We want the public to be as excited about orchids as we are.”
So how did the Stelzners get to be movie extras?
They were participating in the annual Santa Barbara Orchid Show last year and were co-opted by crews filming “Adaptation,” starring Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep. The story of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and his attempts to adapt “The Orchid Thief,” a book about orchid poaching, is slated to be released Dec. 6.