General News
12 July, 2026
What's in a name? Scott stoked by orchid namesake
HAVING a flower named after him doesn’t appear to have changed much for Horsham and District Orchid Society president, Brad Scott, with his affections moving on to be primed on the group’s upcoming meetings and continuing to make more well-known the huge variations that exist in the plant.
Worldwide, between 25,000 and 30,000 different orchids exist, and since earlier this year, one hybrid will be forever known as Disa Harlequin ‘Brad Scott’, courtesy of the Royal Horticultural Society in England.
Mr Scott said he’s been “trying to grow Disa for probably about 30 years,” and that they've always been a challenge.
“I love them, but they call them ‘die easy’ because they die in the summertime, and they've got to be kept cold, and our summers are very hot here,” he said.
“My wife and I get into them, we love them, we have a lot of fun.
“It's not about winning; it's about doing something different.
“You get an orchid named after you – I was absolutely stoked.”
Mr Scott explained how the original seedling plant actually came from a cross-breeding enthusiast in Dunolly, Grahame Jago, with the ‘tinkering’ of different combinations yielding a unique result.
“Really, it's not my plant – it's his, but I grew it,” he said.
“He still might get some more out of another lot yet that he's doing, crossbreeding.
"That's what I love about seedlings – you don't know what you get until you flower them.”
Like many plants, orchids have a genetic flexibility (called polyploidy) that allows them to have several ‘duplicates’ of their basic orchid ‘blueprint’, enabling a myriad of new plant types to be produced and lending itself to the experimentation of many gardeners.
The variations and interest will hopefully get many people to the winter show the society is holding at the Horsham Senior Citizens Centre on July 19 from 1pm, followed next month by a meeting in Dimboola.
Society bulletin editor, Jan John, said the August 16 meeting should be a highlight for many in the small town, with visits to two local gardens, followed by practical tips at the Desert Blooms Nursery.
“We're going to have a potting demonstration on how to repot your orchids, and also a question-and-answer session,” she said.
“So, if people want to ask how to make them orchids grow better, or ‘my orchids doing this, what am I doing wrong?’ – you'll have a lot of people there who have a lot more knowledge than me about orchids.”
Mrs John said that, with several members of the club from Dimboola, they plan to have a few more meetings there. They would love to see locals turn up.
“This is our first one to come up with (nursery owner) Michelle (Danisch)," she said.
"It also gives Michelle some people can ask questions about if she's getting orchids into the shop, or if people come in to see her.”
Mr Scott said he was hoping the society would visit other towns in the area soon as well.
“We’re going to do Dimboola, then we probably might do Nhill (and) Warracknabeal,” he said.
“We want to do some days in those towns just to promote orchids.”
Read More: Horsham