Some need just a tiny amount of sun and water to bloom. Others flaunt their colorful petals in full sun even if they’re in a ditch. A select few bloom only when secured to another, more stable plant.

With more than 25,000 species and countless known hybrids, orchids bloom in a variety of conditions, colors and sizes and have captivated both professional growers and houseplant enthusiasts for centuries.

Hundreds of orchids will be on display and up for sale during the 14th annual Orchid Sale and Show presented by the Orchid Society of the Ozarks from Feb. 28 to March 2 at the Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Center in Fayetteville. The weekend brings together local growers and members of Orchid Societies from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee and Kansas to show off their colorful plants.

Lois Geren, treasurer of the Orchid Society of the Ozarks, said the selection of orchids for sale aren’t something found in big box stores.

“We actually buy and import orchids from growers that are in more temperate zones where they can grow them more economically,” she explained. Even for the local orchid growers, the event is an exceptional outlet to obtaining different species.

“Our members and the judges that come in to judge our shows, we all fight to look at those orchids, to find something we don’t have or have been looking for,” she jokes.

Geren got her first orchid in 1974 from Tom Larkin who founded the Orchid Society of the Ozarks with his wife Barbara in 1996.

“I bought a slipper orchid from him, which I killed in a couple of years, but that’s where that started,” she says with a laugh.

“I kept one or two throughout the years while I was working and raising kids. But when I retired, I just went nuts, and my husband built me greenhouses. I was up to about 600 different plants at one point, but I’ve been trying to cut it back to only 300 or so.”

When asked if there’s any common misconceptions about growing orchids, she dispels the myth about giving orchids two ice cubes a week for watering.

“A lot of people do it and get away with it, but most orchids like a more temperate temperature,” she says, suggesting melting the ice cubes and then pouring the water into the plant. “We wouldn’t like cold feet either, and we’re not near as particular about temperature as as orchids are.”

The Orchid Society of the Ozarks, she says, is open to everyone from the “Is this an orchid?” crowd to hobbyist growers to people like herself, a retired research assistant professor of biochemistry and avid gardener. Even with her extensive experience and scientific background, she claims some members of the local orchid society know even more than she does about getting these particular plants to bloom.

“We have members that specialize in all sorts of different species,” she says. Some members prefer to grow orchids with small blooms. Others raise epiphytic orchids with roots that attach to and hang from trees and other plants. Geren said she likes those and the larger orchids that emit perfume-like scents.

She enjoys the challenge that comes with growing the different types of orchids.

“All you have to do is give them exactly what they want and they’ll grow like crazy,” she says. “The trick is learning exactly what they want.”

Orchids are one of the oldest known flowering plants. Harvard biologists have suggested orchids existed at the same time as dinosaurs. Geren even dates them back to Pangea (which broke apart 200 million years ago, according to Britannica.com.) She says there are orchids native to each continent on the globe except Antarctica. Arkansas alone has around 50 species and varieties of native orchids, according to the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research and Extension Service.

For Geren, orchids present boundless opportunities for learning.

“A lot of people grow houseplants, and once you grow, say an African violet or a philodendron or something, you learn how to grow it and that’s it,” Geren said. “With orchids, there are over 25,000 different species, and each one requires different conditions. So as soon as you master one, like a Cattleya [orchids commonly used in corsages], you’ve got 24,999 more to play with so you do not get bored!”

The orchid show and sale starts at 5 p.m. Feb. 28 for those who want to get in early. The show and sale continues the following Saturday with workshops, which Geren said are more like demonstrations, led by Orchid Society members. On Sunday, the sale and show will be from noon to 4 p.m. Geren added the last day is usually more calm, which is good for those who like to take pictures of the orchids.

In addition to exhibits of plants by many orchid growers there will also be an orchid photography exhibit.

Admission is $5 for adults and free for children 12 and younger as well as members of the Ozark Society of the Ozarks. Those wishing to join the club, can put their $5 admission fee toward the yearly $10 membership when they join at the event. The local group of orchid lovers meets once a month, every third Sunday.

“Our meetings are always well-attended,” Geren says. “Everybody brings their bloomers. We have to show off our bloomers! So we have a little little competition with not too many classes, but people bring in what they have blooming at the time.”

She says it’s like a mini-show with an information session led by a regional expert or a special guest. To find out more about the Orchid Society of the Ozarks or the annual show and sale, visit the group’s Facebook page or website at oso-web.org.