Greg Griffis first became aware of orchids in 2009. He first heard about them through a college friend, who had always admired orchids. Studying at West Chester University, from which he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Music Education, put him in close proximity to Longwood Gardens. He attended the 2010 Longwood Orchid Show where he purchased his first orchid.
One plant quickly became twenty or so, and before long he was hooked. In 2010 he visited Parkside Orchid Nursery for the first time, and by Summer 2011 he was working part time for Tom Purviance and John Salventi. He studied under their tutelage while working for them, and when they sold the nursery in 2012, he was hired by the new owners as the Grower and Manager of Parkside Orchid Nursery. He managed Parkside for one year, before leaving to grow orchids in Hawaii.
In Hawaii he worked for Hilo Orchid Farm for more than a year, spending a large amount of time working with Paphiopedilum, as well as Intergeneric Oncidiinae, and Miltoniopsis. At the beginning of 2015 Greg began working as the orchid grower at Longwood Gardens.
Since his arrival at Longwood, the orchid collection has grown and changed significantly. He has been a part of developing a collection of terrestrial orchids from across the globe, and has initiated a number of breeding programs. Among these are breeding lines in the Habenariinae, Cattleya Alliance, Intergeneric Oncidiinae, Paphiopedilum, Masdevallia, Disa, and more. The Disa program achieved its first successes with the registration of three new hybrids in 2021, Disa Longwood Renaissance Horizon, Disa Longwood Dawning Ever New, and Disa Longwood Advancing Excellence.
Greg continues to work on improving and expanding the collection, as well as networking with great growers and hybridizers across the country. He also has authored a number of written works, and has participated in a number of video interviews as well.
In an era of unprecedented growth, along with the opening of the Reimagined Orchid House at Longwood, the future of the orchid collection is open wide and the possibilities for innovation are endless!
Greg Griffis 