It's a question pondered out loud by Camden Haven Orchid Society committee member Allan Wallace as he stands in his prized greenhouse at North Haven. The answer could ensure the survival of the art of orchid cross-breeding.

Orchids are the most prolific family of plants on the planet and are constantly being cross-bred to produce new varieties with different colours and shapes. However producing hybrid flowers from seed can be a difficult and lengthy process because they are small, fragile and must be raised on agar jelly in sterile flasks.

"If we start with our local orchids, you take the pollen off one plant and give it to another robust parent plant. I would also do the reverse so that you have two chances instead of one," Mr Wallace said.

"After that you have a seed pod which takes roughly four to five months to germinate. We send that away to a laboratory and the seeds are taken out to grow in agar for at least about nine months.

"When they return they are little plants growing in completely sterile conditions. You get them and plant them in individual pots, although you may lose about 20 per cent of those plants due to fungus and whatnot.

"So from the time you cross-pollinate to the time of your first flowering is about four to five years.

"As society members we often talk about whether younger people will do this, as we have done. But people don't seem to be interested in that process and it's sort of dying out."

Mr Wallace said he has been breeding orchids for about 35 years and was an original member of the society when it was founded in September 1990.

"The majority of people these days go for hybrids to produce different shapes and colours. It's just like a family because if you put two good parents together to hopefully get good results," Mr Wallace said.

"The aim is develop something better than what you've got with two parent flowers from the same family.

"Judges and growers look for shape, colour and presentation as priorities. You want an end result that presents itself well upright and is showy to look at."

The society meets every third Tuesday of the month at Laurieton United Services Club at 7.30pm. The society hosts three major shows each year in summer, winter and spring.

While you're with us, you can also receive updates straight to your inbox from the Port Macquarie News. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, sign up here. If you would like to support our journalists you can subscribe here.