Villa Park orchid show takes visitors behind scenes
A greenhouse plus a powerful furnace can equal the ability to grow orchids in a climate even as inhospitable as Chicago's.
That's a fact the Hausermann family has been proving for almost 100 years.
Orchids by Hausermann, a family business started in the 1920s by Carl Hausermann, is operated on a 3.5-acre orchid range at 2N134 Addison Road in Villa Park by Carl's grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Launched on a corner lot in Melrose Park, the business first expanded to and eventually moved to Villa Park, said Eugene Hausermann, Carl's grandson and current owner of the orchid empire.
"At the time, it was just farmland," he said. "They eventually started building greenhouses out here."
These days, Hausermann's grows more than 200 species of the flowering plant, bringing them to market for retailers and wholesalers.
As they have for the past 40 years, the Hausermanns will open up the grounds to the public for the annual Open House Orchid Show and Sale. This year, the open house will run over two weekends: Feb. 27 to March 1 and March 6 to 8.
"It's fairly well-known among the orchid people," he said.
Visitors will see what shoppers see all year long.
"We have a regular retail showroom," Hausermann said.
But visitors also will have a chance to tour the growing areas, take photographs, see floral design demonstrations, attend orchid-growing workshops, visit the gift shop, see educational films and win door prizes.
The plants, which have inspired whole horticultural societies dedicated to their growth and preservation, carry an unmistakable mystique.
"They're very exotic looking," said Hausermann.
And those exotic looks can vary dramatically from one species to another.
"They're different shapes, sizes, colors," Hausermann said. "Some are warm-growing, some are cool-growing."
The different orchid species' varying needs - some require daytime temperatures as high as 85 degrees while other species prefer daytime highs in the low 70-degree range - means Hausermann's must use a sophisticated, high-tech system to maintain correct temperatures and sun exposures.
When Chicago shivers through subzero snaps, Hausermann said, that sometimes presents a challenge.
"We can't always duplicate (ideal) temperatures," he said. "When it's zero or 5 degrees here, we can't ship at all."
When weather conditions allow, Hausermanns, the largest orchid retailer in the Midwest, ships orchids all over the world, though most sales are domestic.
Hausermann said he and his family go to extreme lengths to create optimum growing conditions for orchids because it's the best way to serve their customers.
"There's nobody in the Midwest our size," he said.
Hausermann said the two most popular species at his business are the phalaepsis and the cattleya. Some species thrive outdoors during suburban Chicago summers, he said, responding well to high humidity. Those same plants survive well in Chicago during winter months when they're brought indoors.
Some orchids, he said, have quite a long life span.
"We've had cattleya here that we've had since the early '60s," he said.
Like the orchids, the Hausermanns have staying power. Hausermann's late father, Edwin, remained involved in the business until his death last year at age 91.
Hausermann said the business employs about 25 or 30 seasonal workers, including 10 or 12 Hausermann family members.
"My sons work here. They're the fourth generation," he said. "Even the fifth generation is starting to creep in."
What: Hausermann's Open House Orchid Show and Sale 2009
When: 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Feb. 27-March 1 and March 6-8
Where: Orchids by Hausermann Inc., 2N134 Addison Road, Villa Park
Info: (630) 543-6855 or orchidsbyhausermann.com