For the orchid or bromeliad lover, there is no better place to visit than Sundance Orchids & Bromeliads. With nine modern greenhouses situated on five acres of landscaped grounds, Sundance is the largest retail and wholesale nursery in the Fort Myers area. The selection of orchids will satisfy both the collector and the casual gardener: frilly cattleyas, oncidiums, encyclias, and phalaenopsis in shades of white, yellow, pink, and purple; delicate dendrobiums; bulbophyllums; and a large selection of vandas imported directly from Thailand.

Plants can be purchased separately or in beautifully composed arrangements in pots or Mopani driftwood logs. In addition to orchid plants and growing supplies, Sundance offers repotting services, classes, and a “Summer Camp” for orchid owners who travel.

Bromeliads are the nursery’s second focus, with a huge selection of plants available for outdoor landscaping or decoration of the lanai or indoor spaces. Tillandsias, also known as air plants, are a type of bromeliad. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes that can be displayed individually in creative containers or combined with orchids and other ferns and succulents in custom “live log” arrangements.

Like many public gardens and nurseries, Sundance Orchids grew from a hobby. Founder Lee Behrhorst retired to Florida from Pittsburg in the 1990s. When he found that he could not create a large outdoor garden in his gated community, Lee began to collect orchids for his lanai. Hobby turned into obsession, and when his collection outgrew his house, Lee began to search for greenhouse space. In 2001 he found land with a dilapidated greenhouse that became the home for his 3,000 orchids and a small nursery business. Lee’s passion began to include bromeliads, and as his business grew, so did the number of greenhouses. When he retired in early 2017, Lee sold the business to long-time employee and orchid enthusiast Jacki Garland and her partner Elijah Spurlin. Hurricane Irma devastated the nursery that year, destroying half of the greenhouses and causing huge plant losses. Jacki and Elijah have worked hard to restore the business, and no evidence of the hurricane is visible to visitors today. Beautifully planted flower beds welcome you to the greenhouses, which are overflowing with more than 25,000 orchids and 20,000 bromeliads. Travelers can have purchases shipped to their homes.

You can also order plants from the nursery’s website, sundanceorchids.com