Jose Exposito: Orchid Grower & Hybridizer

Even though Jose grew up surrounded by plants when he lived in Cuba, he never would have expected that he’d become an orchid grower. Many thought that he would pursue writing, as he won national prizes for literature. But everything changed on one fateful day in Fort Lauderdale. 

“Generally, when you go to an orchid show, when you attend a show, you get a little raffle ticket and every hour on the hour they call a winner. Well, viola, who won? I did.”

Winning this orchid would launch Jose into curiosity about the species, which then tumbled to a full grown obsession with the plant. 

“When people ask me, ‘How did you start this business?’ I always tell them: a hobby that went out of control.”

Jose had to overcome many challenges when getting into the orchid business, from learning English as he studied the plant to a hurricane destroying the nursery he started. 

His focus is planting the seed for the next generation of orchid growers by creating new varieties as his legacy. 

“It is like the book that I haven't written. It is like the painting that I haven’t created.”

A film by Jacopo Fantastichini.

Music by Fabrizio Bondi.

Check out the nursery’s website: https://www.soroa-orchids.com/