OUR STORY

It all started in March 1953 when my father Wladyslaw Zaslawski found his first orchid in the backyard of his house in Vitória, Espírito Santo State. It was a Cattleya guttata.Over the years, during his free time from work as a mechanical engineer for the railroad, his passion for orchids and the collection kept growing.

My name is Alek and I am a mechanical engineer. When I was very young, at my parents’ home, I was always surrounded by orchids, but never imagined that one day I would work with them. I always appreciated nature and loved to travel with my father to see orchids in nature.

Over the years, a wide collection of orchids was formed, with plants not only from Brazil, but from all over the world, always aiming for flower quality in terms of shapes and colors, among other characteristics. This collection still continues to grow and now we estimate it to have around 20.000 plants.

In 1991 my father retired and I started to help him with the reproduction of orchids. He was a pioneer and our lab was the first one in Espírito Santo State to do assimbiotic reproduction of orchids. At that time, it was also one of the few in Brazil aimed at orchid reproduction. He felt the need to reproduce the rare plants in the collection, it was getting difficult to obtain new color forms and improved shapes from growers, plants were gradually disappearing from their habitat and it was also getting very difficult to import them.

Currently my wife Aline is responsible for the laboratory and the generation of our future plants.

In 1996, after my father's “invitation” to join him in the orchid activities, I left my profession as an engineer and AWZ Orquídeas was created. The letters on the name AWZ are the initial letters of our names.

We grow our plants in two locations, with distinct climates: One is situated at an altitude of 1,150 meters (3,770 feet), where the climate is cooler. The other place has a warmer climate, located at an altitude of 300 meters (985 feet). With this setup we can grow almost any type of orchid.

In 2006 we made our first export. We currently export regularly and attend two events a year in the United States.

With great pride, we see our plants reaching practically all parts of the world.

Finally, in 2023 my father will complete his 70th Anniversary as an orchid grower. That first orchid found in 1953, the Cattleya guttata 'Nr. 1', is still alive and blooming every year.

Thank you.
Alek Zaslawski