John Dominy (1816 – 12 February 1891) was a British

horticulturist Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

and plant hybridiser. He is best known as a gardener at the

Veitch Nurseries The Veitch Nurseries were the largest group of family-run plant nurseries in Europe during the 19th century. Started by John Veitch sometime before 1808, the original nursery grew substantially over several decades and was eventually split into t ...

, where he worked most of his life, first at James and James Veitch in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

(1834–1841) and later at the group's

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

-based business ( 1846–1880).John Dominy
. Darwin Correspondence Project. In 1856 Dominy flowered the first known manmade

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

hybrid, ''Calanthe'' Dominyi ('' Calanthe masuca'' × ''

Calanthe triplicata ''Calanthe triplicata'' commonly known as the common Christmas orchid is a plant in the orchid family and is native to Oceania, Asia, and the islands of eastern Africa. It is a terrestrial orchid that grows in clumps with crowded pseudobulbs, da ...

''). He is also noted for hybridising ''

Nepenthes ''Nepenthes'' () is a genus of carnivorous plants, also known as tropical pitcher plants, or monkey cups, in the monotypic family Nepenthaceae. The genus includes about 170 species, and numerous natural and many cultivated hybrids. They are mos ...

'' and

fuchsia ''Fuchsia'' () is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. The first to be scientifically described, '' Fuchsia triphylla'', was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republi ...

s. During his time at the Veitch Nurseries, Dominy mentored

John Seden John Seden (1840–1921) was a hybrid (biology), hybridist and horticulturist best known for the hybrids he created while in the employment of Veitch Nurseries. He was trained in hybridizing by John Dominy in 1861. In 1873 he began hybridizing tube ...

, who would go on to become a distinguished hybridist in his own right.The Three Johns.
Exeter City Council.

Life

Dominy was born in

Gittisham Gittisham is a village and civil parish in Devon near Honiton. The village is from Ottery St Mary and it has a church called St Michael. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Awliscombe, Honiton, Sidmouth, Ottery ...

, near

Honiton Honiton ( or ) is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 11,822 (based on mid-year estimates for the two Honiton Ward ...

in South Devon in 1816. He served his apprenticeship as a gardener for a private household before, in 1834, he joined the nursery of Lucombe, Pince & Co. in Exeter. He stayed there a few months before joining the nearby

. He remained with Veitch initially until 1841 before being appointed head gardener to J. P. Magor of

Redruth Redruth ( , kw, Resrudh) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also inc ...

in Cornwall. After spending nearly five years at Redruth, Dominy returned to the Veitch Nurseries, working both at Exeter and the firm's new branch in Chelsea, before poor health forced his retirement in 1880.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dominy, John 1816 births 1891 deaths English horticulturists Veitch Nurseries People from East Devon District