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

horticulturist Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

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 ...

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

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

(1834–1841) and later at the group's Chelsea-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. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

hybrid, ''Calanthe'' Dominyi (''

Calanthe masuca ''Calanthe'', commonly known as Christmas orchids, is a genus of about 220 species of orchids in the Family (biology), family Orchidaceae. They are evergreen or deciduous Terrestrial plant, terrestrial plants with thick roots, small oval pseudobu ...

'' × ''

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

''). 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 m ...

'' and

fuchsia ''Fuchsia'' ( ) is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. Almost 110 species of ''Fuchsia'' are recognized; the vast majority are native to South America, but a few occur north through Central America to Mex ...

s. During his time at the Veitch Nurseries, Dominy mentored John Seden, 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 East Devon, Devon, England, 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, Ho ...

, near

Honiton Honiton () is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, Devon, River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 12,154 (based on 2021 census). History The ...

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 ( , ) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. According to the 2011 census, the population of Redruth was 14,018 In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, ...

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