Terrestrial orchids 2011 to 2014

[Corrado & Rina]

Jack and the Beanstalk!
This Himantoglossum caprinum has been in flower since early July and is still going strong though the flower spike is now almost a metre long and a wee tad shoogly.
Fearing that it was flowering itself to death and lacking all self control I tipped it out of its pot only to find a new healthy tuber -though not as big as last year (the effort of flowering really takes it out of these plants and it will be 2 years before this plant flowers again).

This is amazing! Where do you keep it / where are you? In what type of compost?

[Maggi Young]

On the weekend we had our meeting at Olinda in the Dandenongs and as Will and I arrived one of the other members was examining a large clump of "Potato Orchids" or "Cinnamon Bells", Gastrodia sesamoides, at the base of a tree in the "car park". I hadn't seen this for years - impossible in cultivation as far as I know as it's saprophytic
cheers
fermi

I know little about these plants and was interested to learn more  - I may not be alone in this- so here are a couple of links to start off with: http://www.oznativeplants.com/plantdetail/Potato-Orchid/Gastrodia/sesamoides/zz.html
and it seems these charmers are found in New Zealand, too....
http://www.nativeorchids.co.nz/Gastrodia-guide-100106.pdf

http://www.nativeorchids.co.nz/Species/Gastrodia_sesamoides.html

[Tony Willis]

Steve

terrific to see it still in flower and even better that it has made a new tuber. Lovely photograph as usual.

[Steve Garvie]

This is amazing! Where do you keep it / where are you? In what type of compost?

Thanks!
I grow it under unheated glass in a large clay pot. The compost is a very open mix of pumice/perlite/coarse silica sand with a small amount of added loam and some dolomitic lime.
The new rosette starts to grow in mid October but stops during the worst of the winter cold before continuing to grow in the Spring. It is important to keep the plant cool and in growth for as long as possible in Spring/early Summer to ensure new tuber formation, even then the effort of flowering usually results in a new non-flowering tuber which needs a year to recover.

I placed the pot in my garden to take the photographs. My garden is in West Fife -about 15 miles east of Stirling.

[mark smyth]

so many times I've been tempted to buy that orchid from ebay or other sellers. Next year for sure

[Corrado & Rina]

Thanks!
I grow it under unheated glass in a large clay pot. The compost is a very open mix of pumice/perlite/coarse silica sand with a small amount of added loam and some dolomitic lime.
The new rosette starts to grow in mid October but stops during the worst of the winter cold before continuing to grow in the Spring. It is important to keep the plant cool and in growth for as long as possible in Spring/early Summer to ensure new tuber formation, even then the effort of flowering usually results in a new non-flowering tuber which needs a year to recover.

I placed the pot in my garden to take the photographs. My garden is in West Fife -about 15 miles east of Stirling.

Thanks a lot, it sounds like you know them inside out .... fantastic job. I am quite envious!

[Maggi Young]

There is now a Terrestrial orchids 2015 thread 

http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=12938.0