winter greens autumn/winter 2014

[Maren]

Goodness, Steve, your photography is breathtaking - and the plants aren't bad either.

[mark smyth]

My first Ophrys are now in flower:
I bought this as a lab-raised seedling of O. incubacea from a German supplier. It isn't O.incubacea but I'm not sure what it is

wow fabulous!

I thought I was going to get away without any deaths this year. First one this morning  and the one the cat crapped on is very sick

[Yann]

Steve do you light your orchids? I'm surprised they already bloomed.

[Steve Garvie]

No Yann.
They are in a slightly elevated south-facing greenhouse which they share with some South African bulbs. The pots are plunged in sand which contains heating cables which are set to come on when the temperature drops below 3C.

None of my Orchis or Barlia have opened their flowers yet and I still have more Ophrys which should flower in early to mid -March or later.

[mark smyth]

Orchis lactea is finished flowering for me. Others have spikes.

Like Steve mine are in a heated sand plunge. Mine get direct sun, when it shines, from mid February

[Neil]

I have had only one flowering so far this year, Himantaglossum roberticium, spikes are now starting to show on a lot of them. But my greenhouse is a lean to which is North facing and only sees the sun from Feb to Nov.  The lowest temperature in there this winter was 4C, when it went to -3C outside.  So no heating bills this year


 Steve the Ophrys bombiflora seeds you sent me last year are germinating well, thank you.

[SteveC2]

Ophrys fusca, speculum, tenthredinifera and sphegodes flowering here for a couple of weeks now in a totally non insulated and therefore bright full sun greenhouse.  My plants got an early start due to cool August and as per last year, and despite the horror headlines  and forecasts in the press, we have not had much of a winter.  More frosts, but no sub zero days.
The Barlia which opened in November is finally going over.  Three months in flower is not bad!