Orchis, Ophrys and others 2013

[SteveC2]

Interesting Tony,
I'd be too scared of damaging something to do that.  My wife is always telling me off for "Time Teaming" in my pots, looking for new shoots, let alone tipping them out.  I wasn't sure just how quickly the original tuber shrunk as sometimes even when the plant goes dormant the following year it's not always obvious which is the old and which is the new without examining to see where the old shoot comes from.
As for the display I have watched your posts with envy over the years and bet you could produce a humdinger if you put your mind to it!

[K Andrzejewski]

Excuse me, Kristof, but there are those of us who work very hard to study the needs of our plants to keep them growing as healthy as possible.

Maggi, in many cases that is only beautiful theory - so many growers are thinking only about pure "exploatation", that sometimes I think - farmer have more understanding for his crop fields and he know, that every few years he need to take break to avoid soil sterilisation.
We can grow hardy orchids in the garden, in greenhouse plunged in super-drainage or German style in Seramis/Neudohum mix - and everybody (who is of course successful), know exactly "how it is with Orchids"...
Try to compare:
- hydroponic tomatoes for Tesco
- tomatoes from alottments in grandma style
- natural tomatoes as a perennials from South America
We still talk about the same plants - I'm right?
When after few seasons I got the feeling "now I know something", always something going on and I have back more questions than answers - and that's the most amazing thing about this plants...
Regards -
Kristof

[Tony Willis]

First Cephalanthera longifolia in flower. i had hoped it would start to clump up but no sign this year.

[Anthony Darby]

Lovely plant.

[Corrado & Rina]

What a beautiful plant Tony!!!! Where did you get them from?

PS: Do Cephalantera really clump like other hardy terrestrial orchids? I was under the impression that they did not ....

[Tony Willis]

What a beautiful plant Tony!!!! Where did you get them from?

PS: Do Cephalantera really clump like other hardy terrestrial orchids? I was under the impression that they did not ....

I inherited most of my collection of orchids many years ago from a friend who has died and since then have propagated various ones and swapped them ( only the tuberous ones) for others.

As to cephalanthera clumping on the whole yes they are single plants and were out in hundreds on Mt Olympus a couple of weeks ago  but when I was at Grazelema in Spain in 2011 this clump was in the woods below the village and is what I am hoping for. My second plant is now two stems.

[mark smyth]

Can orchids be watered with a weak liquid fertilser?

[K Andrzejewski]

…frankly those are the unhealthiest looking tubers I have ever seen.  Mine do not like that when I repot them just before they start growth and I would be unhappy if any that I purchased arrived looking so desiccated.  At the end of dormancy most of my ophrys, orchis are still completely unwrinkled, with a healthy creamy white colour.

To my eyes  those tubers looks so shrunken as to have been kept too dry for too long.  If that appears otherwise to you then you must accept that there are great differences in how different people perceive things- and this does not necessarily mean they are wrong.

The seller informed me about tubers condition and after pictures arrived, I ordered two of them. My partner of course, she is thinking since years, that I need medical help – but in my opinion, my brain is working not too bad so I think, it was a right decision. We can’t ask the tubers what they think about colours and being happy, but on is for sure – because they started to grow without problems, so they don’t suffer at all. If someone have a different point of view – my proposition is: SSSI sides or natural reserves (for example with good number of Gymnadenia or Anacamptis) usually have few sectors with cattles, sheeps or other grazing animals. They are in separate places until orchids start to produce seeds. Between the sectors you can find the special gates where the livestock is waiting to cross the gate – “animal traffic zone” with no grass and other plants, surface is completely furrowed by hooves. Just touch the ground, just check what is this, take home a sample of a Marlboro size and use your imagination. You can also compare this with your mix in pots from greenhouse – and after that, please ask yourself if you really understand the nature of our Orchids…

In natural conditions, when the first autumn rains start to make the soil wet and clay/loam is absorbing water, the tubers are very quickly back in the “right conditions with healthy creamy white colour”. The orchids are “sending” signal to the mycorrhizal fungi – “let start the job”, and the cycle start again after the summer dormancy period.
Attachment: formerly Anacamptis pyramidalis side near Sevenoaks (Kent).
Regards -
Kristof

P.S.

Can orchids be watered with a weak liquid fertilser?

- no problem at all.

[Maggi Young]

Of course, there are lessons to learn from the natural conditions and climate where any plant grows - the difficulty arises when we want to grow them "in captivity"  - under those conditions, no matter what we may know, suspect or attempt, there is very little chance that we will be able to properly replicate those found in nature by the plant - in which case we must experiment to see how we can best adapt methods to grow the plants in our environs, to be as healthy as we can manage them.
There is little in life that is truly simple, I find, and I am certain that growing plants outside their natural situation is certainly one of the most tricky jobs! There is seldom only one way to achieve any end - for the most part there are many routes to the same destination and we must all find our own- and respect the paths taken by others struggling on the same pilgrimage!

[Corrado & Rina]

Tony, what other Cephalanthera do you grow?

PS: Whenever you feel like getting rid of some tubers of Cephalanthera, we can offer a welcoming home ....

[mark smyth]

edit - oops the plants are laxiflora

answers on a post card to Mr Mark Smyth 43 ....

I have A. laxiflora from two different sources. I must start writing on the labels where they came from.

One is a small plant with few well spaced flowers and no bracts
The other is going to be a tall, I think, plant with large bracts hiding the flowers

This is the tall one. If it helps I can go out and measure it. Yet again my camera doesn't like the colour of the flowers. If it helps and I'm sure it will I can take photos of the plants side by side

[mark smyth]

The plants side by side. They are 16cm high

[mark smyth]

Do you think a Vapona strip or yellow sticky fly trap will control the aphids? I think the problem is caused by growing Tulips in the green house

[Corrado & Rina]

Hi Mark ....

I may be wrong, but I think there is huge natural variability. It would be very useful to have seed collectors codes / numbers, but unfortunately they are often not there.

Best,

[Tony Willis]

Tony, what other Cephalanthera do you grow?

PS: Whenever you feel like getting rid of some tubers of Cephalanthera, we can offer a welcoming home ....

None I am afraid and not much chance of having a spare either,I have had my three longifolia for years and still single shoots.

Mark I never feed mine but do put them in fresh compost each year.I also spray them against aphids.