Terrestrial Orchids 2016

[Tony Willis]

I grow my dactylorhiza outside in a shady sand plunge. They are potted in John Innes and extra grit. I would not use cat litter it is too free draining.They need lots of water when growing.

As to ophrys and orchis I use the same mixture but have them in a frost free sand plunge in the greenhouse.

I have only used cat litter for cyps and I have proved useless at growing them so cannot give any advice.

[Neil]

I gwow my Dacts in 2 parts peat, 1 part coarse perlite, in an outside sand plunge, which is kept wet all year round,  in light shade.  Except for D. fuschii which is 1 part John Innes, 1 part coarse perlite.  Dact sambuncina I gorw in 6 parts perlite, 2 parts coarse sand, 1 part composted bark and Dact romano which is 5 parts perlite 2 parts coarse sand and 2 parts composted bark, both these are grown under glass frost free. 

[Yann]

For almost one month i can admire Ophrys tenthredinifera.

[Darren]

These tiny plants  have a BIG cute factor!

Which is more than can be said for the donor!

Delighted the Corybas incurvus is flowering for you Wim. I struggle to flower this one, unlike diemenicus which flowers easily. The parent pot of incurvus looks to have a single flower bud amongst twenty plants, and a flower is so rare that I suspect it might be a stray diemenicus!

[hud357]

Thanks for the replies.

The reason for the cat litter is that I have managed to kill a fair number of terrestrials over the years and now, in litter, I have finally seen some good results. So much so that all my house orchids are now in LECA.

It probably just works well for me because with LECA (and cat litter) it is very difficult to over water and the stuff doesn't degrade.

I might re-think the two I mentioned earlier. Are there any 'easy' alternatives?

[Yann]

Leca has changed the grain size, to reduce their assortment, it's up to 6-8mm now.
I know the guy who resell the products in my country and asked him if they still have stock of 2-4 and 4-6mm, the answer is not at all. That's a shame.

[Steve Garvie]

I am still on the steepest section of the learning curve incline when it comes to orchids but I am evolving a system that seems to work for me.

Most Mediterranean Ophrys are easier to grow than O. apifera under (frost-free) glass. I use an inorganic mineral mix containing cat litter (Seramis substitute), perlite, grit, pumice and coarse gritty sand. The exact proportions vary with the quality of the ingredients (mainly the sand) but the mix should be very porous and free-draining. Pumice, cat litter, perlite and coarse sand will all hold moisture -especially in a sand-bed plunged clay pot. It is rot that kills the majority of terrestrial orchids. I no longer add any organic material or use loam with these plants. I do fertilise regularly with proprietary orchid fertiliser (a type that DOESN'T use urea or ammonium salts as the nitrogen source). I add powdered dolomitic lime to my mix and add a trace element mix at the first autumn watering.

Most of my ophrys have winter-green rosettes by late October. I water around the side rim of the pots keeping the leaves as dry as possible. I use no shading in the autumn/winter but find that some shading from early March keeps the rosettes in growth for longer. I continue to keep the substrate damp as long as the rosettes are a healthy green colour. Once the leaves start to show signs of yellowing I withhold water. At this stage it is very tempting to give water but this will simply encourage rot. Most ophrys are lost when the collar of the rosette rots in early Winter (compost too claggy/wet or organics in compost) or in late Spring when the previous year's tuber starts to rot (compost too moist) as the plant becomes dormant.

With a very porous mineral mix, regular dilute feeds, a careful watering regime and protection from extremes of heat and cold whilst in growth I find that Ophrys will produce progressively larger tubers and can then produce more than one replacement tuber after a good growing season.

I have a few Ophrys in flower now:

Ophrys leochroma


Ophrys spuneri


Ophrys lutea


 

[WimB]

Which is more than can be said for the donor!

Delighted the Corybas incurvus is flowering for you Wim. I struggle to flower this one, unlike diemenicus which flowers easily. The parent pot of incurvus looks to have a single flower bud amongst twenty plants, and a flower is so rare that I suspect it might be a stray diemenicus!

Darren, it seems to like it here    The other 3 ones are just leaves, diemenicus were all in bud and is starting to flower at the moment, see pics below!

[Gabriela]

For almost one month i can admire Ophrys tenthredinifera.

A masterpiece Yann!

[Gabriela]

I am still on the steepest section of the learning curve incline when it comes to orchids but I am evolving a system that seems to work for me.

I have a few Ophrys in flower now:
 

More masterpieces!
You should all put together an orchids calendar and sell it in the benefit of SRGC! I would buy a few of them...

[Maggi Young]

Time,  I think, for a little reminder that the IRG for December 2015 included a calendar  for 2016 you can print out - with fabulous photos from  Steve Garvie and Jamus Stonor......

http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2015Dec231450895981IRG_72_plus_Index.pdf

   

[Maren]

Steve, your Ophrys are exquisite and so is your photography.

[Gabriela]

Time,  I think, for a little reminder that the IRG for December 2015 included a calendar  for 2016 you can print out - with fabulous photos from  Steve Garvie and Jamus Stonor......

Thanks Maggi! Very well done! Downloaded but it will have to wait a bit for a new printer cartridge...I also appreciate the index, very useful.

[hud357]

I am still on the steepest section of the learning curve incline when it comes to orchids but I am evolving a system that seems to work for me.

Most Mediterranean Ophrys [...] With a very porous mineral mix, regular dilute feeds, a careful watering regime and protection from extremes of heat and cold whilst in growth I find that Ophrys will produce progressively larger tubers and can then produce more than one replacement tuber after a good growing season.

That sounds a bit more encouraging. I think that the mistake I have always made is the organics. Trying to replicate the kind of stuff they might be found in naturally.

[Yann]

The quiet common Ophrys speculum