Terrestrial orchids 2020

[Anders]

The winter has been exceptionally warm in Denmark this year and  Calanthe sieboldii started growing in the greenhouse already in January. I brought it inside in an unheated room when the flowerspikes appeared.

[Jan Jeddeloh]

Thats a gorgeous clear yellow.  Can you also grow calanthe outside?  I'm not sure how cold you get. 

I've got another question for you regarding growing from seed.  I pulled some 5 mm dact out of their jar and potted them up.  I'd had them chilling in the fridge for a month or two.  Some of the baby plants I put under lights inside and some I put out in my unheated greenhouse (frost free).  They all rotted.  Do you think these plants were just too small or should I have waiting until they put on new growth?  The jars are pretty crowded and it will be difficult to separate them out if I subculture them.

Are you going to the big rock garden conference in May 2021?  If so maybe I'll see you there.  I've already registered for the conference and the seven day pre-tour.
Jan

[Anders]

Hi Jan. Taught by experience (and many dead Calanthes), I now grow all but tricarinata in the greenhouse plunged under the staging where they are protected against cold, wet winters and direct sun. C. tricarinata tolerates the Danish climate well, probably because it comes from higher elevation than most, up to 3500 meters according to Flora of of China. I grow tricarinata in a cold frame to avoid winter wet. C hancockii and C. davidii are also from high elevation (up to 3600m and 3300 m, respectively), but they didn’t last long in the garden - the problem might have been the inexperienced gardener rather than the plants. They should be worth trying again some time. C. alpina may also be fully hardy as it is found up to 3500 m, but I have never managed to get my hands on it.

I am surprised that your Dactylorhiza seedlings rotted. In my experience, even very small Dactylorhiza seedlings can be deflasked without problems as long as the compost doesn’t dry out. I use an almost inorganic mix of 1 part loam and 4 parts sand (0-4 mm). Don’t use spagnum peat and apply only very dilute liquid fertiliser for instance 1:10 of the normal strength. They need at least 6 weeks chilling.

I won’t be going to the rock garden conference. I am often away at conferences or doing field work , so I try to spend as much time as possible with my kids.

Anders

[Steve Garvie]

Ophrys kotschyi -Two different plants.





Ophrys tenthredinifera



Ophrys mammosa



Ophrys bombylifera

[Jan Jeddeloh]

Anders, I think I now know why the few dacts I deflasked did so poorly.  I planted them in a peat based soil without lots of grit.  They also may not have had a full six weeks of chilling.  I'm going to try again about mid March with a very gritty soil  and see if I'm more successful.

I was just given a calanthe this weekend. I'll be trying it outside since it has been successfully grown outside in Seattle, about 300 kilometers north of us.  In theory we're a bit colder but it's worth a try.  I'll be doing a little more research on what it likes before I plant it out.

Too bad you can't come to the conference next year but I understand.  I couldn't go to the last one because my kids were still in high school.  Now they're on their own and I'm fancy free.  I just hope the whole corona virus thing doesn't screw up the conference.

Jan

[Steve Garvie]

Ophrys speculum






Ophrys regis-ferdinandii






Ophrys ferrum-equinum

[Neil]

Lovely photos Steve do like the colouring of the O. speculum on the left in the first photo.

[Steve Garvie]

Anacamptis papilionacea ssp. heroica


Anacamptis papilionacea


Orchis provincialis


Orchis quadripunctata


Orchis anatolica

[Anders]

Great plants Steve, I especially like provencialis.  Small detail,  pyramidalis should be papilionaceae.

[Steve Garvie]

Thanks Anders.
One dram too many tonight!

[zephirine]

Found this morning in my new garden : in  a scarce "lawn", dry, well drained soil, at the very foot of an old lime tree.
About 12 cm high.
Love its black "eyes" and furry dark cloak...
I had never seen it here (zone 7, at the foot of the Alps mountains): we usually have Ophrys apifera here, but this one is different, smaller and much earlier!
My guess would be Ophrys sphegodes, but I'm not familiar enough with terrestrial orchids to be sure.. any identification would be welcome! Thanks in advance!

[Tristan_He]

Anacamptis papilionacea x morio

[Steve Garvie]

Ophrys calocaerina



Ophrys picta



Ophrys sp. Oestrifera group



Orchis anatolica -the lip colour of pollinated flowers darkens.



Calanthe sp. -not one to set the heather alight!

[Diane Whitehead]

Steve,

My granddaughters and I are enamoured of your bee orchids. Is there a North American source?

[Steve Garvie]

Many thanks Diane.

Unfortunately I am not aware of a Canadian/US source of Bee Orchids. The plants I grow are raised from seed in European commercial labs or by skilled contacts using in-vitro techniques at home. You would need to get Cites paperwork to import them.