Ponerorchis graminifolia

[Eric Locke]

Thanks Maggi, you are as wonderfull as ever.

Eric

You are too kind, Eric! 
Actually, I though it sounded edible and so just had to check it out!! 

 Maggi , I bet your still thinking of Helen"s (maggiepie)  cherry cake.

Eric

[Paul T]

Beautiful, Eric.

[Sam]

[Maren]

Nice Ponerorchis, Sam, how do you overwinter them? do you take them out of the water?

[fredg]

Ponerorchis graminifolia is a small, some would say miniature, variable terrestrial species. The species itself is rather a dull plant, so the plants we commonly see are cultivars, which as a group are commonly  called "Uchouran".
They are not regarded as hardy with a recommended winter minimum of 5C during dormancy, however, my tubers did fine on the floor in an unheated greenhouse, under the bench, in zone 8b.
They are best kept out of direct sunlight, watering as the medium dries.

[Maggi Young]

See the latest Wisley Log from Paul Cumbleton for more Ponerorchis.... and other gems....http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/index.php?log=wisley  .... log 13 for 8/07/10

[Jeff Hutchings]

I inadvertantly left a tray of ponerorchis outside for the whole of the 2008/9 winter (minus 8 several times) and they all regrew and flowered.

[mark smyth]

Does anyone in the UK grow Ponerorchis graminifolia? How hardy is it?

[Maggi Young]

See here, Mark........

http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=5671.0


Threads now merged

[SteveC2]

I've got about a dozen different clones which I just forget about all winter, bone dry under the bench, down to -3 or -4.  They are just coming through and will flower in June July, when most of my hardies are finished.  As to their hardiness outside I have my doubts, wet and cold like this winter probably equals mushy corpses!

[mark smyth]

Thanks. An ad by Van Meuen caught my eye. "fully hardy" they say.

[SteveC2]

Given that I've spent the day cutting back dead hebes and ceanothus which have been in the garden for fifteen years but couldn't hack this winter, and have lost dahlias and gladioli which have been in the ground for the past ten years without ever needing lifting, I very much doubt that, but they are quite cheap, so you can always suck it and see.  I'd never have believed that you would have done so well with pleiones outside, until this year that is.

[meanie]

I almost got flowers last year, but they blasted at the last moment. I kept mine in the fridge (as advised) and have just repotted, but if anyone has any tips at all (I hope that Mark does not mind).......

[monocotman]

Mine are just starting to grow now. They've spent the winter bone dry in a pot in the unheated greenhouse,
so they can certainly take several degrees of frost.
They grow pretty well in pleione style bark/perlite/moss compost in a clay pot.
Last year they doubled the number of stems.
This will be their third year in it, so maybe I should repot them,
David

[Darren]

I only grow a couple of clones but I find it useful to water from beneath in a tray as I have had problems with them rotting at the neck if I water from above. I'm sure I've seen this advice elsewhere also. Otherwise culture is the same as above -  if cold and dry in winter they are quite hardy.

That said - when I bought some from Laneside at a show in 2009 they told me that plants had been accidentally left out in the rain and cold all the previous winter, in their pots, and losses were nil.