Australian native terrestrial orchids

[Darren]

some more Thelymitra

Yellow form of T x macmillanii.  (Being use as support by Tropaeolum sessilifolium which has decided to be a climber this year..)

T. aff holmesii x rubra

Both the above grow to about 15 - 20cm high, flowers about 25mm diameter.

The last one is T crinita x nuda, which as well as being a lovely sky blue, is much bigger (you can see the red flowers of the previous plant at the bottom of this picture) it exceeds 40cm and the flowers are also twice as big at 5cm across.

[Maggi Young]

Great plants, Darren.....obviously doing really well for you.

[Peter Maguire]

I wish mine would flower as well as that - great plants

[Darren]

Thank you both

Funny how some genera decide they like your conditions. Before we moved I grew Pterostylis so well that I was giving them away by the dozen.. Now I can only just keep them going but Thelymitra do really well instead. The pure species are nothing like as vigorous as these hybrids though.

[Maren]

How do you grow your Thelymitra, Darren? mine do well one year and disappear the next.

[Darren]

Hi Maren,

Sorry to hear you struggle with these.

My potting mix is: about 40% seramis or moler clay cat litter, 40% perlite, 20% 'Toresa' treated wood fibre.

Watering is identical to my bulbs - a big watering in september, followed by another in october. Kept just frost free in winter. Leaves usually appear in October but growth slows down a lot in cold weather and they get enough water to keep them moist until about late feb when things speed up again and watering is frequent until early May. I generally feed with tomorite at 1/4 strength every few weeks.

Apparently the critical time is around now (flowering time) - the tubers can rot if kept too wet when the weather warms up so I aim to keep just moist again until the last flower fades then I stop watering - usually before the end of May. Some recommend removing them from under glass once danger of frost is gone but the flowers only open in warm temperatures so in a typical NW England spring there would not be many days warm enough except under glass!

Totally dry summer in their pots. I only repot every other year just before watering again in september. 

(T. cyanea only has a short dormancy as if flowers late and often starts to grow again in august so it is only dry from early june to late july.)

Hope this helps.

What is your regime Peter? Always interested to compare notes.

[Neil]

Darren where do you get your Toresa from?

[Darren]

Neil - I buy mine from Heinrich Beyrle at myorchids.de

It seems extravagant with postage etc, but a small pack is enough to last me a couple of years.

[Neil]

Damn was hoping you found a cheaper source. 

[Maggi Young]

 Have I missed something-  What is Toresa, please ?

[Neil]

Basically its a peat substitute made from nitrogen-stabilized wood fiber.

http://replay.web.archive.org/20050206010832/http://www.toresa.de/uk/navigation/index_e.html

their website does appear to be there any more but does give some info, have used the web archive to find it

this place does produce it http://www.kranzinger-erde.at/

[Darren]

Sorry Maggi,

It is a treated wood fibre product, resembling rock wool in appearance but brown and less prickly! Supposed to provide a good food source for mycorrhizal fungi whilst still allowing perfect drainage without compaction. Seems to be only available in continental europe - specifically Germany.

Probably fine bark or sterilised leafmould would do just as well, but my motto is if it ain't broke don't fix it so I'm sticking with what I know works for me.


Given that european forumists are visiting the UK and loading up with JI composts for the return journey maybe some sort of exchange could be arranged..

[Darren]

Neil beat me to it there!

[Maggi Young]

Thanks, Neil and Darren... I'd never heard of it and supposed that others might also like to know. 

[Neil]

It is a similar product to NeudoHum talked about in this thread http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=5691.msg158083#msg158083