Dactylorhizas 2012

[mark smyth]

Dare I kick off the 2012 Dactylorhiza season now?

The first two photos are 5 days apart

Photo 3 shows some plants in my orchid bed

Photos 4 and 5 are two plants that seeded in to the centre of a Pulsatilla

[Peter Maguire]

Nice flowers Mark 

[mark smyth]

I can imagine them also.

I'm worried about how far on my Dactylorhizas are. My guess is they would be much safer underground or with tight nosed showing rather than being in growth. All of mine except one or two are no longer in the tight 'nose' stage

[Peter Maguire]

My Dactylorhizas in pots were under the bench in the greenhouse with the cypripediums to keep frost-free.
I was horrified to look under there at the weekend and find D coccinnea x foliosa already shooting up, and slightly etiolated at about 3-4cms in the dark conditions.
It's outside now! 

[Maren]

Hi Mark,
I agree with you. Maybe you can cloche them or throw some mulch over them if the weather forecast says frost???

[mark smyth]

I'll keep that in mind Maren.

I'm looking for a supplier of green-winged orchids including pale forms

[sottych]

Hello Marc,
I just saw your site , photos Dactylorhizas are really beautiful , do you sell plants ?

Cordially
Christian , France

[mark smyth]

Sorry Christian I do not.

This is what Christian has seen http://www.marksgardenplants.com/dactylorhizas.htm

[Maren]

Fabulous, Mark, I'm green with envy.

[angie]

My Dactylorhizas in pots were under the bench in the greenhouse with the cypripediums to keep frost-free.
I was horrified to look under there at the weekend and find D coccinnea x foliosa already shooting up, and slightly etiolated at about 3-4cms in the dark conditions.
It's outside now! 

Peter my cypripediums are outside in a cold frame and some have got shoots over an inch already. Not sure if they are really early but a bit worried about frosts.

Mark your pictures of your Dactylorhizas are lovely.

Angie 

[Darren]

My Dactylorhizas in pots were under the bench in the greenhouse with the cypripediums to keep frost-free.
I was horrified to look under there at the weekend and find D coccinnea x foliosa already shooting up, and slightly etiolated at about 3-4cms in the dark conditions.
It's outside now! 

Peter my cypripediums are outside in a cold frame and some have got shoots over an inch already. Not sure if they are really early but a bit worried about frosts.

Mark your pictures of your Dactylorhizas are lovely.

Angie 

Peter will be able to answer better than me Angie. I've one or two shoots visible too. The only one I have which I worry about is fasciolatum which seems unable to withstand even the slightest frost once in growth.

[Peter Maguire]

The only Cypripedium that's showing above the ground with me is a Cyp formosanum which has a a bud tightly formed at ground level. I'm sure that this species would not take any frost so it's staying in the alpine house for now (although with the warm weather, the alpine house door has been open for two days and covered in shading - it's on the south side).
All the other Cyps are still underground, although they're still there - this is the time of year that I repot them (and I know I'm probably in a minority of one here), so I'm busy repotting and counting growing points at present; it's the only systematic gardening record that I keep, being much too disorganised for any more than this. 
I've found that most Cyps increase their numbers of growing points slowly to begin with, up to about 4/5 (and this is where most losses occur), then suddenly they begin to bulk up much more quickly. Mind you the number of growing points/buds does not always equal the number of flowers - my large Cyp formosanum (not the one currently above ground) which is a pot with two clones in it had 58 buds last year - and five flowers. 

Angie, if your Cyps are that far advanced, I'd certainly be protecting them from frost this early in the year.

[mark smyth]

Maren those huge groups are in Cally Gardens

[Maren]

Hello Peter,

you are not the only one who re-pots cypripediums at this time of year. This is when all the shows start and it's good to know what to expect. - I'll put future comments into the Cypripedium topic.

Oh Mark, I thought they were yours. Where are Cally Gardens?

[Tony Willis]

Peter

I also re-pot mine now and as to formosanum it sits in a frame all winter and seems hardy. Its shoots are well above ground now and I have a number of other species/hybrids just coming through