Terrestrial Orchids

[Gordon]

I have some catching up to do with you all.... have been busy clearing driveways for the neighbours.  Mark- I visited Fraser Thimble Farm when I lived in Vancouver. The only reason I'm not still in the poorhouse was because I was a student at the time, and had no place to build the woodland garden of my dreams. They have such an incredible assortment of plants for the conoisseur. I would have loved to walk out of there with at least a dozen Cyps, Dactylorhizas, Calanthes, and a few pots full of Pleiones as well. Was also drooling over the Dicksonia antarctica ferns. They used to carry a hybrid Pleione 'Shantung' that was an amazing peachy golden tone. I can still dream of the day I have a bulb pan full of them. They also regularly offer discounted mature Trilliums for sale- Trillium 'noid', bags of them. Maybe I'll take them up on it one of these years and see if we can come up with who they all are!
Cohan, we have been here since October 2009, and this is the first time we've had extended cold below -10 C. The average winter high is at this time of year is -1 C, and we haven't had anything warmer than -13 for the past week. It will be interesting to see if Acanthus mollis, and Euphorbia 'Tasmanian Tiger' manage to pull through. It wouldn't be all that hard on things if only the snow would stick around.

Trond- Nice photos! I've always liked the genus Orchis, and would love to try growing a few. The other European genus that has caught my attention is Ophrys. I haven't seen many in my travels, but remember reading articles on their pollination biology. One local plant that sadly is not on our acreage is Arethusa bulbosa. This little gem, and a few other of our local plants can be found on Brier Island,  a great spot for plant and bird lovers. Here is a link to a photo page in the Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society showing Arethusa and several other gems:

http://www.nswildflora.ca/specPics/jSwift/Brier1/Brier1.html

[cohan]

It looks like the European Coeloglossum is a bit showier- some dark or light but less green, and more compact inflorescences.
Yes, we do have Calypso and Amerorchis - though I haven't seen it since I've been back, the patch where it used to grow was logged, and it's one of those things you'd be unlikely to see out of flower.. also Corallorhiza maculata

[Lis Allison]

Thanks for the picture and mention of Coeloglossom viride! For whatever reason, I have not been aware of this plant.... but when I checked my copy of "The Orchids of the Ottawa District", there it was, and listed for exactly my area. In fact, one of the main collections of this plant is listed as from only about 10 km away. I will be looking hard for this one this summer! It apparently likes 'semi-mature to mature deciduous woods.... usually rocky....' which is just what I have.

How exciting!

BTW, it has been down to -28C the last couple of nights, but snow cover is good this year.

[cohan]

Definitely no rocks around here for Coeloglossum (I'll need to look more closely this year to see if it's there, but I suspect so)- for surface rocks you have to get into the foothills!

[Hoy]

You are welcome, Lis!
Coeloglossum viride is rather common both at the coast and in the lower alpine region here although I have only seen the alpine forms. It is not always rocky where it grows as it can be rather boggy too but not very acidic.

All these are growing on rocky outcroppings but with plenty of alkaline water seeping in the cracks. The first picture shows the companion plants.

[Lis Allison]

Thanks! Good pictures like that really help develop one's 'search image'. Once you have a good search image in your head, it is amazing how much more likely you are to spot them in the field.

Wish it were spring....

[cohan]

I don't know about Ontario, Lis, but in the west it seems our Coeloglossum looks little like Trond's.
Here is a plant that I think may be it, I'm going to have to look more closely this year, but note the long bracts which I think are characteristic of the species.. I need to reqad through the keys some more to see if there is any other important character I'm missing...In any case, images I've seen online of North American examples look more like my plant and not like Trond's at all..
My feeling is that the more or less extended bracts may be a matter of the maturity of the inflorescence, but I could well be wrong... I will need to mark some plants this year and keep closer track! Whatever these are, there are tons of them here

[Hoy]

Cohan, the last plant you show (marked Platanthera) looks like a Coeloglossum. The others do look like Platanthera! Genetically Coeloglossum is close to Dactylorhiza and may be sunk into it.

[cohan]

Thanks for the input, Trond, I will need to look at them more closely this year- although I regularly photograph them, being not very showy and super common they don't attract much close attention- I've started to accumulate photos that focus on things like bracts and leaf characters.
All those (bog orchids) here are very similar- more or less lanceolate leaves, green to greenish white flowers- we have no species with ovate leaves or white flowers.. All the photos were labelled Platanthera originally, since until this discussion I had not even noticed that Coeloglossum was even in the running...lol
Checking through my books now, I see why I was not thinking of Coeloglossum: two of my books list it as a synonym for Habenaria, even Platanthera, and the only one that uses that as the main name (also gives Habenaria as synonym) shows a very leafy plant that doesn't look like those around here...

I think the other Platanthera in my photos above could be P hyperborea..

[Tony Willis]

interesting rather than exciting a North American native

Platanthera stricta

[cohan]

Similar to the natives here, Tony, though, I think, a more expansive inflorescence than some.

[Jan Jeddeloh]

Hey, orchid junkies,
Did you know you can germinate Bletilla seed on peat pellets?  I started some on agar but had to move them out of test tubes once contamination set in and found the seedlings seemed to take transplanting well.  After reading that Bletilla is one of the few orchid seeds with an endosperm I decided to give the old peat pellet method a whirl.  It's what I do for fern starting.  I take peat pellets, put them in a heat proof clear plastic container (like a plastic shoe box of The Container Store's accessory box), pour boiling water in and slap the lid on.  This more or less sterilizes it and slows down the growth of moss and other undesirable crude.  Once I've sowed my seed under the lights it goes.  I had bletilla germination, little bitty green protocorms, in under a month.  It'll be interesting to see how they do. 

Jan

[Cockcroft]

I have only four different kinds of pleiones but this one, 'Tongariro', is a rapid multiplier and a precocious bloomer.  I usually have plenty of bulbils to spare and would be happy to trade them.

[AmyO]

I have only four different kinds of pleiones but this one, 'Tongariro', is a rapid multiplier and a precocious bloomer.  I usually have plenty of bulbils to spare and would be happy to trade them.

claire I have tried Pleione a couple time and always manage to kill them!  I would love to trade with you for one and any growing tips you might have to pass along.
I've got loads of Cyclamen hed., named Primula auricula, Primula sieboldii and other things.

[Cockcroft]

My biggest tip for growing pleiones (from my experience killing a few!) is that they seem to like cool.  I grow them on the north side of my house in pots on a sand bed.  In the winter they are covered to keep excessive rain off but are outside in the frame, where they have survived many cold spells.  They like to be cool and dry in the winter -- don't store them in the house unless you have some very cold rooms.  I repot every year with fresh mix and I top them with dried spaghum to keep the soil damp because I use a very coarse mix.