Orchids

Casualties and survivors

I repotted the plants which did not seem to survive the winter, partly to ensure they don't rot and partly to check that they hadn't already perished.

The Anacamptis papilionacea which caused me so much consternation earlier in the year finally did perish. I emptied the pot and it was already rotten mush. The three Ophrys species (bertolonii, speculum & sphegodes) which suddenly died back over the last couple of months were all still alive and in fact the sphegodes pot contained two small tubers. I am pretty sure that one is a new tuber, although I didn't think that this species created additional new tubers. I'll need to do some research.

The other two species which have started to die back (Orchis simia and Ophrys bombyliflora) need a bit longer. I have potted all of them up into the gritty sylvamix compost with rootgrow which has worked well generally.

The only other noteworthy item is that the Orchis militaris have started to flower! Really looking forward to them...

Early flowering orchids in the greenhouse

The Ophrys sphegodes which last year flowered poorly due to aphid damage has flowered fantastically this year and although it is now starting to fade it is stil gorgeous. I hope that doesn't mean I am going to be deprived of it next year, Ophrys are short lived plants. I must harvest as much seed as I can.

I have been busy planting more of the Anacamptis morio seedlings I sowed earlier in the mini meadow. The three year old tuber I bought from Laneside last year has also flowered beautifully and it is great to have flowering size plant to compare - although it is early of course, being under glass.

The Anacamptis laxiflora is also flowering with a huge (50cm plus) flower spike. A bit too tall if anything but the flowers are still lovely.

Planting in the mini meadow

I took advantage yesterday in a brief break in the neverending winter now afflicting out country to plant some orchids in the meadow I created. I planted one of the Dactylorhiza fuchsii I sowed at the seed sowing workshop which started me off in August 2011, and some of the huge number of Anacamptis morio seedlings from those I sowed last autumn (2012). Both are wet meadow plants so planted them near the pond where the fritillaries are already established. I picked the biggest plants of both species and cut slits or holes in the turf and then covered them with a cloche. Hopefully the slugs won't decimate them... I'll aim to plant more as time permits and if they survive some of thr larger D. fuchsii may even flower this year.

More ups and downs

On the positive side most of the Dacts are doing well in spite of the the weather and the Anacamptis morio and the Ophrys sphegodes I grew last year are both forming nice flower buds.

On the downside the other specimens which were looking poor last week have deteriorated further especially the Ophrys bertolonii which now has significant blackening of the leaves. I am really worried about this plant, I hope this is not something which will spread to other plants.

But some are doing well

Although a lot of the Mediterranean species (and one of the Ophrys sphegodes) are starting to look a bit ropey, most of the other wintergreen orchids are looking good. The Oprys apifera and especially the Anacamptis pyramidalis both look fine, although the latter looks like it may starting to form a spike. The flowering size Anacamptis morio is definately forming a spike. The Ophrys sphegodes in the clay pot (now in its second year at flowering size) is looking excellent and and a flower spike is starting to form as well. It's interesting to compare this with the other one I have in a plastic pot. I wonder whether the compost mix (from the grower) or the way I am handling it in the pot, both of which are different, may be the key factors rather than the other environmental factors (light levels, temperature, watering and feeding regime) both of which have been the same. The Orchis militaris are all looking very promising putting on a lot of leaf growth. The Orchis simia has not changed at all really and the tiny leaves which have formed where the main shoot was damaged in transit have remained tiny(<5mm) but at least it hasn't deteriorated. The Anacamptis laxiflora which flowered so well last year is growing excellently, although the seedlings I raised last year seem to have been badly affected by greenfly damage. Certainly they have been a lot more susceptible than the adult plant. Finally the Dacts and Gymnadenia conopsea are doing well although mostly just shoots at the moment.

Some faring less well

The Anacaptis papilionacea still hasn't recovered; as a lot of the people I have contacted have suggested once the damage is done (perhaps by overheating earlier in its growing cycle, or over feeding, or over or underwatering...or lots of other reasons!) it may be irreversible (hopefully only within the same growing season).

This is a bit depressing since some of my other Mediterranean species are showing signs of stress as well. The Ophrys speculum is looking quite chlorotic but quite a different pattern (yellowing with green veins) which I think suggests iron deficiency generally associated with too high a pH, but given this is a calciphile I think this is unlikely. The O. bombyliflora is also starting to look chlorotic but also has some leaf damage. One of the O. sphegodes is showing similar signs of yellowing. But it is worth comparing with the older specimen growing in my own compost mix and in a clay pot. Perhaps next year this will solve the issue... In the mean time all I can do is monitor them. I must invest in a decent pH probe to measure the soil acidity while the plant is growing.

Confirmation and support

The grower of the mystery orchid has confirmed my suspicion that it was indeed an Anacamptis longicornu. It is now completely in flower and as soon as possible I'll try and study it really closely to learn as much as I can. The first thing I have noticed is the shape of the forming buds on all the Anacamptis species I have (except the A. papilionacea of course) and how similar they are, and the very distinctive shape of the spurs is very clear. At some point I will also try to both freeze some pollinia for hybridising and pollinate a couple of ovaries.

The grower concerned seemed surprised at the mixup and suggested that the labels may have been swapped at the event I purchased them at, which I can well believe since it was a bit of a scrum! I reassured him that I was very happy with the plant, which is not only lovely but of excellent quality.

Buoyed by the response from the grower above I returned to Svante Malmgren's website; most of the key methods of terrestrial orchid seed sowing were developed by him and he is regarded as a leading expert in the field. So it was with some trepidation that I emailed him asking for some advice. I was amazed at the speed and the generosity of his response and I am now really excited about the chance to crack the nut of asymbiotic seed sowing.

Sold a pup?

Last November I bought an Ophrys ariadne at a plant show. It grew well over winter and about two weeks ago I started to get very excited as the buds started to form. Their colour was not really as I expected but not having grown this species I did not know what to expect. However as the flower spike emerged it became clear that this was not an Ophrys at all! I think it may be Anacamptis longicornu, but I'm open to suggestions...

Well it is lovely...but this is what I was expecting:

 

Asymbiotic seed sowing thoughts

So far my experience with asymbiotic seed sowing has been appallingly poor. Out of the several dozen or so flasks I have sowed I have only had success with three flasks, all Anacamptis laxiflora. While a few have obviously succumbed to bacterial and fungal infection and a few froze in the fridge (I have a better understanding of the really cold spots in my fridge now!) the main problem has simply been zero germination. I suspect that the error lies in the time taken when they are being sterilised, or when they are being sown (which tends to incorporate some liquid).

Ophrys ariadne starting to flower

The Ophrys ariadne I got in November is starting to flower already:

Really looking forward to seeing how it will come out! Although having looked at the pictures in the Kew Ophrys book I am having my doubts that it is what it says on the tin...