Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Specific Families and Genera => Pleione and Orchidaceae => Topic started by: Oron Peri on January 05, 2009, 05:20:21 PM
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First two species for this seoson, both photos taken on Mt. Carmel
Ophrys israelitica [syn. O fleischmannii] and Orchis saccata.
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I was about to ask you how these species could avoid being grazed by hungry animals at this time of year , when such plants must offer a tempting mouthful, but then I spotted the sharp thorns around the Orchis saccata..... so I know how that one protects itself! 8)
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Nice ones Oron :) 8)
Is there a breeder in Israel of these orchids? You (in Israel) seem to have the biotech knowledge so there might be some? Most other breeder seem to be further north from BeNeLux and above and hence can not grow all the ophrys outside.
I have not heard of any breeder / sower on the Iberian peninsula and none elsewhere around the Mediterranean so my hope goes towards Israel in this regard. Israel also have some nice orchids that are not existing on the north side of the Mediterranean if I remember correctly.
Hope You will show us more and I will soon have to start looking for orchids here in Portugal s that I can contribute with some.
Kind regards
Joakim
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Joakim,
I'm afraid there isn't any commercial grower down here since
all wild Orchids are strictly protected by Israeli low.
I do know that there are a few growers in Germany and some species are even in commerce in England where it seems that the BA ticket price is included ;)
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Oron - thats a real tonic after just looking at my frozen pots outside. This winters going to be reveal quite a bit about the hardiness of some Mediterranean & Australian species, I just hope they're better at coping with cold than I am !
Joakim - I never tried to buy anything from them 'cos it looked like a palava payment & postal wise, but what about http://www.eurorchids.com/nosotros/ ?
All the best,
Craig
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Oron I think the orchids are protected all over the world and I meant that seed where taken and used to produce plants. It would be a more natural rhythm to do it in natural lights rather than greenhouse and extra lights.
Craig.
Nice link I must have missed it. The English is not that bad to understand for a Swede with some good will.
Must look closer to it. It looks really interesting with some plants that is not that common.
Has anyone have bought from them?
Kind regards
Joakim
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Hi Joakim,
Apart from the commecial sources usually mentioned here and in the terestrial forum, there are amateurs growing Orphrys, Orchis and others from seeds. Sometimes you can trade and get plants. What is common for one grower is a rare find for another. I've swapped Disas for very exciting plants, at least in my eyes, even though the people I swapped with sometimes felt that the plants they could offer in return for Disas were probably of no interest to me because they were so common.
Kind regards
Lars
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Lars I was thinking on that for a commercial grower it would be easier (and cheaper) to grow without the need of heated greenhouse.
Some of the ophrys are not so hardy due to them being winter growers so they need protection in northen Europe. Around the Mediterranean it would be possible to have commercial seed-sowing and growing of other sorts than what most vender's offer.
With persons with a special interest it might be easy to find the not so easy but these people are not always easy to find.
All the best
Joakim
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Hi Joakim. I'm trying to grow some of these Orphrys and Orchis for the first time this year. It was some i swapped for some other orchids with a guy from Greece who are growing them from seeds. He's an amatuer, but as you point out it is much easier for him to grow them because he doesn't need a greenhouse. Naturally, i have to keep them indoors, which is what makes it so difficult to grow them here. I hope i will succeed. So far I've only lost one, probably the compost was too wet, even though I hardly water them. It is a very delicate balance.
Lars
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Orchis punctulata starts to bloom now,
this is a rare Eastern Mediterranean species growing in Greece [some of the islands],Cyprus, Israel, Turkey to Iran.
In Israel it grows in a few localities in the north. color range from yellow to dark redish-brown, some individuals can reach more then 80cm bearing hundreds of flowers.
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Excellent images of beautiful orchids, Oron ... many thanks for posting.
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These are fantastic photos - thanks for posting them.
I am attempting to sow out some Ophrys and Cypripedium seeds this year for the first time, so it should be interested how they do. The Ophrys apifera I'm sowing it a selfing I made last year of one of my plants, and the Cypripedium acaule I got hold of from Aaron Hicks. My aim, in the future, is to swap Ophrys/Orchis/Cyp etc seeds and increase the number of in vitro propagated plants available, perhaps even put some back in the wild.
Well, you've got to start by aiming high!! ::)
Dan
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Another Ophrys starts to flower now:
O. umbilicata [syn. O. carmeli], this is the most common Ophrys here, growing in all type of soils.
It has green or white sepals.
In some areas it can be found growing in big groups consists of hundreds of plants.
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Oron how difficult are Ophrys o grow from seed?
Pat T
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They need to be sown in a special sterile agar-based medium designed for the purpose, and then grown in flasks for a year. The seeds also need to be sterilised. I mean to have a go sometime.
Oron, O. umbilicata sounds like it would be a good one for cultivation, as most Ophrys spp. don't usually clump up? I rarely get offsets from mine.
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Oron how difficult are Ophrys o grow from seed?
Pat T
Pat,
From a scale of 1 to 10 I would say 11.
It is quite a difficult process, but there are a few members in this forum [ that are specialist on this meter], and some websites that can give you a better Idea.
It seems some Scandinavians became real masters in this field.
Anthony,
I agree with you, O. umblicata might be a good one for cultivation since it makes nice clumps over the years and also for the fact that it grows in every type of soil.
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Hi Pat,
if you go to http://www.lidaforsgarden.com/Orchids/engelsk.htm there is some advice on how you sow orchids.
Ulla
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What an amazing link - sometimes I wonder where I have been hiding. Have never looked at this group of plants seriously before.
Thanks Oron and Ulla for educating me on these plants. I think I will stick to seeds that do not need quite such specialist treatment.
My fingers are in enough pies already :)
Pat T
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Here started Ophrys fusca and Barlia robertiana to flower. If conditions are ok and the correct symbiotic fungus is in the ground natural germination sometimes occures (as shown on the Barlia-picture).
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Great plants Hans :o
How long you had the Barlia in the ground?
Your fusca looks very similar to O. iricolor although it is early for this one, is it from your area?
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Thanks Oron,
I think this Barlia is growing there for 7 or 8 years now - perhaps I should replant it ::)
Referring the Ophrys I think it is O. fusca as it is always the first one - I doubt it is O. iriclolor as I never have bought this species and it also cannot be a spontan seedling of it as it does not occur here.
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Thanks Hans,
It is very difficult distinguish O. fusca from O. iricolor, and i see that some regard O. iricolor as a ssp of O. fusca.
It seems O. fusca is a west Mediterranean , including the Iberian peninsula and the Balearic, while O. iricolor is an Eastern Mediterranean species.
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Oron and Hans ! spend some time now to try to see the differences between the two and I almost had Hans as an in between. The new book monograph of the Ophrys does it have them as two different species or as subspecies or variants or just as the same thing?
I have heard that they have merged several species.
According to Malmgren Ophrys are not that problematic (to be an orchid). Their problem is that Central Sweden is not ideal for the seedlings (or the plant).
I really need to get out to see orchids. I was out spotting from the car but it did not help these are not such big plants that they are easily seen. Maybe later with some guides (and by foot) I might find something.
All the best
Joakim
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I have Ophrys iricolor and if you search the Forum you'll find pics from previous years of it. It was from Crete.
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Recently published genetic analysis of Ophrys suggests there are around 10 species ! Svante Malmgrem gave a very interesting talk last year to the Hardy Orchid Society & showed the ENORMOUS variety of floral morphology he had obtained from single self pollinated flowers. Ophrys, it seems is very active in keeping its appeal to pollinators as broad as possible & is probably significantly less pollinator specific & much more promiscuous than has been suggested. Meanwhile, it is very tempting to "discover" new species when one flower looks a little different to another. It does seem like there are a lot of fairly stable subspecies & varieties amongst the species & unfortunately that makes for a bit of a mouthful when talking about them :P.
Keep the photos coming in ! It is very heartening to see Spring is in action somewhere 8) ! Too cold for Ophrys to flower here yet.
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For those of You that do not follow all treads here are a link to the photos Gerhard Raschun posted in the flower now tread.
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3023.msg73655#msg73655
There are also a ophrys in the first post in flower january 2009.
Hope You enjoy it
Joakim
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Ophrys lutea starts to bloom now, this is a complicated group with a wide distribution, O. phyrganae [ syn.O. lutea ssp phyrganae] was upgraded to a species, differs mainly by its curved Labellum.
Photos taken in the Galilee [first] and Rhodes [second].
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Just incredible pictures :o
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Must be an incredible place, rather like Segovia - a place to visit before I die, although both would be close to my kind of Heaven?
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Oron lovly :)
How big are the variations of the flowers in one place. I see in some pictures where more than one flower are seen that they seem to differ a little bit and make the distinction between subgroups a bit difficult :(
Have people studied the variation of these plants in once place?
Kind regards
Joakim
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Gerhard has explained his way of growing Opfrys here
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3023.msg74121#msg74121
And also shown some pics. He pints out that it is a whole package that need to fit not just a few elements. There is no perfect substrate (it depends on where You grow the temperatures watering etc.
Very nice and informative
Joakim
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Thanks Joakim,
Orchis israelitica, a rare endemic species is in full bloom, it is an early bloomer, from mid January till the end of February.
This species is growing side by side with the very common O. caspia and both hybridize.
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Very nice pictures Oron
Great to see that there were some different forms and even hybrids.
Thanks for showing.
I will try to see some plants soon.
All the best
Joakim
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Fantastic. Winter must be so short in Gallilee? 8)
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Orchis Galilaea is starting to flower with its endless forms, this species is endemic to Israel and South Lebanon, flowering time is from mid February untill April.
Here are some samples,
If you look carfully you can easily notice a man with a big hat.
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Wonderful images, Oron ... what magical orchids!
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So many men, so many hats..... must be a good living to be made as a milliner in those parts ;)
A delightful series to show the variation.... I am learning a great deal, thank you, Oron.
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I like the little winkies! ;D I mean, I find them amusing. ::)
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Two more Ophrys are starting to bloom:
O. flavomarginata [quite rare]
O. transhyrcana, a beautiful tall species with large blueish green leaves and large flowers, I have found in the past plants 90cm tall.
This species belongs to the O. mammosa group that contain a few species and ssp from the Eastern Mediterranean, usually very difficult to tell apart.
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Anthony!! ::) I didnt notice until you said
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Not a flower to get excited about but unusual shape and colour.
Pterostylis curta.
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Sorry not a flower in sight, but given the thread title of Orchids Winter 2009 I thought these might be interesting if only to inform the idea that orchids are tough plants and capable of coping with the worst that nature can throw at them!
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O. flavomarginata [quite rare]
Oron, just wondering has O.flavomarginata been accorded full specific status or is it regarded as a varient within the O.umbilicata group? ???
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Oron,
Late coming to this thread
I hadn't noticed the little people until you mentioned. What a wonderful plant to add to a children's garden.
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Pat, this little man even smiles... Orchis italica
[/quote]
Oron, just wondering has O.flavomarginata been accorded full specific status or is it regarded as a varient within the O.umbilicata group? ???
[/quote]
Yes for the time it is a species...until next time it is going to become a form of O. umblicata :-\ ;)
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Oron,
If I could only have one Orchis - italica would be the one - how utterly fascinating to see these little figures - reminds me of cutting folded sheets of paper to bring out a long line of shapes. Wonder if this species is available in Australia?
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I am afraid it's another windowsill job, Serapias lingua!
This used to grow well outside in a bed near a south facing house wall in the UK, in Bulgaria the winter is just too harsh.
I tried this species in a bulb frame here but the cold killed it off!
Still bulking up well on the windowsill so no great complaints! :D
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A corner of my Ophrys collection now that things are coming into flower. I tried to get some close ups of the O. tenthredinifera, but the light was too poor.
Alex
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Fine sturdy little chaps, Alex 8) What is the pale white/cream one?
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Very neat Alex. Mine are a wee bit behind yours.
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A corner of my Ophrys collection now that things are coming into flower. I tried to get some close ups of the O. tenthredinifera, but the light was too poor.
Alex
Alex, great collection and very healthy looking plants, congratulations.
Looks like O. bornmuelleri in the middle..?
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Maggi, This is for you,
Photos are taken last year, this time in Cyprus.
This field is home to hundreds of Barlias some are real giants.
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Hi Maggi/Oron,
The white one in the middle came to me as Ophrys carmelii (from Crustacare), a member of the O. umbilicata group. I don't know how widely recognised this name is.
Cheers,
Alex
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Hi Maggi/Oron,
The white one in the middle came to me as Ophrys carmelii (from Crustacare), a member of the O. umbilicata group. I don't know how widely recognised this name is.
Cheers,
Alex
Alex,
It seems that O. carmelii is not a valid name anymore, it is O. umbelicata now. [syn. O. carmeli = O. dinsmorei]
Can you post a closeup of the flower?
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Oron, I am made speechleess ( almost ;)) by your kindness in showing these handsome giants ...... 8)
Alex, I, too would love to see more of this white O. umbelica :)
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My Barlia are just in bud.
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Hi Oron and others,
Here are a few closer shots of the flower of the O. carmelii.
Also, a close up of Ophrys X heraultii (O. tenthredinifera X O. speculum), O. lunulata and a mystery plant that came to me as OPhrys bertoloniformis, but clearly isn't. I got it as a seedling from Crustacare, where Jan Moors told me it was from collected seed from a plant identified in the field as O. bertoloniformis - any ideas what it could be?
Cheers,
Alex
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Almost forgot OPhrys morisii...
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Dear Alex,
superb picts of Ophrys ssp.
by the way, your shown Op. bertoloniiformis (=> Op. benacensis) is a true plant of the Op. bertolonii-group.
In the last years there have been described a lot of new species within this group.So for exact ID it would be necessary to know the origin.
Op. benacensis is a nearly hardy species from Italy.
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Very nice Ophrys. I still have to try those, but they sound very delicate.
I just took some pictures of what is blooming at the moment (mostly tropical things).
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Cattleya and Coelogyne
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Dendrobium
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Dracula, Prostechea and Epidendrum
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Lycaste and Maxillaria
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Miltoniopsis, Ascofinetia, Oncidium and Lady slippers
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Pescatorea, Rhynchostylis and Schomburgkia
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And this is one of my favourite ones, the ghost orchid. I have it since 2007 and it almost died for me in the begining, but now it's growing hapily and has a bud to open soon!
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WOW, very beautiful orchids :o :o
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What an absolutely wonderful collection, Michael!!! Os meus mais sinceros parabéns!!!
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omg, is your Ghost orchid Dendrophylax lindenii ?
This is one on the most wonderful orchid in the world, and not the easiest to grow ...
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omg, is your Ghost orchid Dendrophylax lindenii ?
This is one on the most wonderful orchid in the world, and not the easiest to grow ...
Hi Maxime.
I guess so. On my tag it is labeled as Polyradiction lindenii, but i think they had changed it to the Dendrophylax genera recently.
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Great collection Michael!
I think you can open a botanic garden... ;) ;D
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Great collection Michael!
I think you can open a botanic garden... ;) ;D
Well... one day Miriam, probably one day... If all these things survive during my absence for a few years, under the care of my mother... :-\ !
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Just a few things blooming then Michael ;)
Very nice varied collection & very well cared for. I don't think you'd have much bother with Ophrys - they're not so tricky really & you have a great climate for growing them. Your first Dendrobium looks a lot like Dendrochilum glumaceum, one of my favourite scented orchids.
A couple of questions
- Do you keep the Dracula outdoors & do you need to make any special effort to keep it cool through the summer ?
- Any chance of pollinating the Dendrophylax/Polyradiction ?
Please post a picture when the flower opens ?
Solenangis aphylla, another ghost, is in flower at Kew at the moment. I'll try to get a decent picture to post.
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Hello Craig!
Just a few things blooming then Michael ;)
Very nice varied collection & very well cared for. I don't think you'd have much bother with Ophrys - they're not so tricky really & you have a great climate for growing them.
Well, i think my problem is the lack of lime. Our soil do not have lime and is a bit acidic...
Your first Dendrobium looks a lot like Dendrochilum glumaceum, one of my favourite scented orchids.
You are right, i missed that one. The scent is fantastic indeed! The Coelogyne flaccida also has a strong scent reminding of jasmine.
A couple of questions
- Do you keep the Dracula outdoors & do you need to make any special effort to keep it cool through the summer ?
I grow all my Pleurothallids and other highland plants inside a greenhouse that i built with my dad against a dripping wall that stays fresh, even on summer. I just need to take care about the watering regime. But sometimes, on the hottest days of summer, i store the most delicate species inside a refrigerator to avoid too much heat stress.
.- Any chance of pollinating the Dendrophylax/Polyradiction ?
I could try, but i am afraid of losing the plant as this is its very first flower, and besides being EXTREMELY slow growing (and i cannot emphasize that), the plant could stunt in growth for a long time, just to be able to nourish the seedpod. I would like to let it grow bigger before atempting to pollinate it. If the plant were yours, what would you do?
Please post a picture when the flower opens ?
Solenangis aphylla, another ghost, is in flower at Kew at the moment. I'll try to get a decent picture to post.
Ok, no problem!
Looking forward to see the picture of that one too!!
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Hello Michael,
It's very interesting to hear about your Pleurothallid culture. Did you rig up the dripping wall yourself ? I'd like to see a picture of that.
Ophrys in pot culture don't really need a very alkaline soil. Neutral suits them just fine & you can use a standard potting compost or (even better a loam) diluted with plenty of perlite / seramis, grit etc. so it's not too rich in nutrients. Top dressing the pots with the grit they sell for birds to get calcium from (Chicken grit they call it here) can help to stop the substrate acidifying over the course of the growing season too.
As far as pollinating your Dendrophylax.Ha Ha !...would I pollinate if it was mine ?...probably not....not unless I had a lab waiting to culture the seeds to give me 100s of them to play with ;D To be fair, even then I'd probably try & get a bigger plant going first, but I'd be scared of losing it before I could do the deed. Where did you get yours from ?
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Calanthe tricarinata flowering a little early as its been kept in a sunny porch.
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I notice that one of my cypripedium pots is showing some nice buds. Must tidy it up! ::)
NB: Just checked the label. This is a pot of Cypripedium 'Sabine'.
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Very nice looking Tricarinata Dave!
My offering, a Ponthieva sp from Brazil. This was bought as a seedling from Richard Warren many years ago.
It is terrestrial with hosta like leaves and whilst grown indoors endures temperatures down to +5c.
The flowers are miniscule and I would guess are gnat pollinated in the wild!
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OPhrys oxyrrhynchos
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Corybas pictus - Found in Borneo, Sumatra, Java & probably the Malay Peninsula, growing mainly on mossy banks in shade in primary forest (700-1800m) from a tuber about the size of a piece of fine grade perlite. Like most Corybas, it's a colony former & I know at least one grower for whom this has no season & spreads vigorously, but hasn't multiplied much for me yet. I'm just very happy to have flowered it twice 8) ;D Still trying to pluck up the gumption to mutilate the flower (wherefore art thou sexy bits ?) & pollinate it. Very difficult to capture well in photos but these are the best me & my shonky digital have managed so far. To give some idea of scale, the leaf is just over 1cm across.
If anyone out there has any other Corybas, I'd be very interested to know, I'm totally in love with them! I have a pot of C.diemenicus, which was decimated from 11 to 2 plants when the frost caught me out earlier this year :-[
Dave - that is a lovely tricarinata
Alex - Corr! Can't get enough Ophrys & thats a smasher.
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Thought I would share my BG Version 1 Kitchen sowing device! Used to plate in the UK but eventually time demands from work stopped me! First sowing of the year - Ptersostyllis curta, Ophrys helenae will be the next subject! I'm sowing on full and and glucose dilluted Allan medium. Ingredients are fairly cheap and obtainable.
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Maybe not worthy company for Corybas or Ophrys but here shown Serapias lingua light.
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Craig, I think the Corybas are stunning little plants and will have a go at some next. Where can you get them from?
Paphiopedilum micranthum
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Maybe not worthy company for Corybas or Ophrys but here shown Serapias lingua light.
That's a really lovely form of Serapias lingua Hristo & I think the genus can stand proud with those two !
That lil' lab setup looks very intriguing......... ::) what a great thread a little pictorial tutorial would make ;)
Mr Matador de las babosas (sorry I mean Dave) - The C.pictus came from Orchideen Wubben. I got the C.diemenicus from Richard Manuel at a Hardy Orchid Society meeting but I think Paul Christian has sold them too.
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Cypripedium debile. I've put a matchstick in one photo to show how small it is.
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Absolutely matchless, Dave! ;)
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Fantastic Dave! Is it a tricky one to grow ?
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I find like the roots are more susceptible to rot than some other Cyps. This plant has aborted its flower two years in a row but third time lucky. I’ve got three which I'd like to pollinate for the seed but being so small it seems an almost impossible task. Will try in a few days with one of them.
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Nice cypripedium Dave
Hope You will be able to get seeds. They are not common so the more they get around the better. Maybe some of the kids will be easier to grow??
I finally got to see some orchids in the wild just Orchis (Anacamptis?) mascula. Just two plants with only one in bloom and the other in bud. I took two pics of the one in bloom. I looked for more since previous years there had been more but we also saw them cut down so maybe they did not all return?
Vale de Cana, Coimbra, Portugal
Kind regards
Joakim
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Hi Joakim
Nice to see the Orchis in the wild. I've got a few coming through and should bloom this year for the first time in the garden.
Tried to get a close up today of Cyp debile so that I can see what I'm doing when pollinating and learnt a clever trick for getting very close (by accident). The image below was actually out of focus in the view finder but I set the aperture to F32 and it came out well. The main problem was the amount of movement which meant shutting all windows, louvre and doors of the greenhouse and using the camera on timer. Took about 5 shots to get this one.
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Very impressive Corybas, Craig!
Well done, i have a friend that grows them too, and she told me they are delicate... I wishthey could clump faster!
And that cyp is really amazing Dave, never could imagine one cyp that size. Wondering what "prey" it captures to pollination :P
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Great photo Dave. Now you can clearly see your first target for the toothpick at least, & there are four of them so you're spoilt for choice! Locating the stigma might require surgery but be brave. I had a go at pollinating the Corybas earlier today - a tricky & brutal affair involving a hand lens complete decapitation. Hopefully it will all be worth it.
Michael - that Coelogyne is quite a specimen, the smell must be fabulous. How long have you been growing it & do you keep it completely dry over the winter or not ?
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Hi Craig. Well the smell is very delicate and light, some people say that there are a few cristata clones that smel bad, but mine is very very far from that!
I also find this clone odd asthe flower spikes start on October and only open on middle of March, 2 weeks later than most other cristatas that i see around.
I have been groing this one around 12 years (i still remember the day i brought it home!) and it does not require any special attention. On winter i water it once a week, and if it rains, it gets even more water. It never roted for me and is one of the easiest to maintain. You just need to be carefull with new growths and emerging flowerspikes that are extremely brittle. When in flower, make sure you never spray the flowers or let them get wet, or the next day they will become spotted!
This plant also dislikes the heat, i tried to grow it on the warm greenhouse, and it barely flowered in there. So i put it outside again, and it does ok!
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More Ophrys in bloom at the moment:
O. iricolor, O. bornmuelleri, O. apifera, O. fuciflora.
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Wonderful to see. 8)
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Oron
absolutely super,thank you
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Very nice Ophrys section!
Rob, do i spot a Sarracenia, next to your O. morissii? ;D
I got some more miniatures blooming at the moment:
Phalaenopsis lobbii
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And one of the tiniest orchids i grow, wich is unfortunately very difficult to photograph... Pleurothallis schiedei.
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Nothing to do with alpines but my Stanhopea tigrina in flower at the moment. Moved inside for the winter. Strongly scented spicy rose (unortunately)
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Cracking stuff one & all ;D
Can't find the words to tell you how much I love your Stanhopea, Galahad. Bugs from outer space 8) Enjoy them while they last. What kind of watering regime do you give this one?
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It stays outside from spring to about nowish. Poor thing only gets water once week in the weekends (occasionally more if it has been super dry). I was hoping S. impressa would flower this year as well but maybe next year.
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I mentioned some time ago I had a few ophrys self seeding in the greenhouse.The first has flowered. A poor picture but best I could do.It is growing in a cyclamen graecum pot
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Orchids do seem to really love to find a friend to set up home with ;D This must be a great answer to those who agonise about the difficulties of growing orchids from seed..... get them growing well enough to set seed and let nature take its course! At least it can be easier to get the two plants out into their own pots again when the "cuckoo" is a little larger than it is to get self-sown Dactylorhiza seedlings out of path cracks or congested troughs. I haven't any Ophrys, or I'd be hoping for this happy seed accident myself!!
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What species is it Tony? I can't see the face of the flower as it seems to be looking skywards?
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Galahad,
To me (and most people I know) the Stanhopea smells of Chocolate. I've only flowered it twice, when I had a glasshouse, and you walked in and this strong smell of chocolate hit you. It was mouthwatering!! Not quite sure I'd describe it as Spicey Rose? ;D
To all who've posted the pics.... Thanks. The Ophrys in particular are a real pleasure. They're something I want to grow one day if I can ever get them here in Aus. I love the terrestrial orchids and grow a number of the Aussie ones plus others when I can find them. The Ophrys are one of those on my "need" list (as opposed to my "want" list.... it's all about priority! ;)) I was chuffed to finally see one in person flowering at Otto's when I was down there in September. SUCH a cutie!! 8)
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Paul ,
are you calling me a cutie??? :-*
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OK, yes perhaps I didn't phrase that quite right. ::) I must be more careful in the future.... what WILL people think. ;D ;)