Dactylorhizas - lack of due to severe winter weather

[mark smyth]

Some of you may remember that I was complaining about the death of most of my Dactylorhizas over the winter. An estimate is 150+ -.

This is my new raised bed in which I planted all my divisions - new tubers removed from parent plants. After many years and never being divided some plants had 3 or 4 tubers per mother plant. I have 2 or three rows of Harold Esselmont, elata x majalis, Alex Duguid and a pale pink fuchsii

The big leaves are my Colcicums collection.

Can I remove the new tubers two years in a row?

Here is the evidence or lack of   I had about 50 each of Harold Esselmont and elata x majalis and about 25 of Alex Duguid

[jomowi]

Mark - Are you sure it was the winter that killed your Dacs? Mine did not bat an eyelid, and I don't suppose it was any worse in your neck of the woods than it was here in N.E. Scotland.  If you don't mind my saying so, your plants don't look that healthy.  Could there have been another reason for their demise?  They need dividing more often than you seem to be doing it, though not necessarily every year. One tuber should produce two new ones each year, with the old one dying. Dac. Harold Esslemont in particular gets very tangled if you don't divide it regularly. Mine thrive on plenty of organic matter in the form of well rotted compost applied annually, or dug into the soil when replanting divided tubers. 

[mark smyth]

It's the Colchicums that are going over that look bad

[fredg]

In the elata x majalis picture, is that  browned plant at the top of the bare patch a Dactylorhiza?

[mark smyth]

No - a small Colchicum

[jomowi]

It's the Colchicums that are going over that look bad

Oops! How stupid of me. Sorry, - put it down to the need for some new specs.

[mark smyth]

Dont worry Maureen. I should have cleared the area of Colchicums to show the orchids

[Anthony Darby]

So if it's not the cold that's killed Mark's dacts what is it?

[Tony Willis]

Mark have you actually dug up the dead ones to look at them?

It could be the roots were fine and it is the crowns that have been killed by the dreaded black death.

I have never had a dactylorhiza killed by cold.