some beauties just flowering

[mark smyth]

Sparrow Egg is a beaut!

[Peter Maguire]

Here in NE England, the Dactylorhiza purpurella are really starting to come into flower.
Here's a couple of close ups..........
And one to prove you don't have to go far to see them. 

[christian pfalz]

hi, dactylorhiza different species with dianthus carthusianorum..

cheers
chris

[mark smyth]

Does anyone have photos showing how to pollinate Dactylorhizas? I can get the pollen on to a pencil tip but what now? I didnt realise how small they are!

[fredg]

Mine died off over the winter but looked slightly different.

Hi Fred,

I was referring more to the colour as mine has orange at the top but your is white. Shame I lost them as they are ever so pretty, especially when there are a few of them flowering.

Regards

David

I was expecting that to colour up as the flower aged.

Apparently it doesn't 

[goofy]

Does anyone have photos showing how to pollinate Dactylorhizas? I can get the pollen on to a pencil tip but what now? I didnt realise how small they are!

hey,
just call a bumble bee   

I will take photos tomorrow,
when the sun might shine.
and give some hints then.

its not so difficult to find the right place for the polliniums

cheers

[Anthony Darby]

Does anyone have photos showing how to pollinate Dactylorhizas? I can get the pollen on to a pencil tip but what now? I didnt realise how small they are!

The stigma is just below where the two pollinia have their sticky ends. You will notice that in the few seconds after they are pulled off on your pencil they bend so the pollen bundles are in the correct position for pollination. If you collected your pollinia by poking the tip into the opening to the nectary (centre of the flower), then repeating the process on another flower will pollinate it.

[fredg]

A few more bursting out 

Listera ovata
Listera ovata
Eleorchis japonica
Eleorchis japonica
Bletilla striata

[mark smyth]

I took this photo yesterday. Not bad!?

[mark smyth]

Brilliant colour, Peter

[goofy]

I took this photo yesterday. Not bad!?

GREAT shot
just put it into the "hole"   

cheers

[mark smyth]

Thanks. I should have said that's a paper clip

[Tony Willis]

my first dactylorhiza flowering which I am calling Dactylorhiza fuchsii

[Tony Willis]

a couple more orchids in flower now

Orchis coriophora
Anacaptis pyramidalis

[mark smyth]

Leaf damage ..

All the orchids I moved last year in to pots and troughs are showing leaf damage. I first saw this after the hard frost and snow when the new growths looked dead. Did the weather conditions damage the growing points? Damage is on Dacts, Anacamptis, Platanthera. As a precaution I have been spraying weekly with carbendazim.

Is anyone else seeing this? Photo later