While orchids are known mainly as houseplants, there are species that can be grown in the garden.Garden orchidsis undoubtedly an excellent proposition for lovers of interesting and unusual plants. See whatgrowing garden orchids looks likeand find out which garden orchids work best in our climate. Introducing the bestspecies of garden orchids
Garden orchids - common slipper
If you think that beautiful orchid flowers can only be enjoyed by growing them at home or in an orangery, I have surprising news for you.Every gardener, even a beginner, may now be tempted to cultivate less demanding, but at the same time beautifully floweringspecies of garden orchids , which do not cause major problems when growing in the ground. Several Polish nurseries have already begun the large-scale reproduction of interesting domestic species that are not inferior in beauty to other garden plants, and at the same time are extremely easy to grow.
Garden orchids easy to grow
"I suggest starting your adventure withgarden orchidsby growing species from basic selection. Just like among potted species, such basic orchids recommended for cultivation are Phalaenopsis and Dendrobium, also amonggarden orchidswe can choose such a basic variety. Tough, he althily growing in captivity, and quickly growing into large clumps, these are just some of the advantages of the more modest members of the Orchidaceae family. "
Bletilla striped(Bletilla striata) is one of the most commongarden orchids Its popularity is due to the fact that it easily flowers and grows quickly. It comes from the areas of Asia, China and Japan. Its underground rhizomes grow up to 50 cm in length in late spring. Flowers in shades of pink and 4 to 5 cm in diameter appear in summer, usually 5 or 6 per shoot. The variety 'Alba' with white flowers is also interesting.For Bletilla, you should choose a shaded or slightly shaded position, with a well-drained soil rich in humus. The soil should be kept well moist. This orchid takes a long time to take root after planting, but usually blooms in the first year after planting. Do not overdo it or divide it.
Garden orchids - striped bletilla
Tengarden orchidneeds to be moved to frost-protected rooms for the winter. How to solve this problem? It is best to plant the Bletilla in an openwork pot and dug it with the pot in the garden.In autumn, after the leaves turn yellow, a pot with a rhizome is dug out and after the substrate has dried out, it is placed in a cool place with a temperature of about 5 ° C to ensure winter rest. In this way, the Bletilla can spend its growing season in the garden, although it can also be grown indoors all year round.
Plejone (Pleione)are short orchids that grow on the mountain slopes of the Himalayas and some mountains in China. In early spring, before the leaves appear, their pseudobulbs grow into shoots topped with large flowers (up to 10 cm in diameter) of red, pink or yellow color. About 13 species of Pleione orchids are known, but practically only one has been used in horticulture - Pleione formosana. Due to the lack of resistance to low temperatures, its beautiful flowers have been admired on the window sill since March. It is planted in the garden after flowering in May. It requires a quiet and well-acidified soil on the plot. During vegetation, a new pseudobulb forms at the base of each leaf shoot, and the mother one wrinkles, shrinks and eventually dies.The plant must return to its home comfort in October, before the first frosts come.
Spotted cuckoo (Orchis maculata)is a species widespread throughout Europe, Asia, and also in places in North America. It is a typical terrestrial orchid that grows in fertile meadows, peat bogs and forest edges. Every year in early spring the plant produces a few narrow, rosette-shaped leaves covered with brown spots (hence the name of the species). Under the right conditions, the inflorescence sprout grows up to a meter high and is filled with a multitude of tiny pink flowers - each with the characteristic orchid wide lip with darker spots. In the past, in some places in Poland, you could see real fields of blooming specimens of this species, nowadays, larger concentrations can only be seen in protected areas. The main reason for the drastic reduction in the number of this species was the ill-considered, often plundering, human economy, drainage of peat bogs, overgrowing of meadows caused by the cessation of cattle grazing and the strong chemicalisation of agriculture.The plant grows excellently in a slightly acidic, constantly moist soil in a location with southern exposure. It is usually propagated by dividing large plants in early spring or mid-September. It must be remembered that each new seedling must have several tubers and at least one bud, from which a new plant will develop in the spring.
Garden orchids - spotted cuckoo
The broad-leaved cuckoo (Orchis latifolia syn. Dactylorhiza majalis)is another common type of native orchid that grows in wet meadows and can be grown asgarden orchid It has wide, lush green leaves, often covered with a darker pattern. The inflorescence stalk is lower than that of the previously described species and only reaches up to about 50 - 60 cm. There are usually more than 30 small, densely arranged carmine-colored flowers on one shoot.We can enjoy flowers from May until July. The plant is very easy to grow. It only requires a moist, fertile substrate on which it quickly grows into multi-shoot clumps. If we leave the blooming inflorescences on the plant, after a few years it may happen that seedlings will appear near the mother plant. They need a few years to grow nicely and bloom profusely, but I think it's worth waiting for this moment.
The white thorn (Platanthera biforia)used to be a species often found on meadows, moors and glades in the midst of Europe. Now it is more and more difficult to meet him in the wild, so in order to enjoy the beauty of his flowers, it is worth looking for him when visiting richer nurseries of ornamental plants. The plant produces only two leaves each spring, between which grows a loose inflorescence composed of white, pleasantly smelling flowers with strongly elongated lips. In the garden, it grows well on almost any type of substrate, however, it blooms most profusely in a forest bed, where it will find the best conditions for development.
Garden orchids of the type of shoe
"Another, in my opinion, the most beautifulspecies of garden orchid , representing our family&39;s flora, iscommon slipper (Cypripedium calceolus)It is a perennial about a creeping rhizome, from which a few oval leaves grow every year at the end of April, and then an inflorescence stalk bearing beautifully beautiful flowers with red-brown petals and a bloated slipper-shaped lip. Due to the characteristic appearance of the flowers, he was nicknamed the duckbill, while others call it the Mother of God shoe. One thing is certain, thanks to its beauty it has become the object of desire of many gardening enthusiasts. Flowering occurs in May and sometimes lasts until mid-July. Thanks to its beautiful flowers, this species has gained recognition among many plant lovers and has already had a few easy-to-grow hybrids that have begun to conquer the gardens.
Where to plant a shoe?
This species grows in nature in positions in diffused light , but also tolerates deep shade (plants then grow taller, and their leaves are larger and fleshier).Last week, while walking in the woods, I saw a few flowering plants. They were overgrown with limestone rocks covered with a 10 cm layer of heavy clay, on which there was a layer of another 10 cm of fertile, humus soil resulting from the decomposition of beech leaves. On such a substrate, plants are not threatened with lack of moisture (clay retains rainwater) or flooding the roots during heavy rainfall (limestone rocks are excellent drainage), and the layer of fallen leaves prevents the soil from freezing deeply during the winter.Growing conditions for slippers"
The shoes do well in the garden, provided that they are provided with a few special conditions. Plants should grow in a shady bed, surrounded by low perennials and garden ferns, but they will do well in full sun in a suitable substrate. The substrate should be humus and moist in summer, but rainwater must not accumulate in it during winter. A mixture of sand, clay and beech leaf compost in a ratio of 1: 2: 4 with a neutral or slightly alkaline pH will be the best.To be sure, we can place a drainage of larger stones at a depth of 30 to 40 cm, and add limestone crumbs to the ground directly under the plant.
Good to knowWhen planting young orchids, always add a handful of soil from under the mother plant to the substrate. The footwear coexists with soil fungi (the so-called mycorrhiza) and without their help they dry quickly.
Division and replanting
You can divide and replant orchids only in early spring, when thesegarden orchidsbegin to sprout. Then we divide the plants into cuttings with at least one bud and he althy roots - under each one we give a handful of soil from the site where they grew earlier. An interesting, but often unreliable, way to reproduce garden orchids is to sow tiny seeds near the mother plants. The place of sowing should be well marked so as not to damage the tiny seedlings while weeding. If new plants appear, we have to be patient because orchid seedlings bloom only after 3-4 years of cultivation in optimal conditions for them.
Garden orchids - Japanese shoe
Shoe for connoisseurs
One of the less common shoes is the Japanese and ChineseJapanese shoe (Cypripedium japonicum)It is one of the prettiest species of shoes which, despite its exotic origin, is doing quite well in Polish gardens. It is suited to acidic clay soil with a high proportion of peat and leaf compost. Plants grow best in partial shade on a moist substrate throughout the season, but they cannot stand flooding their roots in the winter months. It forms two large, fan-shaped leaves with a slightly wrinkled surface (especially around the veins). In May, a strong flower stalk grows, on top of which there is one large flower with cream petals and a highly distended lip covered with small cherry blotches. As it blooms quite early, it sometimes happens that already large flower buds should be protected against late spring frosts.The plant is still quite expensive and hard to get, but also worth the price.
I strongly encourage everyone to try growing a few easier-to-maintain domestic orchids, and if successful, experimenting with other, slightly more delicatespecies of garden orchids .
Emil Gwizdała
