Looking after your orchid
When you receive your plant it will have full growing instructions.
Part of the delight of growing these orchids is that they are hardy perennials and with care will last many years. Some species are relatively easy to grow and once established can be expected to seed and form a colony. This is partially due to them having an essential symbiotic fungus which is in itself very common in all manner of soils. Self seeding is a very hit and miss process, which is why we start all of our plants in sterile culture to ensure a good seed germination rate.
Whether you grow your orchid in a flower bed or a container, it is important to remember that it is an outdoor plant and will not appreciate the dry heat of a centrally heated house. From time to time we do offer for sale plants of species such as Serapias which originate in southern Europe and can be grown inside a frost free conservatory or greenhouse. In fact Serapias species have been successfully grown outdoors in the southern counties of the UK in sheltered sites.
For most species, it is the soil that is most important. Some prefer a very lime rich compost and will not thrive in a standard peaty potting compost. Other are really quite easy going and will do very well in a range of soil types.
If you are planning on growing your plant in a flower bed or container then a weak feed with fertilizer will produce amazing results. If you are going to plant a meadow then fertilizer should be avoided as the surrounding plants will race ahead and swamp your young orchid.
Plants which are happy in all soil types include:
Common Spotted
Southern Marsh
Green Winged
Early Purple
Common Twayblade
Those which need some lime are:
Pyramidal
Bee
Butterfly
Some plants, such as the Common Spotted Orchid and the Southern Marsh Orchid, will vegetatively reproduce to produce stands of flowers. Other species, notably the Bee Orchid and Early Purple Orchid, will remain as single plants unless they set seed.
Many of the orchid plants are such large producers of seed that it is not unreasonable to expect self-set plants to appear around them. Examples of this are the Marsh Orchids and Spotted Orchids as well as Green Winged and Early Purple.
Part of the delight of growing these orchids is that they are hardy perennials and with care will last many years. Some species are relatively easy to grow and once established can be expected to seed and form a colony. This is partially due to them having an essential symbiotic fungus which is in itself very common in all manner of soils. Self seeding is a very hit and miss process, which is why we start all of our plants in sterile culture to ensure a good seed germination rate.
Whether you grow your orchid in a flower bed or a container, it is important to remember that it is an outdoor plant and will not appreciate the dry heat of a centrally heated house. From time to time we do offer for sale plants of species such as Serapias which originate in southern Europe and can be grown inside a frost free conservatory or greenhouse. In fact Serapias species have been successfully grown outdoors in the southern counties of the UK in sheltered sites.
For most species, it is the soil that is most important. Some prefer a very lime rich compost and will not thrive in a standard peaty potting compost. Other are really quite easy going and will do very well in a range of soil types.
If you are planning on growing your plant in a flower bed or container then a weak feed with fertilizer will produce amazing results. If you are going to plant a meadow then fertilizer should be avoided as the surrounding plants will race ahead and swamp your young orchid.
Plants which are happy in all soil types include:
Common Spotted
Southern Marsh
Green Winged
Early Purple
Common Twayblade
Those which need some lime are:
Pyramidal
Bee
Butterfly
Some plants, such as the Common Spotted Orchid and the Southern Marsh Orchid, will vegetatively reproduce to produce stands of flowers. Other species, notably the Bee Orchid and Early Purple Orchid, will remain as single plants unless they set seed.
Many of the orchid plants are such large producers of seed that it is not unreasonable to expect self-set plants to appear around them. Examples of this are the Marsh Orchids and Spotted Orchids as well as Green Winged and Early Purple.