Bletilla striata

[Sue]

I have another one of these guys in bloom, thought I'd post a better picture than the last one.

[prem]

in bloom now? that's bizarre...these always bloom spring-summer for me.

---Prem

[Tanya]

Thats cool looking ground orchid, gotta have one of those. Strange though, I haven't seen one being sold here in HongKong. Sue, how long is the blooming period? Are the flowers long lasting? Is its manner of blooming similar that of spathoglottis? The leaves look like spath to me but the flowers are different.

[Sue]

Prem – here, we take them in for the winter, and this time we managed to leave them out for long enough – to get enough cold from the approaching winter – that now they think it's spring. Kind of annoying, but kind of nice.

Tanya – Bletilla striata is known as the 'Chinese ground orchid,' and is actually from China, although I don't know the actual distribution (and of course saying "from China" is about as informative as saying "from North America"). At any rate, my point is that you could probably grow them in the ground outside year-round.

You can often get them from bulb sellers. If you can plant them outside they'll spread and form a patch quickly. The flowers don't last too long individually, and a given plant will be in bloom for maybe 2 weeks total.

They're related to Spathoglottis, but the manner of blooming is different (and the plant is quite small compared to Spathoglottis plicata, for example). They bloom from the center of new growths, one spike per growth, the best I know, and they seem to me to max out at seven blooms per spike.

[Tanya]

Thanks for the info, Sue. I hope its not another native of Yunnan, or worse, further north. I don't need another weed, lol.

[sparkle]

Prem – here, we take them in for the winter, and this time we managed to leave them out for long enough – to get enough cold from the approaching winter – that now they think it's spring. Kind of annoying, but kind of nice.

Tanya – Bletilla striata is known as the 'Chinese ground orchid,' and is actually from China, although I don't know the actual distribution (and of course saying "from China" is about as informative as saying "from North America"). At any rate, my point is that you could probably grow them in the ground outside year-round.

You can often get them from bulb sellers. If you can plant them outside they'll spread and form a patch quickly. The flowers don't last too long individually, and a given plant will be in bloom for maybe 2 weeks total.

They're related to Spathoglottis, but the manner of blooming is different (and the plant is quite small compared to Spathoglottis plicata, for example). They bloom from the center of new growths, one spike per growth, the best I know, and they seem to me to max out at seven blooms per spike.

Hi Sue,
I'm a spathoglottis breeder from the Philippines and I'm just about to do intergeneric breeding with calanthe phaius and bletilla. Any info or experience from you?
Thanks,
Sparkle