"K" wrote in message
...
Robert writes
In message , Des Higgins
writes


From what I can remember, most UK orchids take 3-10 years to flower

Yes - they generally start with a period where they are growing purely
underground

and then
die so once you see the flowers, those particular plants will not come
back.

No, I don't think that's true. The same plant can either flower in
successive years, or it can have a gap, sometimes having a period where it
reverts to its underground state.

Fair enough; it may be species/genus specific? Some may come back several
times and others are monocarpic? This would explain why people can
propogate Dactylorrhizas in borders. Some are monocarpic though and this
may include bee orchids. Ok, time for a dreaded google; back in 3 days ..

Des




We found a Common spotted orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii) in our lawn last
summer, waited until had finished flowering, dug it up and put it in a pot
for a while before replanting it a newly created area of wildflower plants
in the early spring and it has produced a really splendid flower spike as
can be seen at http://www.pbase.com/rbel1/image/82448413/large

This orchid at least has flowered more than once.


--
Kay