Platanthera ciliaris
 

After stumbling across these while in the NC mountains I've
been tempted to try growing them in my yard (Central NC).
I found Carson E. Whitlow's culture sheet for them
http://www.vengers.com/culture/cpgclt01.htm
and was wondering if anyone else had tips on growing them outdoors
and for good companion plants.

--
Chris Dukes
Suspicion breeds confidence -- Brazil

wrote in message . org...
After stumbling across these while in the NC mountains I've
been tempted to try growing them in my yard (Central NC).
I found Carson E. Whitlow's culture sheet for them
http://www.vengers.com/culture/cpgclt01.htm
and was wondering if anyone else had tips on growing them outdoors
and for good companion plants.

The main trick is actually finding a nursery that sells them.

They seem to do reasonably well in a peat/perlite/silica sand mix.
I've had better luck with large tubs and mini-bogs rather than small
pots. I don't think they would like typical flower beds or our
central NC clay. Give them full sun and keep moist. Good companions
include other bog orchids (Calopogon, Pogonia, etc), Polygala lutea,
Sarracenia, Drosera, and Dionaea muscipula. Rhexia species have
pretty flowers but tend to choke out the other plants in the bog.

Oh yeah, and watch out for squirrels. The tree rats will dig them up
and eat the tuberoids.

Nick
--

On 31 Mar 2005 07:21:21 -0800 in Myrmecodia wrote:
wrote in message . org...
After stumbling across these while in the NC mountains I've
been tempted to try growing them in my yard (Central NC).
I found Carson E. Whitlow's culture sheet for them
http://www.vengers.com/culture/cpgclt01.htm
and was wondering if anyone else had tips on growing them outdoors
and for good companion plants.

The main trick is actually finding a nursery that sells them.

Found a place in NC that supposedly sells them.

They seem to do reasonably well in a peat/perlite/silica sand mix.
I've had better luck with large tubs and mini-bogs rather than small
pots. I don't think they would like typical flower beds or our
central NC clay. Give them full sun and keep moist. Good companions
include other bog orchids (Calopogon, Pogonia, etc), Polygala lutea,
Sarracenia, Drosera, and Dionaea muscipula. Rhexia species have
pretty flowers but tend to choke out the other plants in the bog.

The thought was to build a bog garden as outlined on Tony Avent's
site. But the tub approach would mean I don't have to double
check where the septic field is before starting.
How big of a tub would you suggest?

Oh yeah, and watch out for squirrels. The tree rats will dig them up
and eat the tuberoids.

Nick


--
Chris Dukes
Suspicion breeds confidence -- Brazil

wrote:
On 31 Mar 2005 07:21:21 -0800 in
Myrmecodia
wrote:
The thought was to build a bog garden as outlined on Tony Avent's
site. But the tub approach would mean I don't have to double
check where the septic field is before starting.

Always a good idea to avoid digging in the drainfield!

How big of a tub would you suggest?

Probably the larger the pot the better, because it won't dry out as
rapidly in summer or freeze as much in winter. I had good results with
14 and 24 inch plastic pots that I bought from Lowes. I found some
that lacked drainage holes, so I could just drill a single hole about
half way up the side. If the pot has holes at the bottom, I'd plug
them with 100% silicone caulk first. I used a peat/perlite mix, but
the top inch was pure peat because perlite looks ugly when the rain
washes it out. I also top-dressed with a little sphagnum which grew
nicely from spores in the dried stuff.

I currently have an 4'x8' bog made of landscaping timbers lined with
plastic sheeting. The orchids all seem fine, but I've lost a few
Sarracenias. Probably too much shade.

If you can find a source of P. blephariglottis, it looks really nice
growing with P. ciliaris. I've also seen natural hybrids of the two
growing down near Holly Shelter. I had a beautiful P. blephariglottis
for several years, but the tree rats ate it. They also decimated my P.
ciliaris, but those seem to be slowly coming back from fragments of
root or tuberoids. I doubt that i'll see any flowers for a few years,
though.

Nick
--

Probably the larger the pot the better, because it won't dry out as
rapidly in summer or freeze as much in winter. I had good results with
14 and 24 inch plastic pots that I bought from Lowes. I found some
that lacked drainage holes, so I could just drill a single hole about
half way up the side. If the pot has holes at the bottom, I'd plug
them with 100% silicone caulk first. I used a peat/perlite mix, but
the top inch was pure peat because perlite looks ugly when the rain
washes it out. I also top-dressed with a little sphagnum which grew
nicely from spores in the dried stuff.

I currently have an 4'x8' bog made of landscaping timbers lined with
plastic sheeting. The orchids all seem fine, but I've lost a few
Sarracenias. Probably too much shade.

If you can find a source of P. blephariglottis, it looks really nice
growing with P. ciliaris. I've also seen natural hybrids of the two
growing down near Holly Shelter. I had a beautiful P. blephariglottis
for several years, but the tree rats ate it. They also decimated my P.
ciliaris, but those seem to be slowly coming back from fragments of
root or tuberoids. I doubt that i'll see any flowers for a few years,
though.

Nick

Fascinating... Do you have pictures of your bog? I'd like to build one
someday. It is something I've always wanted to do...

Rob

--
Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a) See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more
orchids, obtain more credit