OT-Plants: Bletilla
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: OT-Plants: Bletilla
- From: B* S* <B*@hsc.edu>
- Date: Thu, 5 Mar 1998 08:32:00 -0700 (MST)
Mark--Bletilla does very well here in zone 7a central Virginia. I have a
nice clump of the white form that has been down about 15 years and comes
back blooming every year. It's in fairly heavy soil, much organic matter,
and full shade. The foliage lasts all summer, then dies down in the fall.
There is a very attractive mass planting of Bletilla at the Lewis Ginter
Botanical Garden in Richmond, as I recall in about half sun. I'm also
trying some hybrid Bletilla from We-Du Nurseries but they have not reached
the point yet where they are of blooming size. Here and there in the last
few years I have seen offered for sale a yellow species-usually at a very
high price.
Another hardy orchid that might work for you is Pleione. I haven't tried
them personally, but a friend in Charlotte NC grows them outdoors and they
bloom a bit after the crocuses. Pleiones are beginning to find their way
into the mass market.
Florida is alive with orchid nuts, and also has a large number of native
(presumably hardy) species. Make contact with a local orchid greenhouse and
you might learn about a number of species that could grow outside for you.
Oops--nothing perjorative meant by that phrase "orchid nuts" since I have
several blooming Phalaenopsis in the window myself! They're great house
plants, if you haven't tried them.
When I was living in Gainesville some 25 years ago, 'Amaryllis'
(Hippeastrum) were common features of gardens there. They bloomed at what
was about 'tulip time' elsewhere. There were some really spectacular old
plantings of a red-striped variety in the neighborhood with literally
hundreds of stems. Since then I've found that they are borderline hardy
here in Virginia and survive with a good winter mulch. However, the bloom
stalks can get cut down by late frosts. Leaving the mulch on delays things
and gives generally good bloom. Try 'em!
Bill Shear
Department of Biology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney VA 23943
(804)223-6172
FAX (804)223-6374
email<bills@hsc.edu>
