First Ophrys of the year! - Orchid Board

Roberta · #1 01-28-2020, 05:24 PM

Or first robin of spring... Ophrys ariadne. There will be a bunch more Mediterranean - type terrestrials soon, but this was the first to bloom.

Afid · #2 01-28-2020, 06:29 PM

Nice! What is your source for terrestrials? I haven't found many and most of them are outside the US which makes shipping/handling prices outrageous.

Roberta · #3 01-28-2020, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Afid

Nice! What is your source for terrestrials? I haven't found many and most of them are outside the US which makes shipping/handling prices outrageous.

I got some by joining a friend's order (friend has an import permit, needed for this particular vendor) from myorchids.de in Germany. I have also bought some on eBay from med_orchids. The shipping isn't horrible, since these get shipped as dormant tubers. Med_orchids in particular gets them into the teensiest package imaginable. Both of these vendors propagate their orchids either from seed or from tubers of plants that they have cultivated. So there is no worry with either of them about the provenance of the tubers.

The time to get these is right around the beginning of June. Pot them up, and then totally ignore them until around the end of October, when light watering can begin.

Andy's Orchids is starting to have a few of these (I saw them for sale at his booth at a spring show)

neophyte · #4 01-28-2020, 07:26 PM

very cute – the patterning on the lip is lovely, too.

Roberta · #5 01-28-2020, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neophyte

very cute – the patterning on the lip is lovely, too.

A perfect little bug, complete with fuzz.

Leafmite · #6 01-28-2020, 10:07 PM

What a cute orchid!

Afid · #7 01-29-2020, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roberta

I have also bought some on eBay from med_orchids. The shipping isn't horrible, since these get shipped as dormant tubers.

I would assume that the CITES etc. fees would still apply due to the seller being in Greece?

Roberta · #8 01-29-2020, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Afid

I would assume that the CITES etc. fees would still apply due to the seller being in Greece?

I don't recall, it was a couple of years ago that I ordered.

camille1585 · #9 01-29-2020, 07:45 AM

Very nice flower!! What other terrestrials do you have?

Thanks for sharing the name of the german vendor, I think I may be doing some shopping next June! There's some nice species in his list.

Roberta · #10 01-29-2020, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camille1585

Very nice flower!! What other terrestrials do you have?

So far I have managed to bloom Oph.cerastes, Oph. speculum, Oph. tenthredenifera, Serapias lingua and cordigera, and Orchis italica. Some of these I babied for a couple of years of just growing leaves before I got flowers. There may be a few more this year if they bloom... I am becoming quite fond of them. I also have some Australian terrestrials from myorchids.de - so far I have managed to bloom Thelymitra glaucophylla and Diuris orientis, have a few others of those genera that I haven't flowered yet. Maybe this year... I don't expect to see flowers from those for another two or three months. An advantage of buying the Aussie tubers that have been grown in Europe (as opposed to Australia if you could get them) is that the seasons are adjusted.

I also grow Pterostylis curta (another Aussie) that grows like a weed, doubling or tripling each year. This one have had for a long time... produces lots of extras to donate to societies or give to friends. Other Pterostylis that I have tried have been failures... this particular one seems to love my conditions. (on my website)