Japanese terrestrials 2023

[Subrosa]

Originally Posted by Roberta

I'll definitely be watching for mold... the notes from Kusamono do mention to check occasionally, remove any that show it. But they do need a little moisture. I grow a couple of warm-growing Habaneria (medusa and rhodocheila) and I give the bare pots a squirt of water about once a week (and have had no rot problem) People who keep those too dry end up killing them. I have learned - the hard way of course - that dormant doesn't necessarily mean "dry", and that some things that go dormant need to stay sopping wet in winter, chilly on my patio (Cynorkis gibbosa, for example) These Japanese terrestrials are a whole new adventure... but thinking about their native environment, I have to come to the conclusion that they not only tolerate some moisture when they are cold and dormant, but require it. Go back to some of the posts from Subrosa, who has a bog garden that includes some of these growing outdoors in a climate with real winter - they are certainly cold and damp when they are dormant.

I killed Pecteilis radiata and Ponerorchis graminifolia a couple times trying to winter them indoors. The first time the tubers dessicated and died because I kept them too dry, the second time they rotted from too much moisture. When I put a tuber of each in the bog garden along with x Enomotoe I was thinking they'd likely die anyway if I brought them in, so what the heck, why not try? I was amazed when all 3 came back the next spring, and more amazed that the graminifolia had come back from multiple new tubers. This year I counted at least 8 separate P. radiata plants. In the Bay area, an in ground set up might still work for these, but I suspect that SoCal would absolutely be too hot.

[Roberta]

These are definitely a stretch for me... they'll only have a chance in the 'fridge. If that doesn't work, then they are not to be. Winters are 'way too warm. Even a cool one... most nights are above 40 deg F and days above 60. And sometimes there are episodes of summer-like temps. So this is a "How far can I push the envelope?" exercise. I'll know the answer next spring.

[Subrosa]

Originally Posted by Roberta

These are definitely a stretch for me... they'll only have a chance in the 'fridge. If that doesn't work, then they are not to be. Winters are 'way too warm. Even a cool one... most nights are above 40 deg F and days above 60. And sometimes there are episodes of summer-like temps. So this is a "How far can I push the envelope?" exercise. I'll know the answer next spring.

Ponerorchis are considered hardy from zones 6-9. The same principle that plants are more cold hardy when planted in the ground also applies to heat tolerance. I suspect that a 5 gal bucket buried deep enough so the top 2" are above the surrounding grade, with the only drainage at about the level of the surrounding grade and the substrate mounded up above the rim of the bucket would be a worthwhile experiment that could produce good results.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Subrosa

Ponerorchis are considered hardy from zones 6-9. The same principle that plants are more cold hardy when planted in the ground also applies to heat tolerance. I suspect that a 5 gal bucket buried deep enough so the top 2" are above the surrounding grade, with the only drainage at about the level of the surrounding grade and the substrate mounded up above the rim of the bucket would be a worthwhile experiment that could produce good results.

Might be worth a try, but I have my doubts... many years ago, I received some tulips and other bulbs, they were shipped in October. They went into the 'fridge. Then in around January I figured it would be safe to plant them. A few weeks later we had one of our hot spells... dry winds, temps close to 90 deg F. The tulips sprouted, raised their little heads into the sunshine and said "Wait a minute, days are warm and bright so it must be spring but days are short so it's still winter.) They bloomed, too early, and stunted. The next year, I think I got 2 daffodils, then nothing.

The other problem I'd have is that I'm not sure that I could make a hole deep enough for that bucket without a jackhammer, my "soil" is rock-hard clay. This is definitely an experiment... They may be "annuals".

[Subrosa]

Only 1 flower spike this year, but lots of new plants as opposed to last year.

[Roberta]

More than I got... just hoping for tubers.