Eulophia speciosa = the accidental success
 

i collected a seed pod or two of eulophia speciosa some time back and put all the seed in a little container.... as a project on propagating seed for dummies....(part 1.)

a few months later upon doing a cleanup of the shade - house i accidentally dropped the container and the seed blew all over the show, as it was a very windy day....

totally un aware that a few months later i was pulling out these totally small ish weird looking weeds.... so i did some digging and found the bulbs hiding under the ground,,,, totally dumb struck as to what they were.....

Showed these funky bulbous weeds to a friend and was told that they were orchids......... then it hit me like a brick in the face ( the eulophia seed that blew all over)..........

so, pulled out everything i could find and well, they died..... so i went back to that garden where we had rented and found the most amazing sight......

Eulophia speciosa growing all over.... and flower spikes.......... this was just unreal........ so i relocated them as the owner was going to put concrete flooring down where they were growing.....

So, orchid propogating from seed for dummies ( part 1. ) was thus a great success......

now...... i gotta think about propogating orchids from seed for dummies (part 2.)

totally exiting stuff .....

some pics of the little guys in spike in there new home added....

Very cool! Did the seeds start in dirt?

they surely did....... pretty much a surprise when i found them growing there amongst all my other garden plants...... so now, this time round im going to try the same thing, but just this time round ill be sowing the seed in a container, and hoping for the best........... orchid seed propogation from seed for dummies (part 2. )

ohmygosh - that's fabulous! can't wait to see bloom pix!

First flower opened on the eulophia..... so i'll add a sneak preview of what the flower looks like...... and then again in a few weeks all five spikes should be blooming to all their glory..... sure to add a pic or two of then too... but for now..... i'll leave ya'll with this....

beautiful!

I am reviving this ancient thread because it's what's brought me here. Any chance there are still some eulophia speciosa plants or seeds still around? They're beautiful and should be perfectly suited for my climate.

Silverhill Seeds in Cape Town often sells seed of this, and a lot of other South African terrestrial orchids. Read about how to import seed legally. It is not hard to do, but you have to get a permit, and follow the rules.

I verified that seeds imported into the US do not require a phytosanitary certifcate while a plant might. I initially ordered '20 seeds' from a Bulgarian seller, but even though it was seemingly more than 20, it was still a very small amount. I was hoping for more like a pod's worth.

I'm mostly certain at the time I ordered, there was another site selling speciosa, maybe even Silverhill, but every time I've checked sites since, they've got nothing. I didn't want to split my order since I was getting a few others which silverhill didn't have.

I actually did order from Silverhill before, some honeybush, drosera, and gladiolus seeds.

You still need a plant import permit. There is one for plants in general, and one for small lots of seed. They are free to obtain. The rules are on the USDA-APHIS Web site.

Silverhill lists seed when it ripens and becomes available. You have to pay attention to the seasons in South Africa. Some kinds sell out quickly.