Anyone growing Bletillas? Seed question inside

[rbarata]

Hello, my friends

I'm thinking about buying one of these, a striata violacea (6 €).
It's an hardy genera so I can leave it outside without any worries. The flower are beautiful and the reproduction is easy, by seed as any other "normal" plant.

My question is: is it really easy to reproduce? I've read that it's just a matter of sowing the seeds in soil, nothing more.
Would like to confirm this and gather some more info from growers used to them.

[WhiteRabbit]

I found this info

Sow Outside: Seeds: Surface. Spring to the middle of summer. Pseudobulbs/root: cover. Late winter to early spring. Spacing 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm).
Sow Inside: Sow fresh seeds in a saucer upon blotting paper or a soaked towel. Next cover the saucer with glass or cling film. Transplant emerging seedlings to pots. Germination time: one month to one year in the light. Temperature 65 to 70°F (18 to 21°C). Transplant outdoors following the last frost.

here Bletilla Plant | How to Grow Orchids

I do grow one, but didn't start from seed. Mine has done well in zone 9.

[fishmom]

I have one pot which was marked Bletilla ochracea when I bought it, but I'm pretty sure it is a striata. It has gone from one to 4 growths with new bulbs growing out from the center. I've never seen seed pods form on the spikes nor any sign of seedlings growing. But it does seem to spread easily from the bulbs.

[Selmo]

We get seed pods yearly, but have not tried germinating them. They divide and grow fairly quickly, have no need to grow from seed. Have not seen new seed germinated starts in the pots, so I don't know how easy they are to grow from seeds without some intervention or help. We do give them a resting period during the winter where we let them go dormat. After the first frost we bring them into the unheated garage and leave them there until spring, when they start to grow agian and we can put them outside without fear of freezing.

[rbarata]

Thank for the info.
So today I bought a striatta alba. I wanted I violacea but the vendor has sold them all. Here's a photo of an alba just for reference (taken from the internet) because now it's just a bulb under the medium (although there's something green starting to show)


And the whole plant.

[Selmo]

I think you made a good choice. We have two colors of Bletilla striata, purple, the common color and white, ours is called 'innocence'. The common color is supposed to be a little more cold hardy, but have not noticed much difference in either one. We do grow them in pots, so we can move them in the garage for winter. We are just alittle to far north to grow them outdoors with much success year after year. They do better here if we move them in, to keep them from freezing. And put them back out in spring when they start growing again. This is when they bloom, sometimes they are starting to bloom before we can safely move them back out. So you may have to give them a rest and cooling period to get them to bloom. Good Luck with Bletilla striata, the hardy Chinese ground orchid. In the photo you can see the purple flowers in front and white flower buds in the back.

[Orchidbyte]

I live in the Los Angeles area and have those in ground in garden, they grow and flower bigger and better every year. Have had lots of seed pods and tried to germinate them in different ways with no success yet. I'll keep trying and post if I ever do get seedlings.

[rbarata]

Thanks for the info.
I've put it outside. After all that's one of the reasons why I bought it, the cold tolerance.
We have been with temps around low 80's (day) and low 60's at night but the forecast points to a temp drop...it seems now the autumn is beginning.

[LexyBoy]

I've picked the single pod on mine a couple of days ago - don't know if it will be ripe as there was still some green on it, but will have a go sowing it on boiled Sphagnum in a ziplock bag if it looks alright.

I've grown plain B. striata here (inland southern England) for years and it's perfectly hardy, but isn't quite as vigorous as I'd like. I think it probably wants more sun and water than it gets. Mine are now shedding their leaves rapidly. Temperatures are around 10-15 C highs and 3-7 C lows, expecting a little ground frost tonight.

I might have to get some of that white variety, it's nice!