spiranthes odorata for outdoors?
 

Hi all--

I just bought a Spiranthes odorata from Andy's Orchids and am thinking about growing it outside in central Ohio. Here's the scoop on my growing conditions:
Zone 5
heavy clay soils (but I do have one spot that's been well amended with leaves and compost so it's a loamy clay and hosts Trillium sessile, T. grandiflorum, Wind ginger, jack in the pulpit, and native rue anemones)
Light is anything from shade to dappled shade to full sun depending on where I put it.

From what I've read, S. odorata likes moisture and a fairly high amount of sunlight. I gather is also needs drainage (moist but well drained soils). So, has anyone grown this in zone 5 or colder? What were the conditions? Anything in particular I should do??

My alternate plan since it's a temperate orchid is to pot it in a rich mix (cymbidium mix maybe?) and overwinter it in the garage where temps don't drop much below the 20's.

Thanks in advance!

Catherine

I grow mine outdoors in a Sarracenia bog. A 50/50 mix of peat and sand, always at least moist, full sun. Under these conditions it grows and spreads rapidly. I question the need for drainage. The place I got mine grows them in nursery pots full of stone set in 3"-4" of water.

Thank you Subrosa! I have a creek and boggy areas going through the property as well, so that might be a possibility (though with my luck the deer would eat it)....You're a couple of zones warmer than I am--any ideas about winter hardiness?

Any thoughts on soil pH? My soils are relatively "sweet" due to the clay content, but if you're growing yours in a peat/sand mixture I would think that would be more acidic....

The source listing for this plant, according to Andy's, is Massachusetts, so I would think it would be hardy here but you never know. I'd like to establish it (and other native orchids) if I can--they should be part of the biome and I suspect were eradicated when the land was used for pasture and crops.

Catherine

I have a good friend who grows it just outside Boston, which is zone 5. He also grows it in a bog. The water that the nursery uses is moderately hard with a pH in the mid 7s, so I suspect acidity in the soil isn't a requirement.

That helps a lot--thank you!

Catherine

Definitely an obligate wetland plant. See: Plants Profile for Spiranthes odorata (marsh lady's tresses). Wetland does not mean perpetually with roots in water. It does mean water within 12:inches of the sil surface. Looking it up in "Wild Orchids of the Southeastern United States, North of Peninsular Florida(Paul Matin Brown)", it can get inundated frequently, and sometimes blooms when submerged. No hints on soil type. MAybe Andy's orchids can give further cultural hints.

Zooming in on the range map, the natural range ends south of you (central Kentucky).

To grow a zone 7 plant in zone 5, in ground, you might need to mulch heavily in the autumn, uncover in spring and protect with a milk jug or other makeshift greenhouse until the last frost has passed. For some inspiration, read how people overwinter fig trees outdoors in colder climates. :)

Another alternative is to put them in the fridge for the winter, like one does with Pleiones or a cool window. I found that my venus fly trap and Sarc go into 'winter mode' in my window.

I should just point out that I don't grow this orchid.

Good luck!

Thank you all!

I do have an edible fig and a rosemary I overwinter in the garage, so that's certainly do-able for this orchid as well.

I'd thought about going the deep mulch root (plenty of maple and oak leaves here) too. Also, I have a sheltered spot along the house that's probably half a zone to a zone warmer than the rest of the property, though the soil is on the dry side.

Good news on this plant is it's listed as having a pretty wide range, and Andy's lists the source location for this one as Massachusetts, so with luck it will be pretty hardy. I'd really rather not lose it!

I moved it out to the porch this morning where it will get bright dappled shade and set it in a saucer of water (thank you Orchid Whisperer for the plant profile link--I'll read through it when I have time tonight!)....

Catherine

My friend's are in the ground, and he usually mulches. Mine are in the ground and get no special winter care. If you can dig a hole 1.5' deep by as large as you like, line it with a tarp and fill with a sand/peat mix you could put them in your sheltered space.

Hmmmm, I like your idea Subrosa! Wish I'd bought more than one now since it would be interesting to try growing it in a couple of different places to see where it does best.

If you put it in bog conditions, the more sun it gets the better it will do. Worst case is you need to mulch, but in a protected microclimate you might not even need to. Plus a sunny bog opens you up to lots of beautiful and interesting plants such as Sarracenia, Venus Fly Traps, etc. You're going to need a bigger hole......

If you start with Sarracenia you'll be hooked hahaha

You people are such BAD influences (in the best possible way, of course).

I just discovered Epiphyllums (orchid cactus) and cane begonias, sounds like Sarracenias might be next....Though I'm more partial to butterworts and sundews....

Both Pinguicula (butterwort) and Drosera (dews) are very nice and depending on where you live, you probably have some species native to your area.
But Sarracenia are a completely different ball game in my opinion ;)

I just saw them in the wild so I may be biased... but you tell me ;)
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Definitely gorgeous....Love the pic with the frog balanced on the lip. Guess I'm going to be digging a much bigger hole.....

The roadblock to some of these species may be my "liquid rock" well water. Ohio is over limestone/sandstone (courtesy of the shallow seas that existed at various times going back to the Ordovician) and the water has a high mineral content (calclum, magnesium, iron, sulfur, and so on). African Rift Lake (Malawi, Tanganyika, Victoria) cichlids thrive in the stuff, which should tell you something.

So, plants (and fish!) that need softer or more acidic water (or both) tend to struggle here, though I do collect and use rainwater as much as possible for sensitive species. Peat, BTW, has a tendency to bind some of the mineral ions and both soften and acidify the water, but I don't know how well that will work for large volumes.

I can just see explaining to the garden center that the bales of peat I'm loading up aren't for my strawberries/blueberries, but for a bunch of orchids and carnivorous plants....

Catherine

Unfortunately if there's one things these guys hate, it's hard water. I assume you've tested your water's tds already?

Fwiw a nursery I used to work at routinely kept Sarracenia in trays of our local tap water that has a tds of around 200 ppm. They didn't do as well as mine at home, but they grew. Sundews and fly traps are a different matter entirely.

Also, there are Sarracenia that are native to Ohio (Sarracenia purpurea)

I have the same problem...hard/softened water. I buy distilled water for the CP's when rain is lacking. For my citrus and other low pH plants, I add bark/Ironite and let the rains flush the pots well in the summer.

Great pictures of the Sarcs!

Glad you liked them :)

My TDS out of the well runs approx 300, and the pH is right around 7.4, so pretty tough for many bog plants unless I dilute it 50/50 with rainwater (have to do it anyway for some of the fish I keep from softer water)....It works great as long as there's rain.

I'll have to do some digging (pun intended) and see what I can come up with. SFLguy, you may just get me growing pitchers yet....

Catherine

One consideration is that a well designed bog will hold water for a long time once filled.

Someone down here waters his bog once a year