Some can take it cold AND flower!

[KyushuCalanthe]

I haven't been posting much lately due to being busy, but I thought you all would enjoy seeing a few winter flowering orchids I've managed to grow outside here in southern Japan. Candace's recent post of her Neolauchea pulchella prompted me to post these pics.

First is Leptotes unicolor. This plant has lived successfully through two summers and one winter so far. Last year it grew a bud, but early cold blasted it. This year it managed to have a flower.

Another cold hardy orchid is Isabelia virginalis. This too has lived through two summers and one winter. It flowered last year and is doing so again this year!

Another Isabelia I've grown for several years now is I. pulchella (AKA Neolauchea pulchella). This plant grows very well here and the flower buds always form in December. They will sit all winter and wait until warmth returns in late March or April to flower. This plant is very sturdy, especially considering its size, and the flower buds are frost proof!

All of these plants have endured freezes down to 27 F with no problems. The only issue is that the flowers don't like below freezing, so they are lost once a frost hits...that's a bummer, since it is supposed to freeze here tomorrow night!

 

[SlipperKing]

Great stuff! thanks for the ideas

 

[biothanasis]

Very cool plants and flowers!! Nice mounting too!!!

 

[Candace]

Neat.

 

[Shiva]

God! I wish it was that cold here.

 

[NYEric]

I've killed a lot of isabelia virginalis. I will now get another one to try cool, thanx.

 

[Leo Schordje]

I'm with Eric, I've killed my share of these. Perhaps I should keep them in the 'cold' area of the basement grow lights.

Thanks for sharing Tom.

 

[rdlsreno]

Interesting!

Ramon

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

I've killed a lot of isabelia virginalis. I will now get another one to try cool, thanx.

Eric and Leo,

Really easy on the water and give it lots of air movement with bright light. The tricky part is they also demand high humidity as well...

I failed to mention that they all are growing semi-naturally on a hinoki cypress, Chamaecyparis obtusa, in a friend's garden. The moss grows unaided due to the high humidity of this location and the orchids really seem to love rooting into it.

 

[goldenrose]

:clap::clap::clap:

 

[etex]

WOW!! Very nice plants and blooms!

 

[SlipperFan]

Neat, Tom. I didn't know Leptotes liked it that cold.

 

[JeanLux]

too cool Tom!!! Interesting that leptotes and Neolauchea pulchella can grow that cold!!! (as said in Candace's thread, my pulchella is flowering in my gh right now, and my unicolor flowered with 5 blooms some weeks ago but is flowers did not look very happy at my gh temps!!) Jean