Dactyloriza foliosa, Madeiran Orchid.
One of the brightest and easiest ground orchids to grow in your garden this is a great garden plant that is unusual and interesting.
It is a native of the Portuguese Island of Madeira where it grows very well often reaching heights of up to 800mm in swampy grassland. It is protected in the wild by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Those plants in cultivation today are descendants of plants collected before CITES or are cultivars that have been developed in cultivation. The genus Dactyloriza is widespread throughout Europe and UK with many more species.
Dactyloriza foliosa suffers from a number of previous names including Orchis maderenseis, Orchis foliosa. This is typical of plants know to and cultivated by humans for many years.
The origin of its botanical name Dacty meaning finger and rhiza meaning root referring to its finger like root system which is also interesting. Foliosa means richly leaved referring to its long lovely leaves. New tubers (roots) are grown each year usually producing two flowering spikes then the old roots die and new short tubers formed ready for the next season. During the winter these short tubers lengthen ready for next spring.
Spring growth starts with lovely, long, somewhat fleshy looking, bright green leaves up to 350mm long and bout 40mm wide. There are no spots on the leaves like other members of this genus. The leaves are followed by tall spikes of numerous purple flowers spread along the top of a 250mm spike. The splendid intense magenta pink flowers make a wonderful site in early summer.
Here in New Zealand I only grow this in the open ground but others may grow it in pots. I prefer to leave it alone but if grown in pots it will need repotting every three years.
Propagation can be by lifting the plants and dividing the roots/tubers and repotting each separately. Alternatively it readily sets seed with about 1000 seeds per pod. However to grow from seed requires a symbiotic relationship with a special fungi found in compost and grown in somewhat sterile conditions although sometimes it has been known to grow from seed in the garden if the fungi is present.
Once growing it is very easy to grow and each year will produce a lovely display.
It is a native of the Portuguese Island of Madeira where it grows very well often reaching heights of up to 800mm in swampy grassland. It is protected in the wild by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Those plants in cultivation today are descendants of plants collected before CITES or are cultivars that have been developed in cultivation. The genus Dactyloriza is widespread throughout Europe and UK with many more species.
Dactyloriza foliosa suffers from a number of previous names including Orchis maderenseis, Orchis foliosa. This is typical of plants know to and cultivated by humans for many years.
The origin of its botanical name Dacty meaning finger and rhiza meaning root referring to its finger like root system which is also interesting. Foliosa means richly leaved referring to its long lovely leaves. New tubers (roots) are grown each year usually producing two flowering spikes then the old roots die and new short tubers formed ready for the next season. During the winter these short tubers lengthen ready for next spring.
Spring growth starts with lovely, long, somewhat fleshy looking, bright green leaves up to 350mm long and bout 40mm wide. There are no spots on the leaves like other members of this genus. The leaves are followed by tall spikes of numerous purple flowers spread along the top of a 250mm spike. The splendid intense magenta pink flowers make a wonderful site in early summer.
Here in New Zealand I only grow this in the open ground but others may grow it in pots. I prefer to leave it alone but if grown in pots it will need repotting every three years.
Propagation can be by lifting the plants and dividing the roots/tubers and repotting each separately. Alternatively it readily sets seed with about 1000 seeds per pod. However to grow from seed requires a symbiotic relationship with a special fungi found in compost and grown in somewhat sterile conditions although sometimes it has been known to grow from seed in the garden if the fungi is present.
Once growing it is very easy to grow and each year will produce a lovely display.