Nigritella widderi, a mountain-orchid in Bavaria

[ORG]

Yesterday I found in the mountains after a longer walk
Nigritella widderi
The plant is only 10 - 20 cm high, but really attractive.

Here together with Nigritella rhellicanii, the black Nigritella.

It is impossible to cultivate these plants in the garden or greenhouse

Best greetings

Olaf

 

[Berthold]

Yesterday I found in the mountains after a longer walk
It is impossible to cultivate these plants in the garden or greenhouse

Best greetings

Olaf

no, it is not

Best greetings
Berthold

 

[newbud]

What a cool orchid in situ, especially the black one. What are all the other wild flowers?

 

[SlipperFan]

Crazy orchids!

 

[NYEric]

no, it is not

Best greetings
Berthold

Actually, I believe any orchid is growable if you're willing to make the conditions right. That's part of the challenge/fun of the hobby.

 

[Dido]

Nice pics as usual thanks for sharing

 

[Berthold]

Actually, I believe any orchid is growable if you're willing to make the conditions right. That's part of the challenge/fun of the hobby.

No, I would not say that.
Some orchids are dependent of special fungi because they need protection against other fungi or mircoorganisms. And it is not possible to cultivate those fungi in pots because they can only exist on living roots of other plants specially of trees like truffle fungi.

You can cultivate such orchids under sterile conditions in glasses only

 

[JeanLux]

Very nice esp. the pic with the 2 colors !!!! I am very curious about that 2nd pic: what is that white stuff? Ice ? Jean

 

[likespaphs]

fantastic flowers!
look a little like clover

 

[Stone]

Actually, I believe any orchid is growable if you're willing to make the conditions right. That's part of the challenge/fun of the hobby.

Dipodium punctatum is impossible. It's a saporophyte without chlorophyll which needs a fungus which needs a eucalyptus tree to survive.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

A lovely species at any rate, and living in a an equally gorgeous habitat.

A number of terrestrial orchids are either "impossible" or really tough to grow - some lacking much chlorophyll while others being very green. Of the later perplexing group I'd put in members of Cephalanthera and some Epipactis. Similarly, to date no one has openly demonstrated the ability to cultivate Cypripedium irapeanum (and its sister species, C. dickinsonianum and C. molle) on artificial composts either.

So for practical purposes some species are impossible to grow in typical conditions, even when extreme measures have been taken to keep them happy.

 

[newbud]

I've been told by two different Cyp growers that C. acuale is impossible to grow for more than 3 years, even if you take a cubic foot of earth around it with you. Don't know why but I believe them, scientific people. Know a lot more than I do.

 

[Berthold]

I've been told by two different Cyp growers that C. acuale is impossible to grow for more than 3 years, even if you take a cubic foot of earth around it with you. Don't know why but I believe them, scientific people. Know a lot more than I do.

Cyprip. acaule is easy to grow if You keep it in subtrate with pH between 3.5 and 4.5. This species has no protection mechanism against microorganisms therefore it has to flee in a acid area where microorganisms cannot exist well.
Cyp. acaule is one of the few plant which learned to exist under acid conditions

 

[cnycharles]

Very nice esp. the pic with the 2 colors !!!! I am very curious about that 2nd pic: what is that white stuff? Ice ? Jean

I think it's part of the mountain

nice pics, thank you!

Scientific people often do know more than the rest of us, but also it's much easier to explain to someone, that 'orchids are impossible to grow outside of their habitat', than for them to try to provide the whole explanation that "many aren't; others are with extreme measures (like explained above), others are but I don't want to go into detail of the whole need to conserve and protect to keep them from disappearing from the wild because humans are greedy.. and on.." there are also terrestrial temperate orchids (as well as tropical or mountainous epiphytes) that just have a very short lifespan. to go to a whole lot of trouble to get seed of something, or dig it up to put in the garden, when it probably only lives a few years until it sets seed, is an exercise in futility. just like the tortoise and the hare, there are orchids that live either a very long or short time

I try to explain to people new to native orchids the whole need for conservation, and try to avoid telling them that there are orchids that can be grown in pots; because anyone will rationalize to themselves that 'this orchid that I really want, I will find a way to keep it alive', so they go dig it up and it dies. We all rationalize that we can keep our tropical orchids alive, to support our need to search out and buy ones we don't have any chance of keeping alive just because it looks pretty. after a while if someone continues to have interest in the natives and learns while they are visiting sites, often they will end up learning more about them and the need to conserve and the differences in their needs, and hopefully realize that it's better to get them from an orchid nursery than to dig them up. .. and by that time, they may have learned on their own what will live and what won't, and won't bother trying to do things with the ones that just don't persist

also, hybrids are just as pretty and easier to take care of

(my ramble for the day )

 

[Berthold]

Dipodium punctatum is impossible. It's a saporophyte without chlorophyll which needs a fungus which needs a eucalyptus tree to survive.

yes, You have to transfer the eucalyptus tree into the garden and keep it running also.

 

[cnycharles]

yes, You have to transfer the eucalyptus tree into the garden and keep it running also.

I have an idea (not necessarily a 'real' one but sort of funny); make a bonsai version of the eucalyptus tree, grow it in a pot, and then sow some seed of the diplodium around the base

i'm pretty sure that there are terrestrials around here that grow on the fungus that grow on beech tree roots; not sure if it would ever be possible to make a bonsai of that tree, however

 

[Berthold]

I have an idea (not necessarily a 'real' one but sort of funny); make a bonsai version of the eucalyptus tree, grow it in a pot, and then sow some seed of the diplodium around the base

i'm pretty sure that there are terrestrials around here that grow on the fungus that grow on beech tree roots; not sure if it would ever be possible to make a bonsai of that tree, however

it is pretty difficult to install a stable symbiose of tree and fungus. But this would be precondition for successful orchid growing.

 

[NYEric]

Dipodium punctatum is impossible. It's a saporophyte without chlorophyll which needs a fungus which needs a eucalyptus tree to survive.

See, you've just given the method to grow the orchid!

 

[Erythrone]

very nice!

 

[Leo Schordje]

I have an idea (not necessarily a 'real' one but sort of funny); make a bonsai version of the eucalyptus tree, grow it in a pot, and then sow some seed of the diplodium around the base

i'm pretty sure that there are terrestrials around here that grow on the fungus that grow on beech tree roots; not sure if it would ever be possible to make a bonsai of that tree, however

Those in the bonsai hobby are always spreading around innoculant for the symbiotic mycorhizae for their pines, and frequently they do get a pine to establish a stable mycorhizae. This is not a totally impractical idea. Some of the mycorhizae used by orchids are species also used by other plants and trees. Oaks and Pines in particular have the potential of sharing mycorhizae with the nearby orchids. So it might be worth a try. I have a couple pines and oaks in various stages of training, they are still mostly sticks in pots, but they have mycorhizae which I have seen when I repot them. Might be worth a try. This fall I plan on spreading Spiranthes magnicomporum seed over a couple of my trees, and see if anything comes up in spring.