Right now, you can hardly navigate through the garden centers, big box stores and grocery floral sections due to the avalanche of orchids. Most are moth orchids or Phalaenopsis, which are relatively easy to grow indoors and, thanks to tissue culture, incredibly cheap to produce. If they make your heart sing during the dark months, go for it. I may do so myself, but for now I am looking ahead and fixating on a terrestrial orchid that I can grow in my garden—bletilla, sometimes referred to as Chinese ground orchid, or by another, non-euphonious name, “urn orchid”. You can’t grow bletilla on your coffee table in February, but it is, nonetheless, one of the current darlings of catalog and online vendors.
The most popular of the bletilla clan, all native to Asia, is striped bletilla or Bletilla striata. The striped reference most likely applies to the long leaves, which look as if they have been vertically folded or pleated. These arise from rhizomes, which also produce twenty-four to thirty-six inch flower stalks in mid spring. The flowers are recognizably orchid-like with the lower petal swollen into a lip-like structure. The species sports purple flowers, but breeding has expanded that range just a bit and you can buy bletilla orchids in a variety of purple shades, as well as white, not to mention purple and white bi-colored varieties.
None of my gardening friends grow bletilla, unless they do so without my knowledge as part of questionably-motivated, covert horticultural operations. I have no idea why these lovely plants are not more popular, as their cultural requirements are anything but onerous. The striatas are hardy to USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6a, which means they can withstand winter temperatures down to negative five degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Many guides suggest mulching heavily if you experience such temperatures and leaving mulch blankets in place until spring has sprung with certainty. Perhaps some gardeners have neglected those steps, killed off their bletilla orchids and vented their frustrations by spreading the word that they hard to grow. I would hope that gardeners would have more character, but you never know.
At any rate, if you choose to grow these ground orchids, situate them in a lightly shaded spot that remains consistently moist, perhaps on the very edge of a woodland or shade garden. For those with any doubts, the moisture requirement also means supplemental irrigation during dry periods. Happy bletilla orchids can grow into healthy clumps after a few years.
Hybridizers have also gone to work on bletilla, creating some pretty plants. By crossing Bletilla striata with another species, Bletilla formosana, breeder Dr. William Mathis of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, created Bletilla x yokohama ‘Kate’. with pale purple flowers adorned with freckled yellow throats. Palest violet ‘Sweet Lips’ is another striata/formosana cross, with a lip that is darker purple striped with the lighter shade.
If you want to mix things up in your Bletilla striata array, buy any of the purple varieties and an equal number of the white-flowered ‘Alba’ or ‘White Pearl’ orchids.
To garden adventurously means to “push the zone”, attempting to grow plants that are only marginally hardy in your USDA zone. I am dying to push the zone and grow Bletilla ochracea, a tall, delicate ground orchid that is hardy only to USDA Zone 7a. The flowers are a glorious pale yellow with golden-orange striped lips. It is so beautiful that I would willingly lavish it with mulch for the winter and swathe it in a flannel blanket as well. The Chinese native can take more sun than its striata relatives, though it still needs consistent moisture.
As I page through the various catalogs, I find myself getting excited about these orchids. My garden is home to a small area that contains the requisite lightly shaded, mostly-moist spots. The ground orchids might work well in front of some equally thirsty hydrangeas. The prospect is tempting and I have a feeling that life is simply too short to ignore the urge to grow orchids.
Almost all the perennial plant catalogs list one or two bletilla orchids. For a good selection, try Plant Delights Nursery, 9241 Sauls Road, Raleigh, NJ 27603; (919) 772-4794; http://www.plantdelights.com. Catalog price: 10 first class stamps or—and this is real—one box of chocolates. The people at Plant Delights have always claimed to prefer the chocolates.