Here in South Australia, it is very common to see a covering of She Oak needles (Allocasuarina sp.) on pots of terrestrial orchids. According to Les Nesbitt, NOSSA founding member and experienced terrestrial orchid grower, there are four reasons for this
It keeps the leaves up off the soil.
Provides good air circulation
Helps prevent leaf rot.
It provides nutrients to the fungi
This is very important for the fungi dependent orchids.
It stops pitting into the soil when it rains.
This is most likely to occur when pots are under the drip line of a shade-cloth.
Pitting exposes the root system.
It allows the leaves to readily come through because of its small diameters.
Other mulches, such as gum leaves, smother seedlings.
She Oak needles are the choice of mulch because it is
Long lasting and takes more than year to break down
which means that it lasts the whole growing season.
Does not become mushy or spongy
unlike pine needles and grass cuttings which breakdown more quickly into a wet soggy mass and contribute to leaf rot.
It should be noted that it is necessary to replace this mulch yearly.
These two pots were in the same area under the shadecloth. Notice the rain damage to the pot without the mulch.
When noticed, Australian orchids capture people’s imagination and many want to be able to grow them. As a result we often receive request for where to purchase them, particularly from overseas. For people overseas we are unable to help them. Recently I came across some comments from Philip Shin and he has kindly written about his experience with trying to purchase orchids from Australia. I trust that his experience will help our overseas people understand some of the issues involved.
So let’s hear what he has to say …..
It has been brought to my attention that there have been many requests from international buyers who wish to purchase Native Australian Terrestrial Orchids from Australia. To give you all a basic idea of who I am and why I’m writing this brief article, I will tell you a few things about me.
Firstly, I am an orchid hobbyist just like you all. I live in the United States of America. My love for orchids stemmed from repeated failures of growing bromeliads, (which I eventually learned how to grow), after which my parents had suggested I try growing orchids instead, as they might be easier to cultivate. I took them up on it and for the most part, when it came to many of the more commonly available orchid hybrids, they were right. After a few tries, I managed to not only grow some orchids, but I also was able to bloom them as well! From here, my appreciation for the hobby grew to include species orchids. Then I learned about terrestrial orchids and how people were attempting to cultivate them in their gardens/greenhouses, and that lead to me wanting to grow them too.
Some of the terrestrial orchids that caught my eyes were those pretty little blue flowered orchids in the genus Thelymitra. I was always told that there were “no such things as orchids that were true blue”, but seeing photos of them contradicted that notion, and thus I was intrigued. Then, I started hearing about how some people were attempting to grow them. I thought to myself, “I must have some!” And that was when reality hit hard.
You see, I eventually learned that acquiring Thelymitras through legal channels was quite an endeavour here in America. I had to acquire a permit through our APHIS/USDA (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service/ United States Department of Agriculture) to import plants from other countries, (specifically, Australia and Europe in the case of Thelymitras and a few other Native Australian Terrestrial Orchids). Of course, there was also paying for the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) permit and phytosanitary certificate in order to have them make it through our US Customs. The difficult part wasn’t necessarily with the USDA permit, but rather paying for the CITES permit and phytosanitary certificate. When Australia was open for export, the fees for CITES permits and phytosanitary certificates were rather high in price, running at about $250 USD per shipment. But shortly after making two orders to be shipped out from Australia, the exportation laws had changed radically! During this time, CITES and phytosanitary paperwork now cost somewhere in the order of $1,000 USD. It was now clear that Australia was no longer in the business of exporting goods from small companies. Which then brings us to the next option, Europe…
Europe had somehow also managed to get a hold of Native Australian Terrestrial Orchids much earlier than America did, but they were still not very prevalent in the hobby.
It then bears the question, “if Native Australian Terrestrial Orchids are already on the market, why aren’t they more prevalent or more popular?” The answer to this question would be, although people have attempted to grow these orchids, they are not necessarily the easiest orchids to grow long term. Some may be easier than others, but they are still a novelty in the hobby, partially because of this. The difficulty lies in that they are plants that have a tight symbiotic relationship with fungi. I’m not sure whether or not the orchids started to develop smaller and smaller root systems because of the symbiosis, but these orchids do tend to have rather negligible amount of roots. This often makes it difficult to cultivate these orchids, because once the roots get damaged for any reason, they pretty much die. Hence, why these orchids are not more prevalent in numbers despite the demand.
In short, this article is an explanation of the difficulties of obtaining Native Australian Terrestrial Orchids. And this is also some insight on how it is trying to obtain these plants here in America. For anyone coming across this article, I appreciate the time and effort it took for you to read through an American hobbyist’s perspective on Native Australian Terrestrial Orchids. Thank you.
Philip Shin
Pots of Thelymitra nuda cultivated by Les Nesbitt in South Australia
Just as a postscript, Philip mentioned that he could grow Diuris or Donkey Orchid “but that it takes quite a bit of trial and error before you can see anything that resembles success.”
In almost a word – every continent except the Antarctica.
Orchids are amazing, we expect to find them in the tropics but they can be found anywhere from the cold climes of Alaska to the semi-arid edge of the Australian deserts.
An Interactive Key to Australian Orchid Genera has an excellent chapter on habitats of Australian orchids.
15 habitats are listed with a list of the type of orchid likely to be found there. The vast majority of Australian terrestrial orchids are found in either lowland (less than 500 metres altitude), in coastal regions or in open forest/woodland. There are none in the Red Centre.
I like the Flying Duck orchid. It is truly a beautiful plant. Where can I buy one?
Answer
The Flying Duck orchid or Caleana major is an unusual and unique flower. Unfortunately, despite many attempts, no one has been able to cultivate it, so there is no supplier able to sell it.
I missed the NOSSA Spring Show and I was wondering if there was a way of purchasing native orchids – Cym canaliculatum, non-hybrid Sarcochilus, Den falcorostrum, D. ligguiforme & Bulbophyllums mainly, but also any others which will grow in shadehouse conditions in Victor Harbor?
Answer
There are several places where these orchids can be purchased. Sizes vary so suggested you contact the growers. Stick to larger and more established plants if you are a beginner. Most will grow well in Victor with the milder climate. If you get hold of Cym. canaliculatum make sure they are kept dry and under cover from April to October.
Orchids on Newbold, prop. Stephen Stebbing, can be accessed thru the net or better still, Ebay. Only found Bulb. shepherdii on the net last night but I have seen exiguum (I got a piece) but in the way of species Dendrobium he has cucumerinum, pugioniforme, tertagonum, linguiformis, schoeninum, striolatum ( various clones of the species). Has plenty of Sarcochilus but mostly hybrids, would suggest though he would have some of the typical species such as hartmanii, fitzgeraldii. He does have the Cymbidium species such as suave and maddidum but doubtful about canaliculatum.
Fernacres Nursery in Victoria deals will bush salvaged species from logging areas. Mostly sold bare root but has good sized plants for reasonable prices. This will be a better bet for picking up Den. falcorostrum and those mentioned above. They may have cannaliculatum.
The Rock Lily Man (Gerry Walsh) I know was selling sizeable clumps of established bush salvaged falcorostrum recently and should still have a few left. He has fabulous Den. speciosum available but be prepared to pay good dollars for show bench stuff.
Australian Orchid Nursery (Wayne Turville) specialises in natives but has moved a bit more towards Cymbidiums. His mounted plants are first class and I know from time to time he has some of the other Bulbophyllums.
You can always ask them for other species. They don’t always list everything and may have a piece or two of the lesser species lying around that they don’t list.
Most of these growers usually have links to other nurseries so with a bit of homework you can usually always get what you want.
I have scale on my Dendrobrium kingianum. How do I to treat it?
Answer:
A dilute mixture of eco oil and water is safe to use on Dendrobriums. Use a mist spray bottle and follow up two weeks later with a second spray to kill the hatchlings.
Alternatively you can drench the plant with “confidor”, a systemic insecticide.
NOSSA 