Description
This is a book for adventurous gardeners with an appreciation for temperate orchid species and native wildflowers. A surprising number of terrestrial orchids are hardy, some able to withstand temperatures down to minus 50°F or minus 45.5°C. Though they have a reputation for being challenging to cultivate, in truth, most hardy orchids are no more so than a rose. This is great news for gardeners, who will enjoy filling their gardens with their enchanting fragrances, vibrant color displays, and long-lived blooms. At the center of the book is a catalog of 103 hardy and half-hardy orchids. In addition to detailing the techniques of cultivation and propagation, the book covers conservation and includes lists of suppliers and organizations offering nursery-propagated plants — an especially critical issue for species in danger of extinction.
Growing Hardy Orchids introduces an exciting array of orchids from 47 diverse genera that can be cultivated in a cool greenhouse or outside, in their rightful place among other temperate garden plants. Taking important lessons from the orchids’ natural histories and life cycles, the authors provide practical information on all aspects of growing hardy orchids: raising plants from seed, vegetative propagation, cultivation in pots and in open ground, coping with pests and diseases and orchid conservation. By focusing on orchids that are `easy to raise’, including hardy hybrids, Growing Hardy Orchids shows how orchids need no longer be under-utilised in our gardens.
