|
|
|
|
This is an article that has been published in the South African Orchid Council Yearbook Publication - VOL. 36 of 2005
Introduction My favourite gardening organisation, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), celebrated its bicentenary in 2004 and I thought it fitting to write an article about the phragmipediums in its orchid collection, housed at the world-famous Wisley gardens. Wisley is the oldest of the four RHS gardens and was a gift to the society from Sir Thomas Hanbury in 1903. The garden is situated just outside and to the west of London, near Woking and it has become one of my regular stops when visiting the UK. Singapore
Airlines Orchid House One of many great features of this garden is the Singapore Airlines Orchid House. To get to it you need to walk nearly the whole length of the garden, which is, in itself, a delight for all interested in plants and gardening. My favourite plant along the way is the giant rhubarb (Gunnera manicata) from Brazil, which is surprisingly quite hardy in the UK.
Author infront of Gunnera manicata Singapore Orchid display house- Natural display
Singapore Airlines sponsored the orchid display house, which opened on November 6, 1991. On entering this house-, from the existing tropical glasshouse, you will find a traditional display area, at the centre of which is a Victorian display case always filled with a charming exhibit of tiny pleurothalids and other interesting miniature orchids. Next to this is a tiered display area for orchids in season (when our indigenous Stenoglottis longifolia is in bloom it is used here as a “filler”) leading into the landscaped rainforest filled with orchids, ferns and other tropical plants.
Flowering phragmipediums can be found during the whole year throughout this magnificent orchid display house, which is managed by Lucinda Lachelin, Senior Supervisor: Glasshouse Department at Wisley and Secretary for the RHS Orchid Committee, assisted by a student. The bulk of the Wisley Phragmipedium collection was acquired from the Eric Young Orchid Foundation (EYOF) in Jersey when Lucinda and her student went over with an empty car and came back with it stuffed full of phrags that were being discarded when the Foundation was doing its spring cleaning. Most of the phragmipediums brought back, were from the then new Phrag. besseae line of breeding. The bulk of the Wisley phragmipediums are grown away from the display house in a Dutch-manufactured glasshouse, which was built in August 2002. This house is much taller than the previous glasshouse, which allows for better air movement, temperature stability and light transmission. Shading is provided in summer by means of thermal shading screens that are activated whenever light levels are very high. Formerly, whitewash was applied to the glass roof in late spring. The glasshouse is kept at a minimum temperature of 18°C (which Lucinda confessed might be a little high for phrags) and the plants are grown in a well-drained mixture of rock wool and perlite. Plants are watered with warmed rainwater. Rain is collected from the greenhouse roof and stored in outside tanks. Watering and fertilising is done throughout the year and the plants are never allowed to dry out completely. The rock wool growing medium does not break down and the plants are only re-potted when they outgrow their pots; after a period which varies from two to five years. Re-potting is usually done in spring, as time permits. Most of the phragmipediums flower successively throughout the year and will stay in bloom for many weeks for visitors to admire. To me, they seem to be at their best in autumn (October). Lucinda mentioned that the newer hybrids are now being bred to have more than a single flower open on the inflorescence at any one time. This has come about through the use of Phrag. dalessandroi in the various hybrids, in place of Phrag. besseae, so the future now promises even better displays. At the moment, the orchid section has the following phragmipedium species and hybrids on display at various times of the year:
A collection of phragmipediums seen during my visit of October 2002
Successful
Phragmipedium culture Most phragmipediums are terrestrials; Phrag. pearcei grows in the muddy banks of streams; however, a few can be lithophytic [Phrag. (Mexipedium) xerophyticum], or even epiphytic (Phrag. caudatum). According to Marilyn LeDoux of Windy Hill Gardens, some terrestrial phrags even grow in the splash zones of waterfalls and may even be submerged during periods of heavy rain. The atmosphere near a waterfall is constantly moist, cool and buoyant; ideal conditions for many phrags. Most phragmipediums need medium to high light intensities except for Phrag. besseae and Phrag schlimii, which prefer to be grown under slightly lower light intensities. Phragmipediums are essentially cool-growing and thrive between minimum temperatures of 10-15°C and maximum temperatures of 21-27°C. The relative humidity should not be less than 50-60% with sufficient air movement to keep the atmosphere buoyant. One of the most important aspects of Phragmipedium culture is water quality. The water should be as pure as possible. If water quality is a problem, try to collect rain water or use reverse osmosis water. Phrags are not heavy feeders and the use of a quarter strength fertilizer once weekly should suffice. Completely flush the pots with clean water every fourth week. Phragmipediums are not very demanding when it comes to their growing substrate and one can use a variety of media as long as the one used retains moisture, has good aeration properties and does not break down too quickly. So far the best medium I have come across is a grated rock wool product sold commercially as SteinMix, to which I only add some perlite. Plastic pots are preferred to clay pots because the latter dry out too quickly. Plants should be re-potted once a year if water quality is poor or alternatively every two or three years when good quality water is being used. Phragmipedium is one genus which is not troubled by a lot of pests and diseases. Plants can be sprayed preventatively with any fungicide/bactericide or curatively with an appropriate insecticide against thrips and mites which may occasionally be encountered. If
you remember that they like cool damp feet, a head in the sun, good air movement
and quality water, success can be almost guaranteed. Future
prospects The current display house at Wisley has now reached the end of its useful lifespan and will be replaced with an even larger display house, the Bicentenary Glasshouse. Work should start in August 2004, for possible completion by 2006. The new house will be more than twice the size of the current one, approximately 3000 square metres (an area equivalent to 10 tennis courts) of display area for all kinds of tropical and temperate plants. At the moment it is unsure whether the orchids will have a separate section in the new house, or if they will be incorporated into a more general display. Whatever the outcome, the Bicentenary Glasshouse will definitely be worth a visit. Additionally, the woodland garden and the alpine house also boast an ever increasing number of hardy terrestrial orchids, and a casual stroll through them during spring will reveal a number of very interesting orchids, such as Calanthe, Pleione, Epipactis, Dactylorhiza etc.; you may also spot the heavenly blue Meconopis grandis poppy from the Himalayas. How
to get to RHS garden Wisley To get to the RHS Garden, Wisley, take the train from Waterloo Station to Woking (on the Waterloo to Portsmouth line). There you can hop onto the Wisley bus or take a short taxi ride to the gardens. The gardens are open daily from 10h00 to sunset except on Christmas Day. On a Sunday, the garden is only open to RHS members. The bus service between Woking Railway Station and Wisley runs on weekdays from 03 May to 01 October, at 11h00 and returns to the station, leaving Wisley at 16h15. The return fare, for this bus service, is ₤5.00 for an adult and ₤2.00 for a child. Contact details: Tel: 01483 212340 Fax: 01483 212343 Web: http://www.rhs.org.uk References Bechtel, Cribb, and Launert. 1992. Phragmipedium. The manual of cultivated orchid species. Third edition. UK: Blandford Press. 473-476. Cash, Catherine. 1991. The Genus Phragmipedium The Slipper Orchids. Great Britain: Timber Press, Inc. 137-149. Feature issue: Phragmipedium. Orchid Digest, 67(4). 2003. Gray, D. 2004. Through the looking glass. The Garden, 129(6), June: 134-141. Leendertz, L. 2004. Four of a kind – RHS garden Wisley, Surrey. The Garden, 129(2), February: 442-445. Phragweb© The Phragmipedium Website (including Mexipedium & Selenipedium). 1998- 2005. Rob Zuiderwijke. Available on the Internet at: http:// www.phragweb.info (31 July 2004). Pierce, P. 1997. The Royal Horticultural Society WISLEY garden. London: The KPC group. Pridgeon, A. 1992. Phragmipedium. What Orchid is that? Sydney Australia: A Kevin Weldon ProductioPn. 228-229. The Royal Horticultural Society. 2004. RHS. Available on the Internet at: http://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/registration_orchids.asp (31 July 2004).
Acknowledgements 1. Lucinda Lachelin, Senior Supervisor: Glasshouse Department at Wisley and Secretary for the RHS Orchid Committee, for information regarding their Phragmipedium collection and future plans.
2. Greig Russel for editing this article and constructive criticism.
|
|
Please Note: The opinions & recommendations made in articles that appear on this website, are those of the individual authors, and not those of the Orchid Society of Northern Transvaal (ONT). The ONT neither adopts nor endorses such opinions & recommendations and disclaims all responsibility for them. This includes products advertised on this website. |
