Ground Orchid

Last weekend I purchased an orchid from Southern Homes in Montgomery, AL. When I saw it was only $10, I grabbed it. Where can you get an orchid for that price that is blooming! And at Southern Homes, too. I have done some research on it since I brought it home and found out it has a horrible name--Spathoglottis. It sounds like it might be a throat condition. This is a terrestrial orchid of tropical climes so I will not be growing it in the ground here in Alabama. As near as I can tell, it probably originated in the Phillipines or somewhere in there. This pot seems to have several plants in it, so that is a definite plus.

These are Betilla, another ground orchid. I bought these from some cheap mail order place maybe as long ago as 30 years.There were probably 3 to 5 bulbs in the beginning. They die back in the fall and sit in these pots without water till they start new growth in February. They come up ready to bloom.. These are potted in regular potting soil. A couple times I have tried them in the ground, and although they came back one year, they did not bloom and the foliage usually gets cut down by frost because they come out too early. Someone in Auburn told me they had them in their yard where they bloomed. And I do remember when Village Arbors was in business, they had them in the ground. I guess it is a little too cold out here in the country.