The commonest grown Pterostylus in the US. 3 years ago someone gave me a handful of corms, 30 I believe, which I planted and have left undisturbed until now. Once someone wanted some so I dug out 10 corms and gave them away, the rest are all in the same pot. They go dormant in the summer heat, sprout in the fall get watered and fertilized, bloom in the spring and soon after the leaves wilt and the process repeats itself. One lone flower is not that spectacular but a colony of 50 plus flowers does look attractive.

They are in full dormancy right now, the colony looked a little crowded this spring so I decided to unearth them and start all over in the fall. They live in a 14" wide 6" deep pot/tray (HD) in loose, well draining soil composed off 1/3 perlite, 1/3 chicken grit with oyster shell and 1/3 potting soil. Upon unearthing them I counted 260 corms! Some one told me they multiply yearly by a factor of 4 if they are happy.

I'll make little packages of 5 to 10 and pass them out to members who have an interest and repot them in the fall. Too bad they need to stay totally dry in the summer, (they'll rot otherwise) so there really is no place I can plant them in my yard which of course gets watered.

Interesting little buggers.

Nick