My name is Jeff Hutchings, and I have been involved in Horticulture
for many years, the Specialist Hardy Orchid Nursery is owned and run by me, and I thank you for
visiting us today.
The objectives of this site is to provide sufficient cultural information
on hardy orchids and hardy orchid flower photographs to make you interested in purchasing from the extensive range of hardy terrestrial orchids offered for sale by mail order, at the nursery or at one of the many events I attend each year.
I can provide a range of hardy orchids suitable for many different conditions. Most can be grown in the garden provided care is taken in choosing a position for planting or the pot.
There are a number of hardy orchid species and hybrids which are ideal in a cold greenhouse where they are protected from the rain.
My speciality is providing both orchid plants and advice on growing native
orchid species in a natural environment, including hardy orchids for wildflower meadows, woodland areas and reclamation sites.
I spend a large amount of the year attending shows and giving talks.
Please look at the event list and you are most welcome to attend any talks that I give in your area.
The event list will also detail the Open Days at the orchid nursery during the year when visitors are welcome to come and chat about the
hardy orchids we can supply.
Customers are now able to order hardy orchid plants by phone and make payment using debit or credit cards.
Orders from the European Union can be paid by Paypal.
Please note I do not supply certification so cannot sell outside Europe.
Our range of Hardy Terrestrial Orchids Include:...
Anacamptis, Bletilla, Calanthe, Cypripedium, Dactylorhiza, Epipactis,
Ophrys, Orchis and Platanthera for the garden, cold greenhouse and meadow.
A few Words from Jeff:
I hope all readers will enjoy searching this new web site
which has taken my webmaster and myself some time to develop. The objective
is to give both the knowledgeable enthusiast and the new comer to obtain
relevant information which will help when selecting plants to grow.
It is important to be fully aware of exactly what you are purchasing so
that you are not disappointed when the plants arrive and are much smaller
than you expected or prove more difficult to grow. Look at the photographs
on this web site and others such as Svante Malmgrens to appreciate the
respective sizes of different age group species.
This autumn has seen an increase in the range of orchids I have to offer
with some species and hybrids from some of the best breeders and growers in
Europe. In particular there is a number of cypripediums from Peter Corkhill.
It has been a pleasure to visit Peter on a number of occasions during the
past year when he has been happy for me to pick his brains in order to
improve the way I grow my cypripediums and improve the cultural information
in the web site.
A number of the winter green species are beginning to show good growth
and should have good flowers in the spring. After last winters problems with
some of the European hybrids I have increased the size of the plunge beds I
use and will be fleecing the plants if the temperatures drop to - 8 C as
last year.
This first year of using pumice in the cypripedium mix has been very successful with many of the cypripediums; in particular, the hybrids. I think I will try some in Peters high perlite mix next year. This appears to be very useful for the high altitude species.
This year I have increased the number of species I am rearing from de-flasking. The success rate has been variable but is much higher than when I first tried growing plants at this tender age.
The range of Japanese orchids I will have
available in late February can be viewed on the internet on the Shikoku
Garden site. I only have a small number of some of the species arriving so
anyone who is interested in purchasing any should order then early.
I am
now exchanging species with some amateur enthusiasts in Europe who have
mastered the art of growing from seed.
Next year hopefully see further increases in the number of events I will
be attending. I am trying to maximise the number of shows I attend between
mid April and mid June in order to show off the large number of show
specimens I now have. Some of the cypripediums should have between 15 and 20
flower spikes.
Any suggested venues would be appreciated.
