Update on Bletilla striata Ground Orchid Bulbs 

I was in zone 6a in Philadelphia and Chicago is definitely not 6a. I know the USDA likes to think it is zone 6, but growing-wise, with the polar vortexes every 3 years, we are a solid zone 5/5a.

Actually, I swear that the USDA has changed its zones because now it is claiming that Philly is zone 7a and I remember it being 6a when I lived there.

@@SpencerAloysius I worked in Philly for a number of years and lived just north of it. Miserably hot and humid in the summers; however the winters were miserable and cold. My daughter lives in Allentown and she has noticed the weather getting warmer; thought still with miserable weather. I am now living in Columbus and I think that it is pushing it to be 6a.

@@bobdudley2301 Are Philly winters miserable and cold or do the houses just not have any insulation? I lived in a Victorian twin and I know there was nothing between the brick wall and my lathing except air. Also, so drafty. At least in Chicago the houses are well-insulated in the winter. It might be cold outside, but it is warm inside. My garage is detached and I know water freezes inside it in the winter. I don't know if I would be willing to try overwintering my bletilla in an unheated Chicago garage. I did try growing bletilla in my garden in Philly, but the corms I bought there (while sprouting the first year) didn't come back. I did not know enough about orchids then to diagnose what I did wrong.

@@SpencerAloysius They are miserable as they have a damp cold. While there is a lot od sow some winters there is a lot of ice. Miserable driving and even at the best of times the Phillie drivers do not know how to drive.

I started with a Peat Moss mixed with perlite, but they would just rot in it. The sphagnum moss is so that it’s easier for me to dig them out and look at the tuber.

Thanks for replying 😊 Are you growing them in normal soil? Love to hear how they have got on.

@@eccremocarpusscaber5159 So, I have a problem with the bulbs rotting or them drying out over the winter. I can’t leave them outside/in the garage and then they die but some years, it seems like they rot and some years they dry out. I haven’t figured out how to overwinter them. I’ve done regular potting mix, peat moss + perlite, sphagnum, bark mix.