Pyramidal orchid

How to recognise it

Habit

Perennial orchid, 20–50 cm tall, with a slender, upright stem. Underground there are two small, rounded tubers.

Leaf

Narrowly lance-shaped, grey-green and unspotted. The lower leaves appear in autumn and have often withered by flowering time; higher up, small sheathing leaves clasp the stem.

Flower

In June–July a dense spike of 3–8 cm, conical at first, later more cylindrical; bright pink to purplish red, rarely white. Each flower has a deeply three-lobed lip with two small raised ridges at the base, and a long, thread-like spur.

Fruit

Small, elongated capsules holding thousands of dust-like seeds that blow away on the wind.

Roots

Two round to egg-shaped tubers and a few thin roots, which live together with fungi in the soil.

Confused with

Common spotted-orchid and southern marsh-orchid have larger flowers with a dotted or patterned lip, a longer spike and broader leaves. Fragrant orchid also has a long spur, but a narrower, longer spike and no ridges on the lip.

Flowering: June–July · Pruning: August–September

Why grow it?

• One of the loveliest orchids of sunny grassland: the bright pink pyramids stand out from afar.
• A true butterfly flower: the long, thread-like spur attracts butterflies and moths, such as burnet moths and skippers, which pollinate the flowers.
• A sign of healthy, poor and chalky soil: where it appears, the management is right.
• It pioneers new, open ground and can turn up by itself in poor, chalky grassland or a lawn.
• The grey-green leaf rosette appears in autumn and stays all winter.

Pyramidal orchid: where does it grow best?

• In the wild: chalk and limestone grassland, dunes and dune slacks, dykes, embankments, road verges, quarries and reclaimed land.
• Full sun; it does not tolerate shade from tall grass, rank vegetation or shrubs.
• Poor, dry to moderately moist, free-draining and chalky soil, such as calcareous sand or marl.
• In the garden: a poor, chalky meadow, a sunny bank or a lawn that you never feed and mow late.

Goes well with

• Cowslip: Flowers in spring in the same poor, chalky grassland.
• Bird’s-foot trefoil: Yellow flowers in summer and food plant of the common blue and the six-spot burnet.
• Salad burnet: A fine, low plant of chalk grassland.
• Wild marjoram: Flowers after the orchid in the same sunny grassland and attracts many butterflies.
• Lady’s bedstraw: Fragrant yellow sprays in summer, on the same dry, poor soil.

Pyramidal orchid: when and how to plant it?

1. Only buy pyramidal orchids from a specialist nursery that raises orchids from seed; never take plants from the wild.
2. Plant in September–October, when the new leaf rosette appears, or otherwise in March, in poor, chalky, free-draining soil.
3. Plant at the same depth as in the pot and keep the root ball intact: it holds the soil fungi the orchid needs.
4. Plant a few together, 10–20 cm apart, in a spot where the grass stays short and sparse.
5. Water a little after planting and then not at all; never feed.
6. Never dig up plants from the wild: wild orchids are protected and plants that are dug up almost always die.

Care

Water

Not needed once established. Soil that is too wet makes the tubers rot.

Feeding

Never: fertiliser makes the grass stronger, and the grass crowds out the orchid.

Mowing

Do not mow until mid-August, when the seed has been shed, and remove the cuttings. In autumn, do not cut shorter than 5–8 cm, to spare the new rosettes.

Competition

Keep tall grasses, brambles and young shrubs out: the pyramidal orchid needs short, open vegetation.

Patience

A plant does not flower every year. From seed it takes several years before a new plant flowers.

Tip: If you want pyramidal orchids, start by making the soil poorer: no fertiliser, late mowing and always remove the cuttings. In a sunny, chalky spot it may appear by itself, as the dust-like seed travels far.

Pruning and mowing

Pruning months: August–September.

When: No pruning. Mow the grassland from mid-August, after the seed has ripened.

How:

• Leave the spent spikes until the capsules are brown and open, so the dust-like seed can blow away.
• Then mow the whole area and remove the cuttings, to keep the soil poor.
• Mark the plants with a stick so you do not mow them by mistake in summer.
• In autumn and winter, do not cut shorter than 5–8 cm, to spare the leaf rosettes.

Caution: Do not mow over the plants in May–July: you would lose that year’s flowers and seed.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

In the wild it spreads by dust-like seed that only germinates with the right soil fungus. Let the capsules ripen; in poor, chalky grassland new plants sometimes appear after a few years.

Laboratory

Nurseries sow orchids in a laboratory on a nutrient medium. This does not work at home, and division or cuttings are not possible with this species.

Pyramidal orchid: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −25 °C.

• In September–October a rosette of narrow, grey-green leaves appears and stays green all winter.
• Hardy in our climate: the rosette survives normal Belgian winters without protection.
• After the seed has ripened the flowering stem dies; a new tuber takes over for the following year.
• Walk on the sites as little as possible in winter: the rosettes are fragile.

Diseases and pests

• Rank growth: On soil that is too rich the grass grows too tall and the orchid disappears. Mow every year and remove the cuttings.
• Mowing too early: Mowing in June or July costs you flowers and seed. Mow around the plants until mid-August.
• Slugs, rabbits and deer: They eat rosettes, buds or flower spikes. In a garden, a small wire-mesh cage protects the plants.
• Failed transplanting: Plants dug up lose their soil fungi and almost always die. Only buy nursery-raised plants.
• Picking: A picked spike no longer sets seed. Look and photograph, but do not pick.

Through the year

• January: The grey-green leaf rosette stays all winter.
• March: Nursery-raised plants can still be planted. Do not feed.
• May: The flowering stem grows. Mark the plants so you do not mow them.
• June: Flowering begins. Look out for burnet moths and skippers on the flowers.
• July: Full flower. Look and photograph, do not pick.
• August: Capsules ripen. From mid-August, mow and remove the cuttings.
• September: New leaf rosettes appear. Plant nursery-raised plants.
• October: Last chance to plant. A second cut is possible, no shorter than 5–8 cm.
• December: Dormant; the rosette stays green.

Did you know?

• In his book on the pollination of orchids (1862), Charles Darwin described how the pollen packets of this species clasp the tongue of a moth like a little saddle and then bend forwards, into exactly the right position to pollinate the next flower.
• The name Anacamptis comes from the Greek ‘anakamptein’, to bend back; pyramidalis refers to the pyramid shape of the young flower spike.
• The two ridges at the base of the lip act as a guide, steering the insect’s tongue straight to the entrance of the spur.