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I am very sorry bear the news that my wonderful friend Adrian passed away on 30 December 2024. Just 60 years old. Devastating. The future of Meadow Orchids is therefore extremely uncertain. I’m not sure even if we have access to close or suspend the site / online shop. Alan Dash

Nice to have something in flower for Christmas. 24/12/24

We know cardboard is a great growing and maintenance medium for the type of fungi that are useful for germination and growth of terrestrial orchids. Previously, my attempts to germinate Anacamptis morio on (near) 100% cardboard have failed. On 24 October I prepared a margarine box with rolled up cardboard in the base and strips of cardboard above that. I then soaked the cardboard in water from a water butt for a minute then drained. I added a few slabs of agar from a waste petri dish that I had weaned orchid seedlings from (B1 fungus). I pit the lid on and kept at room teyfor just over a week. On 2 November the fungus had grown and covered most of the cardboard surfaces. I scattered dry Anacamptis morio seed over the surface as in this picture ( no sterlising). The tub was covered at cool room temperature. Pictures one month later 4 December show the obvious germination of that same section of the tub. The difference between this a and previous failed attempts is just the one week wait to ensure the fungus has largely colonised all the cardboard before sowing.