black jewel orchid
I have grown this beautiful and distinctive orchid for many years, but being an outdoorsy sort of plant person, I have sometimes overlooked the needs of my houseplants. So it took me a while to realise my Ludisia lacked the sparkle of its namesake.
This is a terrestrial orchid whose natural habitat is on the shady and humid forest floors of south east Asia, which is why it is now happier on our bathroom window sill, facing north. It grows from creeping rhizomes, and holds upright its velvety, dark green leaves that are finely engraved with coppery pink veins. It is for the foliage that I grow this captivating orchid, however I am always thrilled, in late winter, to see the delicate white flowers (each tip is painted yellow) appear.
Best grown in a shallow pot, in a mixture of loam, leaf mould and bark (maybe throw in a handful of vermiculite or perlite) along with some slow release fertiliser pellets. The compost should be allowed to dry out between watering, which is best done using rainwater.
About a week ago, with my plant in full flower, I decided to turn the pot around so that I could more easily admire it in its glory; but I wasn’t concentrating and the entire thing slipped from my grasp into the empty bath below. Obviously the terracotta pot smashed to bits (somehow the bath remained intact), but most importantly I managed to salvage the main bulk of my Ludisia and took the opportunity to pot up a few decapitated stems into a small vase of dampened moss and bark – they should throw out roots within six weeks. If you don’t fancy the bath method you can gently peg down stems and they will eventually root.
NB Louise has published a beautifully produced book of her plant profiles – A Plant for Each Week of the Year. It costs £9.99 and is for sale in our online shop here.
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