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2012 UK Orchid season updates (1 Viewer)

heakl

Well-known member
It time to start all over again.

The 2010 thread had 158 replies and 19677 views, and the 2012 thread had 362 replies and 30476 views, on that evidence it must be worth doing. In keeping with the previous threads, please be careful with site details.

Why am I starting the thread in early March? The attached photo taken last Monday (05/03/12) on the Dorset coast will explain, why ever would an Early Spider orchid start to flower at this time?

As you can see the first flower was just beginning to open with the lip uppermost, I checked it again this morning and it looked very little different from when the photo was taken. Don't rush down to the coast for some weeks yet, loads of rosettes but nothing else looks to be producing a flowering spike at the moment.

Wishing you all a very good orchid season.
Alan
 

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Let the season commence!

Looking forward to bagging some European species this Easter while on a uni geography trip. Hopefully they won't mind me diverging off the track and taking a few photos every so often.

Mike.
 
Want expecting this thread to start so early! Hoping to fill in a few blanks in my photo collection again this year-still got a long way to go though.
 
Counted 58 bee orchid rosettes at the weekend during botanical survey of M1 motorway services at the A43 junction here in Northamptonshire. They were growing in a mown section near an embankment. Surprised I was not stopped by security this time. I think they must know me in the county by now.
The new flora of Northamptonshire is due out this year as well.
And last but not least happy orchid hunting everyone.

Brian Laney, Northamptonshire.
 
Yes looking forward to 2012! - it was a great show of Early Spiders in Dorset last spring - will certainly be back down there in a few weeks...

Chris Lodge
 
Suppose I'd better make my first comment on the possibility of a Ghostly season this year;

This last winter has been the driest on record in Herefordshire, and the spring has not seen much improvement so far. This adds to the woes for ground that was already drier than usual during flowering time in 2011 at the 2009 site.

As such, I wouldn't expect there to be a flowering event this year.

To keep those interested in the Ghost slavering, however, this year may be a good time to join the BSBI; a full and detailed paper should appear in the New Journal of Botany later this year (probably July) covering the historical status of Ghost orchid in England. It will include a summary of all known information, both published and unpublished, on the species, along with never-before seen photo's and a summary of recent studies on the ecology and occurrence of the species.

Happy hunting

GV
 
Dear All,
If any of you drop in on the Bristol Lizard Orchid site this year I would be interested to know the number of flowering spikes that are seen. Numbers of flowering spikes did drop last year but the rosette count done by myself this year is quite high but not all are large enough to flower.
If any of you have a pocket of copper nails wak a load in those big sycamores for me. They have got to be killed off!!
 
Yes looking forward to 2012! - it was a great show of Early Spiders in Dorset last spring - will certainly be back down there in a few weeks...

Chris Lodge

I hope they don't flower too early for my trip down there, accommodation in Swanage already booked.

Hi to everyone, and here's hoping for a good Orchid season for us all.
 
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To keep those interested in the Ghost slavering, however, this year may be a good time to join the BSBI; a full and detailed paper should appear in the New Journal of Botany later this year (probably July) covering the historical status of Ghost orchid in England. It will include a summary of all known information, both published and unpublished, on the species, along with never-before seen photo's and a summary of recent studies on the ecology and occurrence of the species.

GV

There was a similar paper released last year in the Journal of Ecology: Biological Flora of the British Isles: Epipogium aphyllum Sw.

I too doubt the ghost will make an appearance after such dry (and warm!) weather. Lets hope that the other orchids put on a good display instead!

Ian
 
3 weeks now until the first Sword-leaved helleborines here in Wales begin to flower - possibly the earliest anywhere?

Mike.
 
Early! - Am hoping to see this species in Hampshire this year, but I guess mid May will be better for plants here?

Chris.

I think Mid-May is definitely the best bet for the Hampshire site.

They just seem to flower ridiculously early here to the extent that I went to check whether the plants had appeared above ground in April last year and found some in full flower!

Mike.
 
Early! - Am hoping to see this species in Hampshire this year, but I guess mid May will be better for plants here?

Chris.

Keep an eye on this thread Chris, with any luck someone with local knowledge will flag up when they come into flower. I visited on the 9th May last year and found quite a lot were already past their best, and the annual count of plant numbers had to brought forward two weeks!

Alan
 
Green-winged Orchids

Visited a local site today and found the first Green-wings in flower, a total of 5. This is a couple of days earlier than in 2011 (when I found 2 plants on April 1st).

Rich M
 

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Went up to the lancs slipper orchid site yesterday. The plants are now just showing above ground, long way to go before they flower!
 
75 spikes A morio up at my local North Lincs site today. 3 days earlier than the previous earliest date ( last year) and a remarkable total for so early. Over the last 6 years the earliest date at this site has advanced by 19 days
 
North Bucks Greenwings

The greenwings here still seem safely tucked up in their beds - plenty of cowslips up - usually a sign that the greenwings are on their way - but the rosettes don't even sem to have any obvious buds yet
 
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