The Little Orchid that Could

When it comes to plants, we’re what you’d call a high risk, high reward garden. In other words, nothing ventured horticulturally, nothing gained. That was our thoughts last year when we planted our only plant of the rare variegated orchid, Cymbidium goeringii ‘Xueshanbiancao’ in the crevice garden, just months before our coldest winter in five years.

Not only did our baby sail through the winter, but it’s now sporting a flower, which is also variegated with a narrow creamy border. The soil mix in this section is 50% Permatill, 25% native sandy loam, and 25% compost. How cool is that!

Cymbidium goeringii 'Xueshanbiancao' orchid
Cymbidium goeringii ‘Xueshanbiancao’

6 thoughts on “The Little Orchid that Could”

  1. Katherine Wagner-Reiss

    Very cool. I canʻt remember ever seeing a plant where both the foliage and the flower are variegated. Do you have others ?Would you say this was probably one mutation that affected both foliage and flower or two separate mutations? Thanks.

  2. Is 50% Permatill, 25% native sandy loam, and 25% compost, your go-to mix for your crevice garden? If the native soil were clay based, such as found in the western parts of Wake County, NC, would you alter the mix? Thank you.

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