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Trim sun orchid

Thelymitra peniculata

Trim sun orchid
Photo: Colleen Miller, CC BY 2.5 au

Trim sun orchid is a small tuberous orchid from southeastern Australia with a single fleshy leaf and up to eighteen deep blue to purple flowers that open only on hot days. It is a native wildflower rather than a common garden plant, so it is best grown from cultivated stock and kept in its natural conditions.

Family
Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
Grows as
Orchid
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water moderately during its growing season in spring, then keep the tuber nearly dry while it is dormant in summer.
Soil
Well-drained, sandy or gritty soil with some organic matter.
Temperature
10–25 °C; tolerates cold winters and dry summers as a dormant tuber.
How easy
Hard
Native range
SE. Australia, New Zealand North I.
Climate
subtropical

About

Thelymitra peniculata, commonly called trim sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to southern eastern Australia. It has a single long, erect, fleshy, channelled leaf and up to eighteen deep blue to purple self-pollinating flowers.

Where it grows

Trim sun orchid usually grows in a range of habitats from grassland to forest south from Mount Kaputar in New South Wales to the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Tasmania and the Flinders Ranges in South Australia.

Other Thelymitra plants

Abrupt Sun Orchid · Wyong sun orchid · Gumland sun orchid · Bleak sun orchid · White sun orchid · Kath's sun orchid · Alpins striped sun orchid · Mountain sun orchid · Long-leaved sun orchid · Rabbit-eared sun orchid · Cleopatra's needles · Forest sun orchid

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Thelymitra peniculata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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