Orchid: Bee (Ophrys apifera)

Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera)

The Bee orchid must be one of our most exotic looking wildflowers. It's a beauty. Its looks are a bit of a mystery; although it seemingly prefers self pollination, its flowers seem to attract some solitary bees. The Bee orchid flowers in high summer, producing flower spikes with 1 to 12 flowers on which grow up to 50cm. Like the Pyramidal orchid it like short well drained calcareous grassland, which isn't - obviously - cut before it sets seed. Lower nutrient levels suit it. I've seen it in a quarry (very typically) in south eastern England, but it's apparently more common in the northeast.

Plants For Sale

We supply orchids in 9cm pots.

Your plants will come with specialist planting and management instructions.

It's very difficult to produce orchids. Their seeds are tiny and wind blown, and in the wild they need to have a symbiotic fungal partner to germinate and grow. From seed to plant takes years! Once our specialist orchid whisperer has done all the hard work, however, they're easy to grow on.

Supplier : British Orchids

Photo: Henry Lang

Our Pyramidal orchid plants have guaranteed UK provenance and origin.