Epipactis gigantea Night Serpentine

Epipactis gigantea Night Serpentine is a superb cultivar with purple foliage originating from a large American terrestrial orchid called Giant Helleborine. It is a vigorous and hardy plant that produces flower spikes typical of orchids in shades of brown, yellow-orange, and dark red. They bloom for several weeks from June, perfectly complemented by the dark and colourful foliage. Very beautiful in flower beds or on the banks of water courses, this perennial can also be grown in pots. Provide a moist to wet soil, rich in humus, with a slightly acidic tendency.

Epipactis gigantea Night Serpentine belongs to the orchid family. It is a naturally occurring dark-leaved form discovered in North Carolina, specifically north of the San Francisco Bay. The classic species, with green foliage, is native to the western United States and northern Mexico. In the wild, it grows along the edges of streams, in continuously damp to wet soils. Epipactis Night Serpentine is a perennial plant with fleshy rhizomes, easily reaching 80 cm (32in) in height and 40 cm (16in) in width. Its deciduous vegetation emerges from the ground in spring and disappears in autumn. This vegetation is almost black when it emerges in spring, then turns violet and reddish-purple, and finally bronze and green as the season progresses. The colours will be more pronounced on plants exposed to the sun. It consists of stems with 4 to 12 sheathing and lanceolate leaves measuring 5 to 15 cm (2 to 6in) in length. Flowering occurs from June to August, and it may be more or less early depending on the climate. The flower spike bears up to 15 flowers with a diameter of 3.5 cm (1in). Each flower has three light brown to greenish sepals, veined with darker lines, and two reddish-brown petals veined with purple. The lip is cup-shaped with a pointed protuberance, in a brighter brown-red colour and more distinctly veined, often marked with yellow. The flowering is followed by the formation of a pendant capsule measuring 2 or 3 cm (1in) long, containing thousands of small seeds.

Epipactis gigantea Night Serpentine is a unique plant, with a natural appearance, easy to integrate into wet flower beds or on the edges of water features, alongside Japanese primroses, Euphorbia palustris, or astilbes that thrive in similar conditions. It also grows well in pots without any specific protection.

When you receive your orchids, handle them with care: these plants produce few roots and are delicate!