When does Bletilla striata usually bloom? A detailed guide to its flowering period

Bletilla striata is a medicinal herb with high application value. It can also be planted in parks and along roadsides to green the environment, and after a certain time it produces beautiful flowers that are very attractive. So when does Bletilla striata bloom?

1. When does Bletilla striata bloom?

Bletilla striata usually blooms in April-May. It produces 3-8 flowers, in purplish red, white, blue or pink. The larger flowers are lip-shaped and obovate-oblong. It can be placed indoors for ornamental viewing, or in gardens and beside rocks for landscaping.

2. What risks are there in growing Bletilla striata?

1. Market risk: Bletilla striata was formerly grown mainly in Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou and other places in China, but in recent years large areas of artificial cultivation have also appeared in Shaanxi, Henan, Zhejiang, Guangxi, Jiangsu, Fujian, Gansu and other places, so overheated planting and production may pose a certain risk to the market price of Bletilla striata.

2. Investment risk: Compared with other Chinese medicinal herb planting projects, growing Bletilla striata requires a relatively larger investment cost, and its growth period generally takes about 2-3 years. The large investment cost and long production cycle put considerable economic pressure on ordinary growers, which greatly increases the risk in terms of capital input.

3. Seed source risk: There are many varieties of Bletilla striata, and variety selection in Chinese medicinal herb cultivation is rather chaotic. In the chemical industry, what circulates is mainly the purple-flowered sancha large Bletilla striata, while in medicinal use for Chinese medicine, what circulates is mainly the purple-flowered sancha small Bletilla striata. Others, such as yellow-flowered and white-flowered Bletilla striata, are customary substitutes or fake varieties, so variety selection also carries a certain risk.

4. Technical risk: Bletilla striata seedlings generally have to go through introducing seed sources, then tissue culture and hardening, and only after the roots are well developed are they transplanted. In this process, because the growth of the rhizome requires an environment with symbiotic fungi, and because the transplanting and management requirements for Bletilla striata are very meticulous, the death rate of seedlings can sometimes reach 50% or even higher, so the technical requirements are very high and the technical risk is not small either.