The Characteristics of February Orchid and How to Care for It: Get to Know the Early Spring Sea of Purple Flowers

February orchid is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant in the genus Orychophragmus of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), also known among the public as February blue or Zhuge cai. It usually blooms small pale blue-purple flowers around the second month of the lunar calendar, which is how it got its name. It is one of the most common wildflowers of early spring in northern China, and patches of it in bloom can often be seen in parks, along roadsides and beneath trees.

The flowers of this plant are typical four-petaled cruciform flowers, mainly in shades of blue-purple and pale purple. When in full bloom they spread in unbroken stretches, and from a distance they look just like a sea of purple flowers. February orchid is both cold-hardy and shade-tolerant, is not fussy about soil, and has very strong adaptability. It needs only rough, minimal routine care and is often used as a ground cover beneath trees or as a landscape plant for flower seas.

For cultivation, sowing in autumn is generally used. After the seeds go through the low temperatures of winter, they can bloom smoothly in early spring the following year. Keeping the soil slightly moist during the growing period is enough; it needs almost no special attention. The seeds produced after flowering scatter naturally, and they will sprout on their own the next year, so a single planting can often provide years of enjoyment.

Besides its ornamental value, the tender stems and leaves of February orchid are eaten as a wild vegetable in some areas, and its seeds can also be pressed for oil. It blooms early and has a fairly long flowering period, and it is also an important nectar source plant in early spring. It both adorns the spring landscape and greatly benefits the ecological environment, making it a low-maintenance, highly ornamental native flower.