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There are a number of surprising orchids that occur in southern China. A number of hardy trees and shrubs come from the mountains of Yunnan and Sichuan and tolerance of cold
depends very heavily on altitude. Tropical climates in the valleys change to cold alpine environments in the mountains. Vanda alpina grows in the mountains of China at altitudes between 1,200 and 2,000m where it will certainly experience some frost at times. It also extends through Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal and Assam in the Himalayas. I bought this plant online and it arrived in flower. Through the summer it has grown very slowly but I think it has established after repotting. It came through the winter of 2021/22 without damage and I have hopes for its survival in the longer term. I think that temperatures in the greenhouse during summer were not high enough to get good growth.The plant died in a severe radiation frost in December 2022 (which killed a lot of plants in one night). Plants of the World online says "The native range of this species is Himalaya to China (S. Yunnan). It is an epiphytic subshrub and grows primarily in the subtropical biome." |
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| 18th June 2021 | ||
