Platanthera grandiflora

Common Names

Large Purple Fringed Orchid, Greater Purple Fringed Orchid, Greater Purple Fringed Bog Orchid, Plume-Royal

Summary

Platanthera grandiflora, commonly called the Greater Purple Fringed Orchid, is an East Coast North American tall perennial orchid native from Ontario to Newfoundland and south to Georgia, it grows as an erect herb with two to six leaves along the stem and a densely packed cylindrical raceme of 30–60 lavender to pink-purple flowers (rarely white), each 3/4–1 inch long, with a three-lobed, deeply fringed lip and a nectar spur 15–35 mm long, it inhabits wetland habitats such as bogs, marshes, swamps, and stream margins, and reaches about 27–120 cm in height; for cultivation, it requires moist to wet soils and performs best in full sun or partial shade, with the greatest flowering in full sun, it is hardy in USDA zones 3–8 and ideal for bog gardens or pond edges; the flowers are fragrant lavender and attract pollinators including swallowtail butterflies and moths, seeds are wind-dispersed from slender capsules and germination depends on mycorrhizal fungi.

Lifecycle

Perennial

Height

1-4 feet

Spread

2-3.5 inches

Hardiness Zones

Zones 3-8

Sunlight Requirements

Ideally Full Sun; can grow in Full Sun to Partial Shade (sun or semi-shade).

Soil Type

Moist to wet soils of wetlands (bogs, swamps, marshes)

Soil Drainage

Wet, poorly drained soils

Soil pH

Tolerates all pH levels

Bloom Color

Purple

Bloom Time

Summer (June–August)

Foliage Color

Green

Seasons of Interest

Summer

Propagation Methods

Seeds

Attracts Wildlife

Attracts butterflies and moths