The orchid family is huge and most of its members are tropical, but there are several cold hardy orchids that make perfect garden specimens. Plant Delights Nursery carries an extensive selection of cold hardy orchids.
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Bletilla 'Brigantes'
Item #: 10507
Zones: 6a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 40" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $34.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Bletilla 'Candles in the Wind'
Item #: 15761
Zones: 6b to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 48" tall
Culture: Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $42.00Regular priceUnit price per
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Bletilla ochracea 'Chinese Butterfly'
Item #: 8155
Zones: 7a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 30" tall
Culture: Part Sun
Origin: China
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $35.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Bletilla ochracea 'Summer Sunshine'
Item #: 15759
Zones: 7a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 20" tall
Culture: Part Sun
Origin: China
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $38.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Bletilla striata
Item #: 754
Zones: 6a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 30" tall
Culture: Part Sun
Origin: Burma/Myanmar, China, Japan, Korea
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $29.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Bletilla striata 'Gotemba Stripes'
Item #: 8409
Zones: 6a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Part Sun
Origin: Burma/Myanmar, China, Japan, Korea
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $36.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Bletilla striata 'Kuchibeni'
Item #: 1860
Zones: 6a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Part Sun
Origin: Burma/Myanmar, China, Japan, Korea
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $32.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Bletilla striata 'Murasaki Shikibu'
Item #: 6948
Zones: 6a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Part Sun
Origin: Burma/Myanmar, China, Japan, Korea
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $34.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Bletilla striata 'Soryu'
Item #: 8131
Zones: 6a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Part Sun
Origin: Burma/Myanmar, China, Japan, Korea
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $39.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Bletilla striata 'White Pearl'
Item #: 10443
Zones: 6a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 30" tall
Culture: Part Sun
Origin: Burma/Myanmar, China, Japan, Korea
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $38.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Bletilla x yokohama 'Kate' PP 19,878
Item #: 6263
Zones: 6a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 40" tall
Culture: Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $30.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Bletilla x yokohama 'Sweet Lips'
Item #: 8927
Zones: 7a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $32.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outCalanthe 'Takane'
Item #: 2330
Zones: 7a to 9a
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 8" tall
Culture: Light Shade to Shade
Origin: Hybrid, Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $65.00Regular priceUnit price per
Sold out -
Calopogon 'Fluffy'
Item #: 9983
Zones: 5a to 9b, guessing
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 10" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $78.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Calopogon tuberosus
Item #: 4563
Zones: 3a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 15" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 2.5" pot (7.9 fl. oz/233 ml)
Regular price $35.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Cymbidium goeringii 'Xueshanbiancao'
Item #: 17403
Zones: 7a to 9b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 8" tall
Culture: Light Shade to Shade
Origin: Japan, Korea
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $100.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Cypripedium 'Anna'
Item #: 619
Zones: 5a to 7b
Dormancy: Winter, Fall
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $80.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outCypripedium 'Emil'
Item #: 7477
Zones: 4a to 7b, at least
Dormancy: Winter, Fall
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $65.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outCypripedium 'Eurasia'
Item #: 14890
Zones: 3a to 7b
Dormancy: Winter, Fall
Height: 15" tall
Culture: Light Shade
Origin: Asia, China, Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $85.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Cypripedium formosanum
Item #: 4923
Zones: 6b to 9b
Dormancy: Winter, Fall
Height: 10" tall
Culture: Light Shade to Shade
Origin: Taiwan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $100.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Cypripedium 'Gabriela'
Item #: 4615
Zones: 5a to 7b
Dormancy: Winter, Fall
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $95.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Cypripedium henryi
Item #: 12669
Zones: 6a to 7b, guessing
Dormancy: Winter, Fall
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Light Shade
Origin: China
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $100.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Cypripedium 'John Haggar'
Item #: 14885
Zones: 5a to 7a
Dormancy: Winter, Fall
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $90.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Cypripedium kentuckiense
Item #: 8931
Zones: 3a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter, Fall
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $100.00Regular priceUnit price per
More Information About Hardy Orchids
Cold Hardy orchids for temperate gardens...including Bletilla, Calanthe and Cypripedium.
You may be surprised to learn that there are hardy orchids for the outdoor landscape. The orchid family is huge, and while most of its members are tropical, there are some cold hardy orchids that make perfect garden specimens. Plant Delights Nursery carries a nice selection of cold hardy orchids for temperate gardeners. Although not quite as showy as the tropical house plant varieties, hardy orchids have the same alluring floral shape as the orchids you may have in your home.
Tips for Getting Started With Hardy Orchids
There are easy-to-grow hardy orchids and there are difficult ones. If you are a novice hardy orchid grower, we recommend that you start with Bletilla. It has nice medium-sized flowers and is no more difficult to grow than a fern. Once you have gained some confidence and experience, try growing Calanthe or Spiranthes. These are not difficult to grow, but require a little bit more care. Once you are a hardy orchid expert, you can move on to the queen of the temperate orchids, Cypripedium. This is by far the most beautiful of the hardy orchids, but it is also the hardest to grow. PDN occasionally offers other cold hardy orchids for sale like Aplectrum, Calopogon, Cremastra, Pleione, Pogonia, Tipularia and others, so if you are an orchid collector, bookmark this page and check back often.
For a more detailed look at this fascinating group, read our detailed essays on hardy orchids in our articles database: Cypripedium, Hardy Orchids in the Garden, and Gardening Unplugged - Hardy Orchids.
Be sure to check out our many blog posts about orchids over at the JLBG blog.