Lady’s tresses isn’t on the top 10 list for American landscapes, but this native orchid has much to offer gardeners with a little shade and a lot of moisture. Each flower spike can carry up to five dozen fragrant flowers that will perfume the late summer or early fall shade garden.
Latin Name:
Lady’s tresses belong to the genus Spiranthes, and are members of the Orchidaceae family.
Common Name:
Lady’s Tresses, Nodding Lady’s Tresses, Lady’s Tresses Orchid
Lady’s tresses grows in zones 3 to 9.
Size of Lady’s Tresses:
These plants hug the ground when not in bloom, but in early autumn, the one-foot tall flower spikes of lady’s tresses emerge. By the time the plants bloom, the foliage may be completely dormant.
The flowers of lady’s tresses are white, bell-shaped, and slightly ruffled at the edges. The flowers grow in a spiral around the spike, and open from bottom to top. The flowers are about the same size as snapdragon flowers.
Foliage of Lady’s Tresses:
Through most of the growing season, your lady’s tresses will appear in the garden as inconspicuous clusters of deep green rosette foliage.
Many shade flowers are lacking in fragrance, and lady ’s tresses happily fills that void. Some gardeners describe the scent as vanilla spiked with jasmine, reminiscent of a lilac.
Lady’s tresses is a threatened or endangered native wildflower in some states, and gardeners shouldn’t collect species from the wild. Instead, purchase specimens from reputable nurseries.
Pair lady’s tresses with other plants that don’t mind soggy conditions. One that comes to mind is bletilla, the perennial hardy ground orchid. However, this flower won’t come back north of zone 6, so gardeners in colder regions may want to try the moisture-loving candelabra primrose or the perennial cardinal flower.
Remember that for much of the spring and summer, your lady’s tresses plants will look insignificant, as the foliage grows low to the ground. You can plant lady’s tresses behind another low growing bog plant, like perennial blue moneywort, and then enjoy the flower spikes when they rise in the background.
