Calopogon spp.

grass pink

Orchidaceae Eastern North America and Caribbean

Attracts Pollinators Container Friendly

Native to North America

SunFull Sun

WaterHigh

HardinessZones 3–9

Overview

Calopogon spp. is a genus of terrestrial orchids in the family Orchidaceae, native to eastern North America and the Caribbean, commonly called grass pinks. Plants grow from a rounded underground corm and produce one or two narrow, grass-like leaves and a slender flower stem 8-24 inches (20-60 cm) tall. Two to fifteen flowers, usually rose-pink to magenta and sometimes white, open in sequence up the stem. Unlike most orchids the flower is held with the lip uppermost, and that lip carries a cluster of yellow, club-tipped hairs that imitate pollen-bearing stamens. Bees landing on the false anthers tip the hinged lip downward, dropping the insect against the column so pollen is picked up, though the flower holds no nectar reward. Calopogon spp. grows in acidic bogs, wet meadows, pine savannas, and seepage slopes, and depends on consistently moist, open ground, declining where wetlands are drained or shaded by scrub.

Native Range

Calopogon spp. is native to eastern North America, from eastern Canada south through the United States to Florida and the Gulf states, and into the Caribbean. Plants grow in open, acidic wetlands such as sphagnum bogs, wet pine savannas, marl fens, and seepage meadows, usually in full sun.

Suggested Uses

Calopogon spp. is used in bog gardens, container bogs, and conservation plantings of acidic wetland habitat. It suits open, sunny, permanently wet sites in USDA zones 3-9 alongside pitcher plants and sundews. Its need for wet, acidic, lime-free conditions rules out general garden beds.

How to Identify

Look for a slender orchid stem rising from grassy wetland with one or two narrow, grass-like leaves and a few rose-pink to magenta flowers held lip uppermost. The upper lip bears a brush of yellow, club-tipped hairs that look like a tuft of stamens. The non-resupinate flower, with the lip on top, separates Calopogon spp. from grass-pink look-alikes and from other bog orchids.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height8" - 2'

Width/Spread4" - 8"

Colors

Flower Colors

Foliage Colors

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~4 weeks

Spring Summer

Flowering occurs from late spring into summer, mainly May to July depending on latitude. Each stem opens its flowers from the bottom upward over two to four weeks. Plants flower most reliably in open, sunny, consistently wet sites and bloom more freely after fire clears competing growth.

Detailed Descriptions

Flower Description

Rose-pink to magenta, sometimes white

Foliage Description

Green

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun

Requires 6-12 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range4.0 - 5.5(Acidic)

357912

Soil Types

peat sand

Drainagewet

Water & Climate

Water Needs

High

Frost Tolerance

hardy

Time to Maturity

2-4 years from seed to flowering

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

Plants grow in full sun in permanently moist to wet, acidic, low-nutrient soil such as sand and peat or live sphagnum. They are hardy to about USDA zone 3 in the ground but resent drying out, rich feeding, and lime. The corm sits near the surface and sends up new growth each spring after winter dormancy. In cultivation they suit bog gardens and pots standing in trays of rainwater, never tap water. Crown rot follows stagnant warmth, and slugs graze the young shoots.

Pruning

No pruning is needed. The leaves and flower stem yellow and die down by late summer as the plant enters dormancy, and the dead growth can be cleared then. Spent flower stems can be removed before seed sets if self-sowing is unwanted.