Q: I have about 30 tropical orchids. Are there outdoor garden orchid plants that will grow in Atlanta?

A: Although you won’t find any that grow in trees like tropical orchids do, there are ground-dwelling orchids that grow very well in Atlanta. Garden writer Martha Tate recently posted photos of her Calanthe discolor on her blog www.gardenphotooftheday.com. Various species of Bletilla ground orchid are available online. The intrepid plant rescue groups of the Georgia Native Plant Society (www.gnps.org) often find cranefly orchid, Tipularia discolor, in Georgia woodlands. In addition, native ladyslipper orchids are beautiful members of the terrestrial orchid family.