Spiranthes x bightensis 'Chadds Ford'

Fragrant Lady's Tresses Orchidaceae

One of the great garden orchids — and a plant that spent much of its horticultural career wearing the wrong name.

‘Chadds Ford’ forms handsome clumps of broadly linear, dark-green leaves, from which rise upright spikes carrying numerous tiny white flowers arranged in the characteristic spiral of Spiranthes. The flowers are individually modest, but together form remarkably elegant, densely packed spires, appearing from late summer into autumn. And then there is the perfume: on warm days the flowers release a delightful fragrance of vanilla and jasmine, making this one of the few terrestrial orchids that is genuinely worth growing somewhere you can encounter it at close quarters.

The plants can reach around 50–60cm in height, with the flowering spikes occasionally taller. Once established they spread slowly by underground growth, eventually producing substantial colonies. Give it moist, fertile, humus-rich soil in partial shade, but avoid stagnant winter conditions. It is considerably tougher than its delicate appearance suggests and is fully hardy through much of Britain.

Introduction & nomenclature

The history of ‘Chadds Ford’ is almost as interesting as its flowers. The plant was discovered in the 1960s by orchid enthusiast Dick Ryan near his home at Bear, Delaware, shortly before the habitat where it grew was threatened with development. Ryan recognised its horticultural potential and brought it into cultivation. It subsequently became one of the most widely cultivated terrestrial orchids in Britain and received the Certificate of Cultural Merit from the American Orchid Society. 

For many years it was variously sold as Spiranthes cernua ‘Chadd’s Ford’, Spiranthes odorata ‘Chadd’s Ford’ or S. cernua var. odorata ‘Chadd’s Ford’. The confusion was understandable: the plant looks remarkably like both species.

Modern molecular and morphological work has finally provided the answer. In 2021, Matthew C. Pace described Spiranthes bightensis as a previously unrecognised, cryptic species resulting from an ancient hybridisation between S. cernua × S. odorata. The lineage has subsequently behaved as a stabilised evolutionary entity — in other words, this is not simply an ordinary garden hybrid but a fascinating example of hybrid speciation. 

The species is native to a remarkably restricted part of the mid-Atlantic coastal plain of the eastern United States, from the Delmarva Peninsula northwards to Long Island. 

Height: 50–60cm
Spread: 30–50cm, increasing gradually
Flowering: August–October
Fragrance: Strongly scented of vanilla and jasmine
Aspect: Partial shade
Soil: Moist, fertile, humus-rich and well drained
Hardiness: H4,

A superb late-season terrestrial orchid, combining an almost absurdly elegant flower spike with a fragrance that belongs in a perfume shop rather than an orchid bed. And after decades of being called S. cernua or S. odorata, it has finally been allowed to introduce itself properly.