Grow the magnificent Swamp Orchid and enjoy long-lasting, exotic blooms that add colour and elegance to shaded gardens, water features and tropical landscapes.

The perfect Australian native plant for a moist, well-draining shady place in the garden. The Swamp Orchid or Phaius australis is an amazing orchid with gorgeous large perfumed flowers, that reach up to 2 metres. A clumping evergreen plant with broad green corrugated leaves that clump up to 1 metre wide. It is considered an endangered species but can be purchased from nurseries, mainly when they are in flower. The loss of habitat and invasive plant species out competing them, is the reason for them becoming endangered. There are over twenty varieties and these are endemic to Australia. There have been several name changes for the swamp orchid or swamp lily. They are a joy to plant if you find one not in flower, to be surprised when they bloom.

The flowers are an off white with a red-brown throat, blooming in spring. Happy to grow in full to semi shade but protected from strong sunlight and wind. A soil rich in organic matter is their preferred growing medium, and they are seen as an easy to grow plant in the correct position. They don’t want to grow in a bog but a moist well-draining soil or if in a pot keep a saucer full of water under the pot. Use a potting mix that holds the moisture such as Searles Platinum Potting Mix rather than the normal Orchid Mix when potting Swamp Orchids.