Watering cypripedium this winter?

[Corrado & Rina]

Dear all,

To water or not to water this winter? With temperatures oscillating between -4 and 14C, plants are suffering at the same time from frost and from dryness .... I am slightly concerned about leaving them without a drop of water for the whole winter, but at the same time ....

What do you more experienced than me do?

Regards

Corrado

[Steve Garvie]

I keep my Cyp pots in an unheated insulated garage. The temperature fluctuates between 1-6C  depending on outside temperatures. I have the facility to provide heat if there are sustained temperatures below zero outside but this has been unnecessary for the last two winters (and this winter so far). I also store my pleione and other non-wintergreen orchids here (such as Bletilla, Amitostigma, Ponerorchis, etc). Between late October and late February the Cyps receive two very light waterings of collected rain water. This has worked fine for me though most of my collection has only been acquired over the last two years.

The ideal situation is continuous non-fluctuating cold dormancy between November and early March. My plants experience a temperature variance of about 5C but your Cyps are having to cope with a variance of 18C. Apart from the drying out effect of increased temperatures I strongly feel that subjecting a dormant Cyp to temperatures above 7C for extended periods is likely to encourage increased microbial activity in the compost resulting in root rot.

[Corrado & Rina]

I keep my Cyp pots in an unheated insulated garage. The temperature fluctuates between 1-6C  depending on outside temperatures. I have the facility to provide heat if there are sustained temperatures below zero outside but this has been unnecessary for the last two winters (and this winter so far). I also store my pleione and other non-wintergreen orchids here (such as Bletilla, Amitostigma, Ponerorchis, etc). Between late October and late February the Cyps receive two very light waterings of collected rain water. This has worked fine for me though most of my collection has only been acquired over the last two years.

The ideal situation is continuous non-fluctuating cold dormancy between November and early March. My plants experience a temperature variance of about 5C but your Cyps are having to cope with a variance of 18C. Apart from the drying out effect of increased temperatures I strongly feel that subjecting a dormant Cyp to temperatures above 7C for extended periods is likely to encourage increased microbial activity in the compost resulting in root rot.

Hi Steve,

It is the temperature outside that is giving us headache .... the cypripedium are outside sunk in the "usual" way (I will post some pictures later), protected from rain and relatively isolated to dampen the effects of the constantly changing temperature .... would it be better to water them or not, do you think?

Best,

Corrado

[Steve Garvie]

If the soil mix you use is very free-draining (I use perlite/pumice/quartzite grit with very little organics) I would give some water.

[Mavers]

I'm no expert Corrado but have grown cypripediums for many years & still I'm honing my growing skills.
In plastic pots the weight can give a good indication of the need for water.
I aim to keep the free draining growing medium damp but not wet at this time of year. Even if the top of the medium is dry often the level at which the cyp is growing is damp enough. Tip the pot to one side & gently shake the medium away from the crown of the cyp to assess.
If the outer skin of the buds has become brown, the medium around the crown is too dry. Trickle or spray with rainwater very sparingly.
It you feel you have applied too much water sit the pot on a thick pile of kitchen towels. Make sure the towels touch the growing medium & the excess will be quickly removed from the bottom of the pot.
Like Steve I have kept my cyp's in an unheated garage for the winter months, however this winter they are growing in cold frames on the north side of my bungalow. If the weather becomes really cold they will be moved to the garage or to my frost free greenhouse.

I live in Somerset & have experienced the range of temperatures you mention.
They are certainly a challenge!

Mike

[Guus]

Hello Corado,
Three years ago I built a small mount with sand, rocks, lava, limestones, etc. and planted all my cyps in the free space. They are outside all the time. It gets wet but the water runs away immediately. First two winters it went until - 18 C, last winter no frost at all. Now just a little bit of cold. Surprisingly I experienced that the plants started growing in de free space like they never did before! I do nothing to protect them from anything in winter. When it gets too dry in summer I water them several times a week.
No worry about frost. Most species are very hardy!

greetings, Guus

[ian mcdonald]

If the plants are hardy in the UK it may be better to plant them outside. A place among shrubs with a covering of leaves should be OK. If they are in pots then frost would probably affect them more than the open ground. As long as the site is not likely to be waterlogged it should be fine. An autumn planting may be best. I have several planted outside but this is their first winter, so I will not know how they are doing until the warmer weather in spring. Here,s hoping.

[Anthony Darby]

Mine were kept in pots outside on a slabbed patio and required no additional watering. Lowest temps reached about -18ºC.

[hud357]

Mine are in pots out in the garden with no protection. Should I move them to some shelter and let them dry out a bit?

I looked at them this morning and I can still see the green shoots if I move the surface layer. They seem to be doing OK.

[SteveC2]

If you are using the popular perlite / pumice/ bark mix they will be fine.  I think that it has virtually eliminated the winter rot issue.

[monocotman]

Corrado,

as a general rule I find that plants in pots do not need watering over winter.
Even newly planted seedlings will be fine after an initial soaking.
If you feel the weight of the pots you will find that plants that have been potted for over a year are much heavier than those freshly potted.
This is mainly water so if you do want to water look at the plants that are most freshly potted.
I do have a caveat to this - watering in the early spring just before the plants start to grow.
There is no doubt that many plants in pots struggle to get enough nitrogen into their systems to produce the optimum amount of green leaf tissue
and this can be down to low levels of feed as the plants start to grow in the spring.
So I feed my plants in pots heavily just before they start into growth in the hope of reducing this effect.

Regards,

David

[monocotman]

 Sorry I forgot to add that I grow cyps in the usual free draining perlite mix in large pots
and keep the plants in an unheated garage over winter.
Another factor is what species/hybrids you grow.
The hybrids will take plenty of winter wet - see Anthony's post.
The far eastern species - tibeticum/macranthos etc are far more susceptible to rot due to wet winters.
David

[hud357]

If you are using the popular perlite / pumice/ bark mix they will be fine.  I think that it has virtually eliminated the winter rot issue.

Yes, Perlite and Bark. As I say, I can see green shoots just below the surface and so I wasn't particularly worried - until I read this thread 

[monocotman]

Green shoots are good at this time of year.
It is when they go black that you have to worry.
The rot will gradually go through the entire plant fairly quickly unless you dig it up and remove the problem areas.
This can happen to growing plants as well and is common when shoots have been bent over by the wind and fungi can enter.
David