Cypripedium 2013

[angie]

Stephen I will take my Cyp formosanum into the greenhouse.. Maggi and John are probably right about the frosts. I think this year I got real worried in May as the Cyps were well up and we did have a hard frost. See my memory is starting to fail.

I keep my Cyps in a cold frame in the shade. The pots are sunken into gravel just to save the pots from cracking. There is a polycarbonate lids over them to give them some protection.

Its funny as this was the first Cypripedium that I bought was formosanum. I liked the leaves but it never did anything for me. I think I won't own up how many that I have bought and killed. I got one from Graham Catlow so hopefully with the knowledge I have now  i might stand a chance with this one.

Angie 

[Stephen Vella]

Hi John,

Thats good to hear and theres hope for me that you grow guttatum and say its easy. These came from Tasmania with a similar climate.

In regards to montana and Bill it confirms with me that this species is difficult. If I could grow a batch of seedlings with similar climate zone to here I would have a chance. From memory Ross K from the states collected seeds of montana with larger flowers and showed vigour and also californica same again, some of that seed fould its way here. With genetic variability I think 2% may survive with me or it maybe that theory of 'kill alot before you master how to grow alot'.

Sebastian sounds familiar. I wonder if its here.

Do you have much success growing in vitro of cyps?

[Stephen Vella]

Hi Angie,

Good to hear...I think all first timers try their luck with formosanum. Im the opposite and thinking of putting C guttatum in the fridge this winter.The things we do.

Sounds like your doing the right thing with a cold frame, gives them some protection from cold winds..sinking the pots prevents the roots from freezing and thawing too, the less of that the better  yes i think you'll do better

[Stephen Vella]

I waited 9 years and its not tibeticum but it is a nice kentuckiensis...got a bit carried away with the photo shoot.

[Anthony Darby]

A species I never got to see flower. 

[John Aipassa]

That's worth the wait Stephen. A very nice kentuckiense indeed.

About my sowing experiences, well, let's put it this way. It is a lot of doing and not that many successes so far. It is mainly acaule that I have tried, because I have killed so many expensive adult ones, I want to try getting these from seed myself, to find the right way for me for this difficult one.

Although I have managed to keep a few alive for several years now in living Sphagnum, but than the black birds come and wreack havoc in the Sphagnum pulling the root systems out. This summer on a warm and dry sunny day and when I was not home, they pulled this trick with two root systems, which were found a couple of feet from the pots completely dried and dead  .

No successes with the acaule flasks so far. First the bleaching stage was full of mistakes by me (too short or long or a too high concentration of bleach, etc.) and than keeping the flasks uncontaminated. I do everything in my own kitchen. After much reading and doing lots of sowing I now have found a method that works, at least with other hardy orchids. I can keep the flasks sterile without too many tricks and the seeds are germinating so I have started the sowing of Cyps again, which is in full throttle at this moment with trying acaule (also the white form) and montanum. When I have succes I will think of you for some seedlings (in flask).
 

[Stephen Vella]

Sounds like your getting there...I hear the bleaching of seed is the trickest part just before it goes translusant... I have a few kentuckiensis so i may have seed to send but next year as the other didnt flower to cross...only parviflorum, if these cross there might be pods..I'll keep you up dated.

In regards to black birds try a cage or pin down some chicken wire onto your rhyzomes and sphagnum on top. Theres a good book on Growing Hardy Orchids by John Tullock, he goes into great depth with C acaule cultivation using the bog method...great information and pictures and results.

Anthony you may have some luck in finding kentuckiensis there...maybe even some cv's
cheers

[John Aipassa]

I want to come back to the growing difficulties with Cypripedium montanum (and some of its hybrids). On the website of mr. Werner Frosch he shows a climate diagram of C. montanum with precipitation (blue line), temperature (magenta line) and snow (blue area) coverage shown (see attachment). If you study the diagram closer, you'll find out that C. montanum grows in rather dry growing conditions. Being under snow (dry) for quite a few months and a rather high evapotranspiration conditions (dry) in most of the growing season.

There are climate diagrams for other species on his website http://www.w-frosch.de/Cypris/Kultur/klima_e.htm which are very interesting for determining what the growing conditions are for wild species regarding temperature, precipitation and soil condition (wet or dry). What strikes me most are the conditions in Huanglong China, where the spotted leaves Cyps are growing. The amount of rainfall in the growing area is very very high, so the leaves have to cope with all this water. The current paradigm to not water the orchids from above to avoid getting the leaves wet, must be reconsidered and be seen in a different perspective. I have a Cypripedium fargesii growing outside in the garden in a raised and very well drained bed, which has grown from one bud this summer to two new buds this fall still with healthy roots. Lots of rain has fallen on the plant this year and it has not killed it.

[Stephen Vella]

John it might mean they are a little drought tollerant. Would they favour more moisture. My problem would be to keep the temps down when dry. It heats up here when dry. I allways thought that added moisture would keep them cool. Its that hard to find balance if they like where you are. Lots die in the process.. but its hopefull and will look out for it....cheers 

[John Aipassa]

I think they need lots of water in the growing season, but with very very well-drained soil. The soil in the garden for my Cyps is normally a mix of sandy but humus rich garden soil, with perlite, seramis, bark , etc. But the raised bed with fargesii is filled only with perlite, seramis, pumice and a very tiny bit of coir. The bed is about 20 cm high and in the shade of a tree and between shrubs, ferns, epimedium and the like, but still open for the wind to dry the leaves. It gets a bit of sun only in early spring when the tree has not leafed out yet. The rest of the year it is in the shade of the tree and shrubs facing north. The spot is quite cool in the summer.

[David Nicholson]

Cypripedium growers may be interested to see what Milan Sembol in the Czech Republic has available, see

http://www.cypripediums.net/rostliny/cypripedia/

He also has Pleione available.

His prices are shown in Czech Koruna and the latest exchange rate I've seen is £1 = 32.7 Koruna

[John Aipassa]

Thank you David.

I have ordered from other Czechs this fall at this webshop.
http://www.cypripedium.cz/cyps/default.aspx

Very good and healthy roots and buds.

[monocotman]

David,

thanks for the link.

As the opening page is in Czech I clicked on the 'translate' option at the top of the page.

This then had the unfortunate result of translating the species 'debile' as 'asshole'.
If you examine the lip then I guess that there is some resemblance!

Regards,

David

[David Nicholson]

Yes, I wondered if anyone would notice that Elsewhere the English translation refers to "Sowing own testicular". Great body of text folks!

[pontus]

those are hillarious translations...!! haha I can add that "debile" in french means "stupid, idiotic or moronic", so if you tell someone in french that they are "debile", you are letting them know that they are one of the most stupid and moronic people you have ever met!

I do sometimes wonder where botanists and plantsmen get their names from...a few years back, there was even a dutch bred crocus hybrid called "negro boy"...and i have seen some very funny names amonghst fritillaria and tulipa hybrids as well....

Pontus