We hope you have enjoyed the SRGC Forum. You can make a Paypal donation to the SRGC by clicking the above button

Author Topic: Re-potting Cypripediums  (Read 4229 times)

angie

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3167
  • Country: scotland
Re: Re-potting Cypripediums
« Reply #15 on: January 14, 2014, 09:27:35 PM »
Anne I tried to split one of my plants and I got so stressed out that I ended up just giving the whole plant away. I hated the thought that I might damage or kill the plant. Repotted three plants today but it was so grey and miserable here that I decided to do it another day. Pots are a lot lighter with just the pumice  :)

Angie  :)
Angie T.
....just outside Aberdeen in North East Scotland

glynnffc

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 40
Re: Re-potting Cypripediums
« Reply #16 on: January 15, 2014, 10:44:17 AM »
Just thought I, d tell you all Viresco have run out of pumice, except for the very small grade.Angie was right they are very helpful but have to buy it by the pallet and so I, ll have to wait until the next time they order. Ah well back to perlite.
Glynn

monocotman

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 459
  • Country: gb
Re: Re-potting Cypripediums
« Reply #17 on: January 15, 2014, 06:42:35 PM »
Glynn,
Nothing wrong with perlite!
I'm happy with it and the plants grow pretty well.
I use it because it is cheap and easily available for about £17-£20 for 100 litres from
agricultural stores or 'hydroponic' stores.
I've never tried pumice.
I mulch every pot with clay balls to keep the perlite in the pot plus it looks nicer.
Regards,
David
'remember that life is a shipwreck, but we must always remember to sing in the life boats'

Heard recently on radio 4

angie

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3167
  • Country: scotland
Re: Re-potting Cypripediums
« Reply #18 on: January 15, 2014, 06:58:18 PM »
Glynn, David is right about perlite have a look at his plants in an older post, you couldn't grow any better.

Angie  :)
Angie T.
....just outside Aberdeen in North East Scotland

SteveC2

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 416
  • Country: england
Re: Re-potting Cypripediums
« Reply #19 on: January 15, 2014, 07:10:36 PM »
Perlite is even cheaper if you can cut out the middle man. For the past few years I've been buying 100 litre bags of super coarse perlite for about eight quid from Sinclair's at Gainsborough.  But now they've upped and moved their operation to Ellesmere Port, which is good news for anyone in the North-west but bad news for me.
Good job I've got two more bags in the garage!

Anthony Darby

  • Bug Buff & Punster
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9647
  • Country: nz
Re: Re-potting Cypripediums
« Reply #20 on: January 16, 2014, 09:37:42 AM »
Here's a useful link if you are thinking of dividing cypripediums. I divided several clumps before I moved to New Zealand. One clump of Cypripedium 'Emil' had 60 noses. http://www.cypripedium.de/forum/messages/2555.html
Anthony Darby, Auckland, New Zealand.
"Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution"
http://www.dunblanecathedral.org.uk/Choir/The-Choir.html

shelagh

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1729
  • Country: england
  • Black Pudding Girl
Re: Re-potting Cypripediums
« Reply #21 on: January 16, 2014, 09:45:12 AM »
I take it you feed your Cyps very regularly if they are only in pumice or perlite?
Shelagh, Bury, Lancs.

"There's this idea that women my age should fade away. Bugger that." Baroness Trumpington

monocotman

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 459
  • Country: gb
Re: Re-potting Cypripediums
« Reply #22 on: January 16, 2014, 07:47:53 PM »
Shelagh,

yes, especially when they are just starting in spring - there is a big discussion about it at the beginning of the 'cyps in pots 2013' thread,

David
'remember that life is a shipwreck, but we must always remember to sing in the life boats'

Heard recently on radio 4

annew

  • Daff as a brush
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5423
  • Country: england
    • Dryad Nursery: Bulbs and Botanic Cards
Re: Re-potting Cypripediums
« Reply #23 on: January 16, 2014, 09:15:41 PM »
Thank you for that link, Anthony - it's just what I needed, and very clearly described. I recommend everyone takes a look!
MINIONS! I need more minions!
Anne Wright, Dryad Nursery, Yorkshire, England

www.dryad-home.co.uk

angie

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3167
  • Country: scotland
Re: Re-potting Cypripediums
« Reply #24 on: January 16, 2014, 10:09:41 PM »
Thank you for that link, Anthony - it's just what I needed, and very clearly described. I recommend everyone takes a look!

Yes, it's a really good link. I remember getting this before from Anthony.

Angie  :)
Angie T.
....just outside Aberdeen in North East Scotland

Maren

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1547
  • Maren & Pln Tongariro
    • Heritage Orchids
Re: Re-potting Cypripediums
« Reply #25 on: January 17, 2014, 08:05:27 AM »
Agreed, especially on the 'not easy' bit.

I have found it helpful to soak the rootball in cold water for 20 minutes. It makes the roots less brittle and they disentangle more easily.

Also, I look for a convenient place to split and cut through the rhizome with secateurs first. I found when using a knife, it tends to wander and cut a lot more than intended. Good luck. :)
Maren in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom - Zone 8

http://www.heritageorchids.co.uk/

shelagh

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1729
  • Country: england
  • Black Pudding Girl
Re: Re-potting Cypripediums
« Reply #26 on: January 17, 2014, 02:15:10 PM »
Thanks David, will check it out now.
Shelagh, Bury, Lancs.

"There's this idea that women my age should fade away. Bugger that." Baroness Trumpington

monocotman

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 459
  • Country: gb
Re: Re-potting Cypripediums
« Reply #27 on: January 17, 2014, 06:27:40 PM »
This link is an excellent resource and explains everything very clearly.
I just have one comment.
Plants that come out of pots look quite different to the one used in the link.
Everything is much more constricted as it has been confined in the pot.
It is difficult to separate anything out as it is just a tangle of rhizome and roots.
So you need to be really determined!
David
'remember that life is a shipwreck, but we must always remember to sing in the life boats'

Heard recently on radio 4

Anthony Darby

  • Bug Buff & Punster
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9647
  • Country: nz
Re: Re-potting Cypripediums
« Reply #28 on: January 18, 2014, 10:27:30 AM »
It's amazing what half an hour in a bucket of water does. Mine mostly looked like the ones in the picture, but then it was over three years ago, and the larger ones were garden grown. I wonder how they are doing now? :-\
Anthony Darby, Auckland, New Zealand.
"Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution"
http://www.dunblanecathedral.org.uk/Choir/The-Choir.html

angie

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3167
  • Country: scotland
Re: Re-potting Cypripediums
« Reply #29 on: January 18, 2014, 01:27:09 PM »
It's amazing what half an hour in a bucket of water does. Mine mostly looked like the ones in the picture, but then it was over three years ago, and the larger ones were garden grown. I wonder how they are doing now? :-\

It's not three years that you have been away, is it Anthony ? The ones that I was lucky enough to get from you are doing great. Good grown plants  :)
Hope its a lovely sunny day with you, its grey and miserable here, not cold though.

Angie  :)
Angie T.
....just outside Aberdeen in North East Scotland

 


Scottish Rock Garden Club is a Charity registered with Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR): SC000942
SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal