Cypripedium 2014

[ichristie]

Hello again Angie yes I fancied quite a few from John's stand but NO sales are allowed at Chelsea that pleases my financial advisor (Ann)  cheers Ian the Christie kind

[monocotman]

Hi,
 we're moving towards the end of the season and these two are always late.
First is Philipp. This plant was one of my first cyp purchases in 2006 and has been split once.
On a good flowering there is a distinct picotee edge to the lip and staminode.
I have a large division with 8-9 stems- if there is anyone with another spare cyp I may be up for offers.
Next is Dietrich, getting quite tall as it matures. Most stems carry two flowers and
they have a distinct and pleasant scent.
Last photo shows the two hybrids plus pixi in the greenhouse next to the tomatoes.
Heavy rain (I wish) is forecast for overnight and I want to prevent them being battered,
Regards,
David

[angie]

Hello again Angie yes I fancied quite a few from John's stand but NO sales are allowed at Chelsea that pleases my financial advisor (Ann)  cheers Ian the Christie kind

Ian,

NO SALES, not sure I would enjoy myself then. Thats like being a kid in a sweetie shop and not getting anything 
Love the quote My financial advisor 



David,
 
Those three are amazing. Gives us all something to aspire to.

Angie

[Maren]

Dear David,

did you tell us how you get them to these amazing sizes? if not, please let us into your secret. Mine do well, but your's are remarkable. I believe some of my lack of progress is due to grazing by molluscs, found another few stems neatly chomped off just above the ground. Or maybe it's the rabbits or squirrels....

[mark smyth]

Yesterday I accidentally kicked over one of my Cyp pots. No roots! Where are the roots? No evidence of weevils or other insects. What do I do now?

[Anthony Darby]

How long have you had that plant Mark?

[monocotman]

Maren,

there is no secret - we've discussed the culture in previous years 'cyps in pots' threads.
I may feed more than most. At this time of year during very active growth it is every week.
I use full rate for the hybrids and half rate for the species.
As they settle down growth wise it goes to every two weeks and the species drop to quarter rate.
I keep the plants out of the sun for almost all the time so the foliage stays pristine for most of the summer.
Plants are over potted and watered every day when it gets hot so they never suffer from lack of water.
Rain water is used as often as possible especially in the spring so that there is plenty of room for feed.
if I've had to water more often than expected then I feed a bit more so that the compost never runs out of food.
I do use slug pellets early in the year for slugs and I find that they don't like to travel across the hortag on top of the pots.

Mark - your plant has lost all it's roots to rot, the compost looks like it is too high in organics.
It is living on the reserves from the rhizome.
Wash off all the old compost, drench everything with a fungicide and then repot into a very free draining mix like perlite.
Keep the plants in a cool humid place where transpiration losses are low with no wind and hope!
Some new roots may be initiated later in the summer and the plant may survive,

Regards,

David

[mark smyth]

Thanks David. It was in the same pot as when bought. It's one of those mass produced ?Dutch Cyps.

[Anthony Darby]

So was that last week; last year Mark? Scottish slugs must not like cyps as I never had any slug damage and believe me, we had slugs. Scotland is also in the shade, even when the sun is shining.

[SteveC2]

The Dutch cyps never have much root when purchased. I have bought / been given a few and I always repot as soon as I get them.  I guess in their perfect growing conditions the plants do not need to search for water so do not feel the need to make larger root systems.  Pot it up in a perlite / pumice mix and I think it will survive, though it may go backwards next year.
Lincolnshire slugs love cyps, as do our snails.  I find that they will happily cross gravel, perlite, copper wire, copper tape, you name it, to get to them.  Perhaps people who never experienced slug issues had more choice plants around to tempt them?

[mark smyth]

Bought Feb 2013 I think

[Hakone]

[Stephen Vella]

Angie and David just going back to why it was suggested to divide up cyps was spoken about years ago on a frosch cyp forum and was suggested that the over crowding of leaves leads to poor air circulation and can be a great environment for botrytis where the spores travel in the air and find a great place to attack especially in warm springs with still air and glass house like conditions, that's why glass houses are not great for cyps... Other diseases like  Pithium rot as you get in humid moist springs attack tender growth at soil level more so on organics(acid soils?) but inorganic aren't all ways safe, the problem with this one is that it travels in water and has been know to wipe out whole collections more so in a nursery or collectors with large collections. this can be introduced from a diseases source(newly purchased plant,running water from garden to collection etc)... So to keep this one at bay is HYGINE!.. keep potted collection raised off the ground and wire benches are best, this will prevent the water running to other pots like you would on a wooden bench or on the ground of concrete or plastic where it puddles, recycle water can be a problem if its not sterilized, if the disease is in the water source it's spread quicker. This is all "general nursery hygiene practice" anyhow and any good gardener has this at the back of their mind.. So keeping them on wire benches are the best or somewhere where the water doesn't run into other pots...use pasteurized soil mix,perlite is great for this.. And bleach any reused pots.
Pithium will destroy the leaf base and rhyzome and will work its way through a clump and it maybe too late when its noticed. The leaves will start off by wilting in the heat of the day and the unsuspecting would water it causing further rot because it really needs to dry out and be cool.. So keeping pots cool helps, keep them healthy and let them dry out a little between waterings especially when it's humid...it's a real tricky disease and is common in glass houses because of the humidity, high fluctuating temps in spring and splashing water or plants too close to each other and having a monoculture of one genus together also dosnt help..you can rescue a plant if its not too late and that's to pull away at the rotten parts and plant up in perlite and have back ups in the garden.. Have I made u start to really worry now? Well I wouldn't, as I havnt seen it yet and mine are in an organic mix and pots are sitting on the ground and we get more warmer temps than you. Some of the smaller pots I have plunged in gravel to keep the roots cool and placed under a tree, as long as you keep the feeding up to them and their healthy. I would split up the biggest clumps and its been suggested after having them refreshed in a new mix after 3 or 4 years is good practice and at this stage you can inspect the roots and rhizomes and see if theres rot... if so you can cut the outer parts of the clumps that has vigor. They do tend to form a thicket entanglement like David has said and to plant in the garden and give to a friend so you know you'll have a back ups

[Hakone]

[Tim Harberd]

Hi Hakone,
     Of all your cultivars.. which would you say are the three most rewarding ones to grow?

Tim DH