cypripedium

[Susan Band]

Help!
After following one of the links on this page and some rash internet shoppping I now have just had a 200 cypripedium seedlings delivered. The instructions say to grow them in 100% pumice or seramis for the first 2 years. This seems a little hard on them, how will they manage to grow especially as it also states not to use fertiliser. Has anyone else tried this or are you all tempted like me to add a little something. Antony, I notice you mentioned adding a little loam and bark to your pots, was this from the very start?
Susan
anyone wanting to buy a few cyps?

[ellenndan]

Hi Susan
 I would love to know what you have and how much.
Dan and Ellen

[Joakim B]

I think that the "soil" depends on what spieces it is.
The Chinese spotted ones are very difficult while others might stand a more natural soil with a bit of fertilizer in a diluted range.
Malmgren uses A wood compost from a nearby forest. He does not grow the Chinese and he grows a lot of hybrids.
Maybe ADarby or Hannelotte can comment more.

Good luck
Joakim

[Anthony Darby]

Susan, I use the same mix for seedlings as for mature plants - 80% inorganic; 20% organic [see above]. For species inorganic fertiliser at a quarter strength should be given, as long as there are visible leaves, every fortnight. The secret is never to let the plants dry out, but they must not be waterlogged, especially around the crown. Hybrids are much more vigorous and can cope with full strength fertilser.

[Kjell.K]

I grow Cypripediums from seed.Deflasked seedlings I grow in 25% wet Rockwool,25% dry Rocwool, 25% sand and 25% Perlite. They grow for 2-3 months in a "propagator" before i put them into soil.

[Susan Band]

Thanks for all the help. I will try experimenting with all the methods. Check back here in 5 years time
susan

[Jozef Lemmens]

I keep my deflasked seedlings in pure Vulkakorral the first winter. This is a kind of pumice.  After the first winter, I keep them in 90 % Vulkakorrel and about 10 % peat, until they can go in the garden.

Jozef

[Anthony Darby]

I think the advice in Scotland would be to avoid peat unless you are growing under cover. It breaks down too quickly lowering the pH. Anything than allows totally free drainage and plenty of air round the crown should work. Fungicide also helps despite the association in the wild. Fungal rot is what kills plants.

[David Shaw]

I am not a cyp grower but an organic product that matches Anthony's recomendation of not using peat would be 'ground and composted bark'. It has larger particles than peat and should not break down as quickly.

[Anthony Darby]

I totally agree David. Ian - the Christie kind - recommended the fine composted 'Cambark'®.

[Greenmanplants]

Susan,
I grow seedlings in cat litter, the biosorb kind.  It has the same properties as Seramis but at 1/10th the price.  Mix leaf mold or pine duff and limestone chippings according to PH requirements but never peat as peat promotes crown rot.

Phytesia are great, just have to get a group going to share the seedlings.. I plant 10-15 to a 9" pot as they seem to like the colony approach and fewer die than in individual pots(at least with me).

What have you 200 of??  Mine are due to arrive in March, all ready vernalised and ready to pot up.

Cheers John H


Phytesia sa is a biotechnology company and specializes in the production of hardy orchids from tissue culture. Wholesale cypripedium, dactylorhiza, orchis, ...
www.phytesia.com    added by M

[Anthony Darby]

The hardy orchids (Cypripedium spp., Ophrys spp., Dactylorhiza spp. and Orchis spp.) will be from seeds and not tissue culture.

[Maggi Young]

Good to know about a source that does produce "legit" babies, though, ain't it?
I'm not surprised that Anthony, too, knew about this company, but it was news to me.....yes, I know, I should get out more!

[Anthony Darby]

Couldn't agree more Maggi. Not only that, the plants will be healthy and much more amenable to pot/garden culture. Plants taken from the wild generally fail to thrive in most cases due to the lack of roots and the extensive damage allowing pathogens in. Still, it is not easy to grow on vernalised seedlings and requires patience as they generally take three to five years to flower - rather like Trilliums. Hybrid cyps are generally more vigorous and are the best for beginners. Paul Christian is offering a fair number of flowering sized plants in his www.rareplant.co.uk catalogue, but not if you have deep pockets and short arms.

[Greenmanplants]

Pyhtesia is connected to the University of Liege in Belguim.  Bob Brown has been dealing with them for a while.  As Antony says, all the orchid production is by applying microprop techniques to seed, not meristem cloning, thus the biodiversity and all that is good in seed propagation is maintained.....you just get higher success factors.

Phytesia don't knowingly do hybrids.  Does anyone have a good source of Flask Hybrids, I'd be interested....

Start with 3 year old seedlings already weaned in compost and work backwards.  The transition from flask to compost seems to be the hardest bit....at least for me.

Cheers John H