Cypripedium formosanum...is it a goner?

[Pinkeed]

I got this cypripedium formosanum from Raising Rarities back during the orchid show at the Chicago Botantic Gardens. I'm not really sure where I went wrong. I used their substrate to plant it and water it maybe once a week (or every other week) depending on how moist the soil is. I don't have these problems with the orchids that are potted in bark. I know I must be doing something wrong. It was planted maybe an inch below the soil in a 8 inch pot as suggested.

I dug it out recently to see what was going on and found this. I probably should have washed off the substrate before taking a pic. Not sure if it's a goner. Can someone help me out with what I did wrong?

The pot is near a window and humidity levels range from about 50-56%. Temperature range is about 76-79 degrees F.

It might just be that the owl pot it is in is doomed. No matter what I seem to put in there it seems like it retains too much water.

[PaphMadMan]

When was this purchased? Was it dormant or growing at the time? It is hard to comment on substrate, watering or conditions without knowing more.

I don't see anything living there now, but they can surprise you sometimes. At this point I would not expect to see growth above the surface this season, but there may be some chance it has the reserves to form a small overwintering bud and will grow next spring after dormancy.

[Pinkeed]

I will try to go into more detail.

It was dormant when I bought it on March 12th of this year. I had it in the fridge for maybe 1.5 weeks. Since this was stated to be ok by the grower.

It gets direct sun on an angle from southwest facing balcony doors and 2 windows.

I potted it in the owl pot from Home Depot (forum won't let me post link, but it will pop up right away if you type in owl pot). I drilled a big hole in the bottom of it and put a layer of gravel between the bottom and the substrate.

The substrate was purchased from Raising Rarities and is as follows via their website:
2 parts -Granite grit [Chicken “grower” size from the feed store]
6 parts -Perlite
2 parts -Potting soil or pro mix
A scoop or a handful of ground oyster shell, from the feed store

I used about 1/4-1/2 a glass of tap water a week (sometimes once every 2 weeks) to water. I did not use fertilizer.

I'm not sure if the problem is possibly the pot type, since I use ceramic pots with holes for all the others due to my tendency to over-water.

Is there anything I can do do save this plant? It was expensive. Right now it's back in the pot.

What should I do differently next time? I'll probably try again.

[stonedragonfarms]

Originally Posted by Pinkeed

I will try to go into more detail.



It was dormant when I bought it on March 12th of this year. I had it in the fridge for maybe 1.5 weeks. Since this was stated to be ok by the grower.



It gets direct sun on an angle from southwest facing balcony doors and 2 windows.



I potted it in the owl pot from Home Depot (forum won't let me post link, but it will pop up right away if you type in owl pot). I drilled a big hole in the bottom of it and put a layer of gravel between the bottom and the substrate.



The substrate was purchased from Raising Rarities and is as follows via their website:

2 parts -Granite grit [Chicken “grower” size from the feed store]

6 parts -Perlite

2 parts -Potting soil or pro mix

A scoop or a handful of ground oyster shell, from the feed store



I used about 1/4-1/2 a glass of tap water a week (sometimes once every 2 weeks) to water. I did not use fertilizer.



I'm not sure if the problem is possibly the pot type, since I use ceramic pots with holes for all the others due to my tendency to over-water.



Is there anything I can do do save this plant? It was expensive. Right now it's back in the pot.



What should I do differently next time? I'll probably try again.

A few things come to mind, chief among them that this is a terrestrial growing orchid; as such, the roots need to be kept cool. In nature, the ground maintains a relative consistent temperature, aided by shading from trees and the like overhead. I'm guessing you probably "cooked" the rhizome; you were growing where ambient temps are in the mid 70s, in a south facing window, which means the pot, (especially if it's a dark color) would have become substantially warmer. Cyps are not typically grown in the house; in the greenhouse, they are often grown in unglazed terra cotta pots, which are often buried in the floor to help keep them cool during the warm months--most of the time though they are moved outdoors after frost danger.
Hopefully the others chime in; these are often expensive plants, as such I'd recommend reading as many cultural notes as possible before trying again. Unlike paphs, phrags or many other orchids, they have very very little room for error.
Adam

PS: to satisfy my curiosity, I looked up the basic cultural info on Cyp. formosa; it's a great looking plant, but it is listed as a cold grower, from shaded regions at 1500-2000m. Please take a look at the Raising Rarities culture notes; I think you'll see where you went wrong. Cyprepedium Culture In Pots | Raising Rarities



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[Pinkeed]

I knew I did something wrong....

In that case, I need to move it downstairs by the Dracula in the tiled entryway where it stays colder (faces northeast, not much light) and obviously I will need to change the pot because it's a problem. Pot is white, but I see your point.

Alternatively, the kitchen window faces northwest. It can be left inside on the table or outside the window itself. I have a lot of space out there.

I could also stick it outside once the warmest part of the summer passes. The front stoop is shaded for the entire day pretty much (northeast).

Do I continue to water for now?

If I remember correctly, south gets most light and north gets least???

[estación seca]

You don't mention a mulch topping. On the page Adam linked to, they say this is extremely important. A lot of temperate woodland plants have crown buds that absolutely must stay moist and cool, as they do below a layer of leaf mulch. Similar plants are bleeding hearts (Dicentra), Solomon's seal (Polygonatum), Lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria) and Trillium.

[stonedragonfarms]

In my opinion it's dead. If you try it in the future it needs to live outdoors. You might be able to bring it in for a few days (2-3) when its in bloom, but it would need to go back outside after. Cyps aren't meant for indoor culture; they need the range of temps of the outdoors. I'd wager even where you are growing your Dracula would be too warm (for the roots).


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[Pinkeed]

I have not had problems with the Dracula. I keep the roots cool via the 2 pot method with water always in the bottom and keep the humidity up by keeping it in a terrarium. It's actually doing really well. That may be because it's like 2 feet from the front door and there's a very large a/c vent about 10 ft or so up from there.

It didn't have mulch topping. Grower said it was not needed for inside. Maybe it would have helped though.

I can double pot the cypripedium to keep the roots cool as well. It seems like the main issue is to keep the roots cool and not overheat the top.

My main concern with just leaving it outside is that it has to be in a pot since I have no yard space. Temperatures can go into the 90s F in the summer and below zero in the winter here. I think the summer might be ok, since in Taiwan where the plant grows in the wild it can get pretty warm. But the winters there only go down to the 50s F or so.

[stonedragonfarms]

I think the best course of action would be to skip growing it. You're approaching the culture as though the plant were found in Taipei; yes, it is from Taiwan, but it grows naturally at elevation. Yushan National Park has snow at those elevations in the winter; this may be an oversimplified comparison, but imagine trying to grow and flower an apple tree indoors: it needs the full range of temps to flower and fruit (be it cold/dry in winter to trigger blooms, warm/cold spring to trigger flowering and fruit set, warm/warm in summer to trigger growth & warm/cold in fall to trigger dormancy). It's disappointing that the grower led you to believe that the plant could be cultured indoors, or perhaps he/she merely thought you'd meant it would be indoors until frost had passed so it could go out.
Adam


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[estación seca]

Consider the double-pot system. I can't recall what it's called. Pot your plant in a clay pot. Set that clay pot inside another clay pot, 2" / 5cm or more larger in diameter. Larger is better. Fill the space between the pots with fine sand, and keep the fine sand wet to damp. This cools the inner pot and provides some moisture to the inner pot.