Cypripedium

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

No flower buds on Cyp plectrochilum or Cyp calcicola.

The Cyp plectrochilum has developed a nice leaf though.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Don't know what happened to the Cyp calcicola. I don't know how the yellow/brown area of the plant will affect its well-being. Hopefully it isn't anything serious. I'm thinking it is just from too much light exposure to that yellow/brown area. It is still growing which I think is an excellent sign.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Having doubts this was identified correctly. The bud looks far too light colored to be Cyp tibeticum unless I got an albino variant of it.

Whatever it is, the bud is growing fast. It seems to have grown significantly, literally, overnight! At this rate, I predict the plant will be in full bloom some time next week.

If you look carefully at the base of the plant, you can see one of the new shoots for the 2018 growing season starting to get a little larger.

At this stage, this plant is 5 in, (13 cm), tall.

Photo was taken on Saturday, 6/3/2017 at 7:29 am PST.

[No-Pro-mwa]

I didn't know there was such a thing as a fast growing orchid. Good, I love these ones so we will see a bloom soon.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

The progression of growth for the Cyp tibeticum can be seen with this photo.

Aside from the growing bud, the shoot has gotten larger/taller. It is now approximately 6" tall. More leaf development is occurring. The ovary can also be seen developing at this point.

The new shoots for the 2018 season are still growing pretty slow.

Photo taken on Sunday, 6/4/2017 at 8:11 pm.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Cyp calcicola is growing pretty slow compared to the Cyp tibeticum and the Cyp plectrochilum. Vegetatively, this plant has not grown much taller. However, I believe it is starting to develop a bud. All I can see clearly at this moment with regards to the developing flower are the tips of what I believe are the petals. The new shoots for this species has not developed to where I can see them yet.

I figured out why there was a yellow/brown spot on one of the leaves. It was from too much light exposure to that area.

Photos were taken on Sunday, 6/4/2017 at 8:05 pm and 8:07 pm respectively.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Cyp plectrochilum is growing rapidly. At this point, I am unclear as to whether it will produce a flower or not this year. The shoots for the 2018 growing season have not developed to where I can noticeably see them, but the eye at the base of the shoot is swelling up.

It is now about 3.5" (8.8 cm) tall.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I don't know if anybody's noticed this, but I have not mentioned anything about the roots for these plants yet. If anybody is really wondering why that is, it's because there is no root growth at this moment. They've pretty much stayed the same. The older roots have not grown longer, nor have they branched off to make new roots.

This will explain why Cypripediums are considered "challenging". If the roots were badly damaged any time during dormancy or any time during the growing season prior to the plants growing new roots, Cyps will struggle hard.

Once any of the new roots have matured, they no longer continue growing. This is why it is important to take care of the root system as best as possible. If the roots are taken care of well, Cyps are not terribly difficult to grow.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

At this point the fastest growing Chinese Cyps in my collection is a tie between Cyp plectrochilum and Cyp tibeticum. Cyp calcicola grows pretty slow by comparison.

The earlier bloomer would be Cyp tibeticum, with Cyp calcicola being second, and third would be Cyp plectrochilum.

The following photo is of the new shoots for the 2018 growing season for Cyp tibeticum. These new shoots from Cyp tibeticum are far easier to photograph than the newly emerging shoots coming out of Cyp plectrochilum.

Notice how even though the growth is slow on these new shoots at the moment, they are still developing. These have now become more pronounced than before and can easily be seen.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Cyp tibeticum growing taller and bud getting larger. Stem is more noticeable. No significant difference in size of new shoots for 2018 growing season. No new roots.