Cypripedium

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I know that there are a few bloggers/plant hobbyists on the web who have posted some information about Cypripediums along with some photos. This post will not be terribly unique in this sense.

I just felt that it would be to the benefit of OB members to have easier access to photos of what Cypripediums really look like. If you want to look at pretty pictures of Cypripedium in bloom, this is not the place.

If you want to know the anatomy of Cypripediums when they are not in bloom, this is it.

For the purposes of time, this initial post will be brief and not terribly comprehensive.

If anyone has comments or questions go ahead and post them or ask. I will do my best to answer your questions or respond to your comments.

The following photos are of Cypripediums growing in Ziplock bags. I ultimately decided to grow them this way for maximum control over their growing environment, to prevent as many cultivation technique mistakes as possible, and to see what the underground rhizomes are really doing. They were shipped to me this way, and when I decided to take them out of the fridge to break their dormancy, initially, it was a case where I ended up not having the time to pot them up and having gotten lazy, never got around to pot them. Since they were growing just fine and were not showing any signs of distress, I finally just decided to keep them growing in such a manner until I feel the need to actually do something about it. Plus, I was curious. I wanted to clearly see what was going on with the entire plant during growing season.

Just the fact that the Cypripediums I will be showing you all are growing in Ziplock bags demonstrate that they can be pretty sturdy if they were collected or handled properly for sale. It also demonstrates that they are not mycorrhizal dependent, and that their demise in cultivation is due to mistakes in cultivation techniques, poor collection/handling/shipping practices, a gross misunderstanding of their ecological nature/habits, and an equally poor understanding of their anatomy/biology.

My regret was that I did not take photos of them earlier when I took them out of the fridge to break their dormancy, but it is still early enough in the growing season, (growing season is mid-spring though early fall, by the way), to see what happens during the course of a growing season.

The Cypripediums in this thread were removed from the refrigerator some time in mid-April. Unfortunately, I didn't think to record the date.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

These two photos show what the entire Cypripedium plant looks like. It is just a rhizome with a bunch of adventitious roots and growing shoots. It is a pretty simple arrangement. There's nothing terribly fancy about them.

This is Cypripedium plectrochilum, btw.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

These photos show a different species of Cypripedium that I felt demonstrated what happens during the early part of growing season the best. The mature shoot starts growing larger and developing leaves. However, the same mature shoot will simultaneously produce new shoots from the base or from dormant eyes along the rhizome. Please forgive the cell phone photo quality, btw.

These are photos of Cypripedium tibeticum.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

This photo shows what an intact root tip on a healthy Cypripedium root looks like. As a side note, the root does not look pristine even though it is a seed propagated Cypripedium because the seller had grown it in a flower bed prior to sale. It is not a freshly deflasked plant.

The root belongs to Cypripedium calcicola.

[naoki]

Philip, are these from Holger Perner? It must be tough to grow these species long term in LA. Do you dig them up and refrigerate in the winter?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Yes, they are from Holger Perner. Unfortunately, I had heard of his passing from a family friend of theirs. His wife, Wenqing Perner is hoping to continue the business.

I have been told by Wenqing Perner herself that the warmest temperatures they experience in the wild is 85 F. Although she did not tell me anything regarding them being ok if the temperatures are high during the day and if the temperatures drop significantly at night, I believe that this is the case with Chinese Cypripediums as well.

I have grown these in the past. And my personal experience has been that they were not terribly sensitive to our temperatures. One of the tricks is, like I mentioned prior, to have a temperature drop at night. And the other trick is to refrigerate them during their dormancy period. When they are left to grow out during their dormancy period here in the Los Angeles County area, they will continue to grow and exhaust themselves to death.

Note: Do not store dormant Cypripediums in the freezer! Put them in a refrigerator at a temperature between 36 F - 40 F, (2.22 C - 4.44 C). 36 F - 40 F, (2.22 C - 4.44 C), is cold enough of a temperature for them to go dormant. There is no benefit to storing them any cooler than this temperature range, and it is unnecessary.

It is also imperative to keep the root system healthy and as intact as possible.

The problem with my previous attempt was because of rotting the roots out on the majority of them. Many of the Chinese Cyps do not like growing in too much organic material. Even with the ratio of organic to inorganic potting media I used, it was still too much organic material. And with at least the Cyp plectrochilum I had in the past, I tried to grow the plant without refrigeration during dormancy. Needless to say, that didn't go over so well. Even though Cyp plectrochilum are found in mid-elevation limestone hills, they should be treated just like all the other high elevation Chinese Cyps.

With Chinese Cyps, they do come from limestone outcrops and hills, so pH for the potting media has to be more on the neutral to alkaline side, (pH: 6.5 - 8).

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I just remembered...

It is not necessary to dig the orchid out of the pot if you have a dedicated refrigerator for the storage of plants and if you know for certain the orchids are doing well in the pot.

With that said, I think there are 2 main reasons why people dig the orchids out of their pots.

1. To check the state of the root system.

2. Save space during storage.

I have no recommendations one way or another. The grower may decide to either dig the plant out of a pot or to put the entire pot in their fridge. It is up to them to decide what they can or are willing to accommodate in storage space, and how comfortable they are with the plant's state of health by checking or without checking their orchids' root systems.

Unfortunately, I don't have any advice for those growing Cyps in planter beds or in the ground. I don't live in an area that would allow me to do such a thing, therefore, I don't do it.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Update.

Not much new growth happening with the newly emerging shoots.

Growth is mostly occurring with the mature shoot of each species. Leaves are still developing and unfurling.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Another example of a very different way to grow an orchid. I can't wait to see the blooms.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

This must be coincidence! The moment someone talks about blooms, guess what's popping out of this Cypripedium tibeticum? Hehe. The first sign of a flower bud!

Photo was taken on Friday, 6/2/2017 at 11:14 pm Pacific Standard Time.