Calypso Bulbosa

[theroc1217]

It definitely gets below freezing here often. I'm just worried I have it too warm.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

How warm is it at your place right now?

[theroc1217]

Where I had them it's in the low 60's. I moved them to the garage for a few days where it was in the low 40's/upper 30's, but they're back inside now.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

How about this...

I'll just say that from what I've seen, each leaf of each plant still continued to grow and not wither away even when the daytime temperatures here got to be about 75 F during our winters.

[Aki_James]

You are quite right technically this orchid is a winter grower ,and is dormant in the hot summer months. But it does require winterising as it will throw out leaves near fall which will stay until after spring bloom.

I cannot be sure about "occidentalis" because we only have "americanus", but it absolutely needs a harsh cold spell...We get around a foot of snow minimum in the pine forests where this guys like to grow, so its good insulation for them but our winter temps can get as low as -45 degrees Celsius (sorry don't use Fahrenheit up here, and too lazy to convert that, lol)....So I guess what I am saying is this orchid can not only take snow I think its necessary, well unless you can artificially mimic this stage.

Because I live where these grow naturally I just let mother nature do all the work for me. I just throw the pot into the ground in fall and pull it up in spring for my enjoyment, I'm not 100% sure what happens to the plant during our 6 months of winter .

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I'm not sure how correct I am in assuming this, but according to what I have observed, while it is true that this species does require a cold to cool winter, I don't think it needs to be grown under very harsh conditions, despite the fact that it can full well tolerate it with no problems.

So far, I have observed with a high amount of reliability, that it will grow just fine and produce a new tuber before the onset of dormancy with the winters we experience down here in SoCal. The new tubers are not smaller than the older one, they are just as large or larger.

I just think they can't tolerate summers in excess of 90 F for very long. I think a summer daytime temperature range of 80 F - 85 F is the most ideal for them.

If my winters were too warm for Calypso, the leaf would most likely die back prematurely, which has never been the case. The Calypsos I've grown before have all shown the same pattern of starting new leaf growth during mid to late fall, blooming in spring, and the leaf dying back with the onset of summer.

Btw, Calypso bulbosa is not really closely related to Cypripediums. Cypripediums are in the subfamily of orchids categorized as Cypripedioideae. Calypso bulbosa is in the subfamily of orchids categorized as Epidendroideae.

[ronaldhanko]

Two obvious differences between var. occidentalis and var. americanus are that the former has a white "beard" and the latter a yellow "beard" as well as the fact that the markings on the lip of the former are more brownish and extend onto the midlobe (front part) of the lip while they do not in the latter. If yours came from the Pacific Northwest, they are var. occidentalis. The other variety does not grow here.

[Aki_James]

This is more of a question than a response. But could there be possible culture differences between the two varieties? I would think that var. occidentalis may like milder temperatures than var. americanus, which would make sense considering we do not get var. occidentalis up this way and I believe var. americanus is not common down that way. I have noticed in the past that if we have an unusually short winter or hot summer the Calypso Bulbosa up here either do not flower as much or do not seem to look as healthy. So I believe maybe there is more than just a variation difference among the flowers but perhaps in culture as well.

I by no means consider myself an expert on orchid culture I'm just stating what I consider a possibility.

Sorry, don't mean to hijack this thread either, so feel free to ignore this post

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

On the contrary! I don't think your latest posting "Aki_James" should be ignored at all!

I think it could be a valid observation until proven otherwise.

It does seem odd that var americana would most likely be found in certain parts of the North American continent where the climate is far harsher than most of the regions where var occidentalis is found.

Calypso bulbosa var occidentalis can actually be found as far south as Medocino County, CA, which is close to the San Francisco area. I know that someone who used to frequent the OB has found some var occidentalis down in the mountains of the state of Colorado, (which falls around the same longitudinal line as the general area where Medocino County, CA is).

It is quite possible that both variants should probably be cultivated differently from one another, idk. I can't make a definitive comment because I've never grown var americana.

[ronaldhanko]

My experience is with var. occidentalis. Have only seen the other variety in nature a few times. But the variety I am acquainted with grows from sea level to very high elevations, i.e., from very mild to very harsh conditions, and the dividing line between it and the other variety is definitely not climate but topography. It follows the Cascades and is pretty much confined to them and to the immediate areas north and south.