Question about growing Cyp's in pots
 

To any of you who grow cyp's in pot's, what do you use as a growing medium? I realize that they are terrestrial, but "dirt" can consist of many things.

:bump: good luck!

To be honest I'm not sure what is in the mix I use, but it looks like this.

Attachment 70474

It seems to contain fine stone that might be perlite but does not seem as soft as that. Fine bark and even a small amount of compost, although it might be even finer bark/bark dust. I buy it as a mix from my Cyp supplier.

The little rocks could be dolomite or pumice.

I'm willing to be it's closer to being dolomite, as many Cyps love calcium. Mostly because many of them come from places with large calcium deposits.

Some Cyps should be grown in a mix that is more inorganic than others though. Be aware of which Cyps they are!

This is still first summer of growing Cyps (deflasked this summer), so I'm not a cyp. expert. But I'm using:

Perlite : CarQuest UltraSorb 100% diatomaceous Earth : Coconut Coir = 1 : 1 : 1

and osmocote on the surface.

About 50% survival rate of these small seedlings so far, but we'll see if they'll come back next summer.

Growing cyps from seedlings in pots
 

I began growing Cyp. californicum seedlings I got from Spangle Creek Labs in May, 2010. What I used was a home blend of:
Potted up 5 seedlings into plastic fern pots that were bottom-filled
with aspen fiber. Used a foundation mix of old decomposing bark
mixed with Lyonothamnus floribundus asplenifolius (Catalina Ironwood) [any hardwood leaves will work]
and some Japanese Maple leaves.
To 2 scoops of the above I added 1 scoop of medium gravel that I
sieved out of the SM river sand I got last March.
For 2 seedlings(#1 & #2) I added 1 tablespoon of nitrohumus to the above
For 2 seedlings(#3 & #4) I added 1 tablespoon of Osmocote to the above
For 3 seedlings (#5, #6, & #7) I did not add any fertilizer at all.
All pots were top filled with a bark mix.
They were sat outside to get an hour or two of direct sun.
All are watered with R/O water ONLY.
I have set up an album in the Gallery of 6 pages that show my repotting this past March and their progress in growth up to March 19, 2012. Will take additional pics in Oct or Nov before they brown out as well as depotting images as root development is important.
BEST THING TO KEEP IN MIND IS ROOT AERATION! A soggy soil will kill the plants. My mix is a gravel based mix and requires daily monitoring and either heavy misting or watering though I do let that go for a couple of days without any harm. Plants get 2 hours direct sun.

Cypripedium californicum - Orchid Board Galleries