Calypso Bulbosa

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by theroc1217

...I'm just worried that they won't be cold enough right now. It's 63 in the room, but I think I can find a colder place.

It's cool enough, trust me, you don't have to make it snow or even put shaved ice on it. 63 F for a daytime temperature is plenty cool.

They're fine the way they are. I really wouldn't recommend moving them around so much. Moving them around a bunch of times to different locations could set them back or stress them out.

Like I said, I've grown this species just fine with SoCal winters. It was our summers that was the problem.

If you feel more comfortable finding a cooler place for it, then I think that's fine, but I'd recommend leaving it there and not move it around to different places around your house anymore.


I'd honestly be more worried about how hot your summer will be. My recommendation is to start thinking how you can pull it through dormancy and not worry about how it is now. Like I said, the plant's fine now, but if you worry about it now, when I've told you that it's not too warm and that it is cool enough for the plant already, and you don't think about how to keep your plant cool during summer dormancy, there will be some rather unwanted results that may happen later.

Again, I'd focus on solving the problem of summer, not fall, winter, or spring.

Originally Posted by theroc1217

From what I heard, buggycrazy is calypso grower's wife...

I don't know how true this statement is. From what I understand, "calypsogrower" is in Medocino County, CA. BuggyCrazy used to be in OR and then moved to WA.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Since there were questions about how cold Calypso bulbosa should be grown, I tried it out on my plants.

I put mine in the freezer.

From firsthand experience, I can safely say, I cannot and will not recommend putting Calypso bulbosa in the freezer under any circumstance whatsoever!

They are not dead, but they sure don't look too happy either.

[theroc1217]

I have their pots inside larger terracotta pots set on damp sphagnum; it seems to be keeping the pots cool and the air humid, while I hardly have to water them. I think a similar system will have to do for the summer, keeping them indoors and cool near a window.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by theroc1217

I have their pots inside larger terracotta pots set on damp sphagnum; it seems to be keeping the pots cool and the air humid, while I hardly have to water them. I think a similar system will have to do for the summer, keeping them indoors and cool near a window.

It is possible, (and perhaps even easier), to just put the dormant tubers in a temperature controlled refrigerator for the summer, pot and all. Just don't put them in the freezer.

[Kevinator]

Can you show us some pics? I've heard these are extremely difficult to grow.

[theroc1217]

They're easier from transplant, but from what I've heard, nearly impossible to grow from seed.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Kevinator

Can you show us some pics? I've heard these are extremely difficult to grow.

I'm not sure you want to see my current plants in the condition they are in now...

Maybe when they recover - if they recover. The leaves are still around, they just look HORRIBLE! They are currently a translucent dark green and are not turgid. I see signs that they may be perking up a bit, but we'll see...

The emerging flower spike on one of them continues to look good and grow, but we'll see if they even make it to producing a flower.

I will make an exception if you're willing to see how the plants look after being put under severe cold in cultivational conditions.

I did have photos of some of my older Calypso bulbosa var. occidentalis, but they are not on my current computer, and I cannot gain access to the old computer at all; the hard drive seemed to have been erased completely.

One of the older Calypso bulbosa var. occidentalis that bloomed, was at one point in time my avatar pic. I have also posted it on Flickr and FB.

Here it is:

Calypso bulbosa var. occidentalis pic 1 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

If you really want to see the damaged plants in their current state, here are the links to the freezer burned plants:

Calypso bulbosa var. occidentalis leaves after freezer burn. :/ | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Head of flower spike on a Calypso bulbosa var. occidentals. | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[naoki]

Thank you for the info about the artificial propagation of this species, Philip.

Are they supposed to retain the leaves during the winter? Quite a few perenial plants look like that under the snow. Calypso bulbosa grows in our neighbor. I should go check out how they look right after the snow melts. But in nature, plants get cold-acclimated, so plants which can tolerate freezing could die if they get frozen without acclimation. Did you suddenly put them into the freezer from the warm temp? I hope yours will recover, though.

We've monitored the temperature under the snow with data loggers. Even though the air temperature goes down to -40C (=-40F) in Fairbanks, it usually stays pretty close to 0C under snow, and plants may very occasionally experience -5-10C. The shoulder season (fall and spring) is the dangerous time for plants.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Yes, they should retain their leaves all throughout the winter.

No, they were not acclimated to the freezer.

But like I said, it is not necessary to grow them under snow. They grow just fine when the temperatures are cool (36 F - 75 F) during the winters.

2 of the 5 are still alive, I do see active growth with the corms. They are starting to produce new corms. The roots are very much intact as well. Each corm doesn't produce very many roots. They are colored white, and are fleshy and short. Root hairs may be microscopic because I sure don't see any with the naked eye.

I have tried soaking the entire pot in water several times for several hours to no avail. The leaves are not showing much signs of recovery.

The petiole of the leaves are still intact.

In cultivation, I don't recommend growing them below 36 F (2.2 C).

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Out of complete frustration over losing the leaves to the 2 Calypso bulbosa var. occidentalis, I have gotten 2 additional healthy and intact individuals.

And this time, I didn't get greedy and put the 2 new arrivals in the freezer.

These 2 new plants I can post pics of in a bit for those interested in knowing what they look like in cultivation.