# 6 year old cyps??? Doesn't look like it...



## The Orchid Boy (Apr 26, 2013)

I ordered 3 Cyp. reginae that were supposed to be 6 years old. I was expecting rootstock with multiple eyes and bigger and more roots. Instead I got single eyed plants. Take a look:





And this is the best one with the most roots. Is this what 6 year old reginae are supposed to look like? I paid $44.75 per plant plus shipping. I got another free reginae, the seller usually adds a little free gift. All the bags they came in are marked as being 6 year plants. My pubescens from ebay was bigger than this! Were my expectations too high or did the seller fall short?


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## monocotman (Apr 26, 2013)

Is the plant flowering size?
The bud should be about the thickness of a pencil.
It could be 6 years old.
It depends on how well the vendor grew them.
Some species take longer than others to reach flowering size.
I would not expect multiple bud size at 6 years old.
How were the plants described when advertised?
David


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## Dido (Apr 26, 2013)

I agree with David, 
If no fertilizer was given, it could look like that after 6 years, from time to time, some kinds need longer to go for more than 1 nose. 

I have a friend which have a strange plant, now 10 years with him, every year a flower, but never more then 1 growth, and I would love to get a clone....

So would be interesting how it was offered. I looks healthy to me, and could flower maybe....


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## KyushuCalanthe (Apr 26, 2013)

Some seedling Cyps will start with multiple buds from an early age - I've seen that with kentuckiense, californicum, and macranthos for example. I don't think it is too odd for a plant at 6 years to look like that plant, though reginae is a pretty vigorous species and one would hope for a bit better growth. I looks plenty healthy, and if it doesn't flower this year it should next. Personally, I don't generally look for flowers the first year, just the adjustment over to my culture, which isn't a given (especially under the local conditions!).

A note - a good rule of thumb with Cyps is that even the most vigorous seedlings take at least 4 years to flower, but 5 or even 6 years is would be more typical.


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## parvi_17 (Apr 26, 2013)

By now my post is a little redundant, but a 6 year old reginae will not have multiple eyes the vast majority of the time. At 6 years old a reginae will be flowering for the first or second time in its life, and only after it is established in the garden will it begin to form clumps. In my experience they are slow the first couple years and then take off if left undisturbed. Your plant looks to be about 5-6 years old from the picture, hard to say for sure. Will it flower this year? Also hard to say, but don't be shocked if it doesn't. Growers can only guess on whether or not plants will flower and it's never a guarantee. Even plants that have previously bloomed can take a year off or abort a flower bud from stress in transit and transplanting. I will say, dormant reginae buds (in my experience at least) are short and stubby and look smaller than many other species, but burst into a much larger size when they break dormancy, so it's a little harder to tell from bud size if the plant will flower, compared to other species.


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## NYEric (Apr 26, 2013)

Could be but looks a little small to me.


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## jtrmd (Apr 26, 2013)

Roberts? My first BS Cyps came from him and looked like that.It took another 6yrs for them to start blooming.They were acule and pubecens though.This spring they havent done anything.I dont know what happened to them unless the squirrels got them all.


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## Dido (Apr 26, 2013)

jtrmd said:


> Roberts? My first BS Cyps came from him and looked like that.It took another 6yrs for them to start blooming.They were acule and pubecens though.This spring they havent done anything.I dont know what happened to them unless the squirrels got them all.



oh well miss some Acaule too, 
I never had a year without loosing one over the winter. 

If you have more tis can happen, you dont can controll everything in the winter.


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## parvi_17 (Apr 26, 2013)

My advice would be to give it lots of fertilizer when it starts growing and if it doesn't flower this year, there's a really good chance it will next year.


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## jtrmd (Apr 26, 2013)

Dido said:


> oh well miss some Acaule too,
> I never had a year without loosing one over the winter.
> 
> If you have more tis can happen, you dont can controll everything in the winter.




The past two winters it hasnt really been cold in Maryland like it used to be.If they did rot over winter at least I enjoyed them while I had them.


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## The Orchid Boy (Apr 26, 2013)

Good to know that it was just my expectations were too high.  I got them from Ray at Great Lakes Orchids. Here's the description: 


> Common name:*Native Showy Lady slipper, Queen’s Lady Slipper Orchid, FOR SALE.* Where to buy*native cypripedium reginae lady slipper orchids.
> 
> Blooming age adults.* Ship April 2013.* Order now.
> 
> ...


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## Dido (Apr 28, 2013)

The plant look exactly what I would expect after this description. 

6 years, I would think out of flask, so it is 5 years old, could flower this year, but should flower next. 

keep my fingers crossed for you


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## The Orchid Boy (Apr 28, 2013)

I just planted all my cyps yesterday and it looks like I got 1 3 eyed reginae and 1 2 eyed pubescens.


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## parvi_17 (Apr 28, 2013)

Well hey, that's good news! Looking forward to seeing the pics when they bloom.


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## Linus_Cello (Apr 28, 2013)

Where did you get your cyps from?


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## The Orchid Boy (Apr 28, 2013)

Great Lakes Orchids is where I got the C. reginae, I got the C. pubescens on Ebay.


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## fundulopanchax (Apr 30, 2013)

I grow lots of reginae. While reginae ultimately form nice clumps (there are a few exceptions) they take a long time to grow multiple eyes. Most 6 year plants that I have will have one and few might have two. Reginae, even though they have the largest habit, have the smallest buds. 

Unlike some Cyp's like candidum, clumping will take a number of years. Under similar conditions I have candidum, Gisela and others that will usually have 6-10 growth buds by 6 years in age. 

Ron


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