# cyps in pots 2011



## monocotman (Apr 2, 2011)

hi,

the weather has finally warmed up enough ( 15 degrees c daytime) for the plants to start growing rapidly. There should be the first flower out next week.
The photo shows the most advanced of the flowering size plants in my 'outdoor' greenhouse. I've begun to be fed up bending down to look at the plants so I moved a section of greenhouse staging outside whilst these plants flower. They are on the cooler north side.
The large plant front left is the hybrid Sunny which is always the first to flower.
The green shade cloth at the end is to protect them mainly from the wind.
There seem to be more non flowering shoots this year - maybe due to the very cold weather in December. We experienced -12 degrees and this must have frozen the pots to quite a depth. So far I cannot see any other problems.
I've lost a few plants but these were struggling before the freeze. The only one I'm 'mourning' is a seedling tibeticum that after two years good growth was big enough to flower this spring.
This year I'm really looking forward to seeing some semi alba macranthos seedlings flower for the first time. The buds are developing nicely and I'll post when they're out,

Regards,

David


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## tocarmar (Apr 2, 2011)

You have a very nice collection there!!!


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## Rick (Apr 2, 2011)

Looks like a bumper crop:clap:

We want flowers!!!


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## NYEric (Apr 2, 2011)

Hmmmm. I could use a cyp.


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## Dido (Apr 2, 2011)

Nice collection, please show pic when ready


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## koshki (Apr 2, 2011)

So exciting!


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## biothanasis (Apr 4, 2011)

So great to have all those cyps :clap:!!!!!


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## tenman (Apr 4, 2011)

Big collection! What do you have them growing in?


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## monocotman (Apr 4, 2011)

Hi,

I've posted before about the growing medium but it is basically super coarse perlite with maybe 10% orchid bark. The pots are topped with hydroleca to stop the perlite floating away whilst watering,

David


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## NYEric (Apr 4, 2011)

Thanx for the info.


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## monocotman (Apr 16, 2011)

*pale flowers*

hi,

plants are finally doing their thing.
I've definitely lost a few flowers from the extreme cold in December. The shoots have grown OK but there are very small aborted buds at the base of a few. Macranthos hotei and tibeticum aborted buds as did a few hybrids. Sometimes it was only some of the shoots of a particular plant.
As shoot growth seems to be fine, I'm assuming that the roots were unaffected.
First up are a couple of new clones of macranthos. Both are from crosses between specific pale coloured clones.
The first photo is from a mac. pink x semi alba.Nice but I prefer the second one.
This semi alba x semi alba produced just 25% semi alba seedlings - a nice 3:1 ratio - must be a single gene that caused this pale flower.
Next up is a lovely clone of Aki light( macranthos x pubescens). I received this in a trade for another plant.
It is almost a pure yellow with just a bit of red veining on the dorsal. An unusual colour- I don't have another plant with this colour.
Lastly we have Sabine pastel - fasciolatum x macranthos, but another pale clone. The petals are ivory and the lip almost pure white.
This looks to be a promising grex which has large, striking flowers and grows quickly,

Regards,

David


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## cyprimaniac (Apr 16, 2011)

monocotman said:


> hi,
> 
> plants are finally doing their thing.
> I've definitely lost a few flowers from the extreme cold in December. The shoots have grown OK but there are very small aborted buds at the base of a few. Macranthos hotei and tibeticum aborted buds as did a few hybrids. Sometimes it was only some of the shoots of a particular plant.
> ...



hey David,
nice pics 

don't be sad.
you can see flowers from my different hotei cultivars in about 3 weeks.
according to temps next weeks, 
which are much lower than yours...............

..............AND you are young, 
next spring will come for you *with new and MORE flowers* 

cheers
Dieter


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## Dido (Apr 18, 2011)

Nice pics you did great


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## NYEric (Apr 18, 2011)

Nice, thanx for sharing.


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## monocotman (Apr 18, 2011)

*more hybrids*

Hi,

first up a group shot of the cyps flowering behind the greenhouse. 
The warm weather has pushed them on and they must be a couple of weeks ahead of last year.
Next up is a new one for me - the hybrid 'Bill' ( pubescens x tibeticum). 
This looks very promising - the large flower is a nice rich red on an average sized stem. The seedling is flowering for the first time so should improve quite a bit.
The next is a bit of a mystery. It was bought as 'Pluto' ( fasciolatum x franchetti) but is nothing of the sort. 
It is definitely a fasciolatum cross and probably 'Sunny' (calceolus x fasciolatum). 
I didn't think much of the flower when this plant first flowered a couple of years ago. But each year it improves in size and colour, so now it's a keeper,

Regards,

David


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## KyushuCalanthe (Apr 18, 2011)

Lovely plants David. Sabine pastel is one of the most beautiful of the new hybrids IMO. I am a sucker for small plants with large flowers. I really like the last mystery hybrid as well. The pale Aki reminds me of the large flowered yellow forms of C. x ventricosum that sometimes come out of China.

Great growing :clap:


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## W. Beetus (Apr 18, 2011)

I like the color of Bill. Very nice!


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## monocotman (Apr 19, 2011)

*hybrids*

Tom,

Sabine pastel looks to be a real winner. The plant has real impact. Last year it was a new purchase and just had a single flower plus small growth. This year three flowers plus another growth with an aborted bud. The rate of increase is excellent and I'm really looking forward to seeing what it is capable of in future.
The Aki pastel was a great surprise. The colour is a clear yellow with just very faint red stripes on the dorsal. Photos I've seen of it on the web would not suggest that it is likely to produce such a colour. They mostly seem to be a 'washed out' pale red. However it was a trade and the plant was large and double budded so the previous owner must have seen it in flower. I'm pretty sure that it is 'Aki' -the flower shape is exactly right for the cross.
The first photo shows a close up of the mystery plant -Tom - are there any clues here as to whether it is actually calceolus x fasciolatum?
Talking of small plants with large flowers Tom -the next photo shows another new hybrid flowering for the first time for me - Renate pastel ( macranthos x franchetti). The plant is only in its second year and still quite small so this should improve considerably in future.
Lastly we have a close up of the Sabine pastel - there is a bit of fine red stippling around the base of the petals but is otherwise white and ivory,

Regards,

David


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## Marc (Apr 19, 2011)

Nice cyps you have


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## KyushuCalanthe (Apr 19, 2011)

David,

Agreed on the Sabine pastel. All around a cut above.

I've got a couple new Aki pastel this season so I'm excited to see how they turn out - probably not a lovely as yours. Since this cross is so similar to the naturally occurring x ventricosum, I'm not surprised at a few turning out yellow like that, but no doubt they are rare!

About the mystery flower, I think you're right about it being 'Sunny'. The overall shape and color is definitely calceolus influenced, while the flower stance - slightly bent forward - and stouter plant speaks of fasciolatum. A real beauty regardless of what it is.

The Renate pastel is a bit of surprise given the parents - that lip is very elongated which doesn't fit well - I wonder if there isn't some x ventricosum blood in there somewhere. Many plants sold under macranthos alba are not pure IMO, so it is possible the macranthos parent wasn't pure. Just a thought. 

You grow your plants so well - I am a bit jealous. Here in the near subtropics it is a struggle just to keep them alive - well, except for japonicum and formosanum which thrive.

Keep those photos coming please.


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## cyprimaniac (Apr 19, 2011)

hey, 
I have seen many macrathos alba plants flowering here from different sources
in the last years.

But as far as I "identified", ALL were X ventricosums, imported from "natural sources", 
though beeing grown for years already in Europe 
and possibly used for breeding ..........

Nevertheless, I think that true macranthos alba is fairly rare, 
and only to KNOW TRUE from few sources, 
as MY SEEDGROWN PLANT is 


look at this last years pic, because plant is still dormant yet........

*C. macranthos alba*






BTW: in 2009 a guy from a forum offered me a X ventricosum alba. 
when I asked from what source, he said "Santa Claus" , 
but Santa must have been BLIND.
when it flowered in 2010, 
a macranthos ALBA (not the plant in the pic) came out.
so even from an imported rhizom you can be "lucky guy" :rollhappy:

life is hard,
so *Carpe Diem*


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## cyprimaniac (Apr 19, 2011)

sorry about posted two times..............


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## monocotman (Apr 19, 2011)

*renate pastel*

Tom,

the renate pastel plant is pretty small and this may be why the flower isn't normal. Cyp flowers can improve hugely when the plants get bigger.It was bought from a nursery who I think received it from Michael Wienert so I'm hoping that it is 'correct'. The flower colour is right.
The cross was released in small numbers a couple of years ago. Not a normal release - there aren't many about this year.
I'm sure you're right about many ventricosums/macranthos plants.
They're so difficult to tell apart, with ventricosum being so variable in form and colour.
Do you have a definitive character apart from flower shape?
As for culture, I find them fairly straight forward in our equable maritime climate. 
The UK winters are usually not too cold to freeze the pots ( apart from December 2010) and the summers not too hot to stress the plants and stop them growing. Don't forget that I live in the UK's 'bread basket' of East Anglia where the winters are colder and the summers hotter than the west coast. Average annual rainfall is only about 23 inches. If I really wanted to do well with them I'd move over there!

Regards,

David


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## Dido (Apr 21, 2011)

Hy your flower could be sunny, but there are so many hybrids out there so it can confuse, it could be Inge too. My plants will flower soon outside, 
my Sunny is more brown and my inge more light, but the form of the pouch could be a sign for fasciculatum in that cross.


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## monocotman (Apr 26, 2011)

*more hybrids*

Hi,

first up a group shot of the pots at their peak after unseasonably warm April weather for the UK ( peaking at 27 centigrade) brought them all out in a rush.
I sometimes get a fleeting waft of scent from the group first thing in the morning but cannot pin down where it is coming from.
The dark chocolate flowers at the front are from 'Pixi'( calceolus x tibeticum).
Next is 'Birgit' ( macranthos x cordigerum) -a nice clear pink.
The next two are both x ventricosum from different ends of the colour spectrum - a dark and pale clone. This is such a vigorous grex/natural hybrid you could have a large collection of cyps from just this group.
Lastly is the small and very cute parviflorum var makasin - it is supposed to be scented but I cannot smell it,

Regards,

David


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## NYEric (Apr 26, 2011)

That pale x ventricosum is very diff!


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## KyushuCalanthe (Apr 26, 2011)

David, looking like paradise over your way these days 

Agreed that you could have a collection of C. x ventricosum alone and have a wonderful mix of plants. Nice clumping plants too.

'Brigit' is just fabulous. I love just about every cross made with cordigerum - it is a perfect parent, but too bad it is so hard to grow itself. Is 'Brigit' giving you any trouble, or is she an easy grower? I'd love to see that cross remade with a really fine, large v. hoteiatsumorianum.


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## monocotman (Apr 27, 2011)

*Birgit*

Tom/Eric,

thanks for the comments - the flower show would have been even better if the winter had been a bit less harsh. I'm really pleased with the way so many of the hybrids are now bulking up each year. I'll have to undertake a major repotting exercise this coming autumn.
Birgit came to me as a small seedling from ebay - you hardly ever see it offered for sale. It nearly died the first year after a bad aphid attack. It sat around and did little for a couple of years and then last year it grew big time and now seems to be a good vigorous plant. Eight growths and four flowers this year.
Eric- the pale ventricosum is probably from Frosch perennials (Michael Wienert ), he has started to sell this grex recently. Again this seems to be a vigorous grower and should bulk up well in the coming years. Last year there was one small growth and this year two large growths with flowers.
The photo shows another macranthos cross with a similarly difficult to grow species to cordigerum, that is candidum. The cross is called Annette.
This grex can produce flowers with colours ranging all the way from the pale candidum to the purplish macranthos.
This flower seems to be virtually all the pale candidum colour. It isn't big but quite cute and as a new seedling should improve quite a bit,

Regards,

David


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## monocotman (May 2, 2011)

*more red hybrids*

Hi,
a few later flowering hybrids.
The first photo shows five red hybrids. Back row (L to R) is Philipp, Philipp?? and Lucy Pinkepank.
Front row is x ventricosum and Pixi.
The dark Philipp( kentuckiense x macranthos) is a seedling flowering for the first time. The cross came from Jan Moors at Crustacare using their clone macranthos 'red russian'. I'm expecting future flowerings of this plant to give a completely dark red flower.
Next up is a realy beefy plant with three stems and five huge flowers. It could be Philipp or Lucy Pinkepank( kentuckiense x tibeticum) but I'm leaning more towards Philipp. The plant is thick stemmed with two large flowers per stem and I'm wondering whether it is polyploid.
Next up is a true lucy pinkepank - a slightly more graceful flower compared to these two philipps.
Lastly we have a very dark Pixi( calceolus x tibeticum). This plant grows like a weed and the flowers are almost chocolate in colour,
Enjoy,

David


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## Dido (May 2, 2011)

your lucy pinkepank ad the dark pixi are really great love them. 
If you have one day something to share please think on me.


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## KyushuCalanthe (May 3, 2011)

Gorgeous selection David. Like the Pixi in particular. Do you grow any species?


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## monocotman (May 3, 2011)

*species*

Tom,

just the usual range of N.American and the easier himalayan types.
They don't grow as quickly as the hybrids so I don't post too many.
However I will have one, maybe two macranthos hotei 'kamanashi' flowering soon, from new purchases this winter, so I'll post those,

Regards,

David


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## KyushuCalanthe (May 3, 2011)

Hey David,

Yes, I too am starting to get more interested in hybrids, both for their vigor and variety. It will be interesting to see these Kamanashi forms as they come into flower. I assume they came from Michael Weinert?

Still, you have to love the species. I don't see how you can avoid growing _C. kentuckiense_ for instance - it is just so fabulous!


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## Dido (May 4, 2011)

Never seen a pict of Kamanashi only heard about. 
Hope you will post a pic when in flower. 

Hybrids are interesting I like to cross. 

Heard I was sucessfull with crossing fasciolatum X acaule.


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## monocotman (May 5, 2011)

*kamanashi*

Hi Tom,

the kamanashi forms came from Laneside Alpines in the UK - he had a bunch of plants that originated in Holland I believe. They sold out very quickly but I did buy several.
The first plant to flower is quite small but has a well developed bud and looks correct -the lip is dark, very fat and bulbous compared to the usual macranthos types.
Only one other, larger plant may flower but that will be a couple of weeks off at least. They are pretty late to get going, which seems to be typical of kamanashi.
I love kentuckiense but lost my first plant for no apparent reason four years ago just as it really got going - three nice tall stems with flowers in 2007, one smaller stem plus flower in 2008 and dead by the autumn.
The back up plant is just starting to increase.
I prefer the hybrids and species that flower early as by the time kentuckiense, reginae etc flower there is so much to see and do in the garden that they get forgotten,

Regards,

David


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## monocotman (May 18, 2011)

*kamanashi and a few others*

Hi,
a few late flowers.
First up a very nice form of macranthos var hotei atsumorianum from the kamanashi region of Japan. A small seed grown plant flowering for the first time. I particularly like the veining on the petals.
Next is a dark Philipp from crustacare in Begium made with a dark red macranthos. Several years old and now going along nicely.
Lastly we have Wouter Peters ( reginae x kentuckiense). This plant has been slow to grow up but now seems to be hitting its stride. 
I've grown a few of these 'wide cross' reginae hybrids and I've generally found them a problem. I find pale leaves, fasciolated weak stems and poorish growth to be common. I'd steer clear of them.
The only reginae hybrid to grow well is the ubiquitous Ulla Silkens made with reginae's close relative flavum,

Regards,

David


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## Hakone (May 18, 2011)

macranthos var hotei atsumorianum from the kamanashi look like macranthos atropurpureum , Russland Vladivostock ( L. Averyanov )


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## KyushuCalanthe (May 18, 2011)

Nice Kamanashi David and that Philipp is a cut above as well :clap:


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## Dido (May 19, 2011)

all are great like the flowers of all. 
But the philipp is really great have to get me one from him. 
Do you have a Warren from him


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## monocotman (May 19, 2011)

Hakone - it isn't the best photo of hotei but it is definitely the japanese form. It has a very fat bulbous lip just like my other hotei and different to the 'normal' forms.Will post a better photo soon.
Dido -I haven't heard of 'warren'?

David


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## Dido (May 20, 2011)

Hy 

it is the hybrid of californicum X Reginae looks interesting. 

http://www.w-frosch.de/Cypris/Hybriden/hybrid_d.htm

I know he made the cross too.


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## em_tee_w (May 20, 2011)

Quick correction: Cyp. Wouter Peters is fasciolatum x reginae, Cyp. Irene is reginae x kentuckiense.


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