# Blooming Cyp's in Washington state garden



## fundulopanchax (Jun 7, 2017)

Hi, All,

We purchased a house by the Olympics in West Puget Sound. We planted some Cyp's during Fall 2015 and some during Fall 2016. We got some great blooms this season and now have Cyp's in Connecticut and Washington. 

I have been posting images on the home page of my web site if you would like to see them. I am still adding but there are so far around 20 species/hybrids up. They include the very first Cyp macranthos rebunense flowers I have ever had (plants from Anthura), our newly registered Cyp GPH Olympic Promise, some particularly nice macranthos and tibeticum, and nice specimens of others. 

You can see them at www.gardensatposthill.net - the images are at the bottom of the home page.


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## Don I (Jun 7, 2017)

Beautiful.
Don


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## JAB (Jun 7, 2017)

Gorgeous Ron!


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## Linus_Cello (Jun 7, 2017)

Nice. Seems like Washington state is a better place for cyps. Any Ulla Silkens available in the fall?


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## abax (Jun 7, 2017)

All of them are so lovely; how do you choose a
favorite??!!! Would you mind explaining how 
you prepare your beds for planting? I have very heavy clay soil in our tree nursery and I
know I'd need to do a LOT of amending for Cyps. What would you recommend?


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## fundulopanchax (Jun 8, 2017)

I will put an image or two of interesting Ulla Silkens flowers on the site - they are just beginning to bloom now, I will have a few available in the Fall. Reginae should bloom next week or so.

The soil where we live in Washington is a very heavy material that dries to a concrete-like consistency that has to be dug using a heavy pick. Having said that it is not clay per se, I forget what it is called. The local plants except for trees grow in a thin layer of organics on the top of the main soil. For clay or material like ours, I always add about 6 inches of growing medium on top of the soil, this is convenient and it keeps the Cyp roots higher so they drain well. For Asian Cyp's I don't add organics to this - in the East, I use a mixture of Soil Perfector which is a fired, porous slate available as an Espoma product available in CT at all the local garden centers, and turface, which is fired clay, somewhat smaller in particle size than Soil Perfector, that is available at all places that sell materials for baseball fields. In CT I get it at "John Deere Landscaping" outlets. In WA, I have found it at many places, there are a few John Deere Landscaping outlets here but I found a closer place that stocks what seem to be several thousand 50# bags in a variety of colors as well as 500# sacks - that interestingly are not less expensive per pound than the 50# bags (and are far too heavy for me to pick up  ). I do add a layer of pine needles at the top of the medium after the plants are in, I find this is important to keep the medium from drying to rapidly. 

In the West, Soil Perfector is not available. However, the gravel pits all sell for essentially nothing, a small grain, it is labeled 3/ inch volcanic material that is highly porous and more dense than pumice (which is also available). I have found this to be perfect mixed with turface. All the rock garden people use it and I was told about it by several orchid growers at the local society meeting. The first time I looked for it, at the local gravel pit there was a guy with several 30 gallon trash cans sifting it through a sieve to get just the right grit for his rock garden. While Soil Perfector runs about $18 for a 26 pound bag in the East, a 30 gallon can of the volcanic material costs about $6, so it is about 1/10th as expensive as Soil Perfector.

For US Cyp's and for the Asian species formosanum and japonicum, organics can be mixed in. For formosanum and japonicum I use a completely organic mix that is called "pine bark mulch" at Lowe's - Home Depot here does not sell it. It is basically a fine grade of pine bark that has been allowed to rot somewhat. To that I add an equal part of the small grade of pine bark. For other US Cyp's I use the inorganic medium above but often add about 25% by volume the pine bark mulch to help maintain moisture. 

The exception to this is Cyp kentuckiense, which I grow in 100% fine off-white sand called "All Purpose Sand" by Quikrete, available at Lowe's and Home Depot. Don't use the very white sand as it is very alkaline.

I add some lime every year to Cyp reginae and its hybrids as well as to Cyp macranthos/tibeticum/yunnanense and related. I add a LOT of lime to Cyp candidum - I find that candidum perishes rapidly without constant replacement of lime. I learned that from Paul Perakos who has fine Cyp candidum clumps. During growing season several times per week he adds crushed TUMS around each plant - one roll per plant as often as every other day. Sounds odd but he has had clumps with as many as 40-60 stems.


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## fundulopanchax (Jun 8, 2017)

Sorry, above, where is says "3/" it was supposed to say "3/8"


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## John M (Jun 8, 2017)

Your Cyps are incredible! What a pleasure to see all those photos. Thanks!


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## cnycharles (Jun 8, 2017)

In ny one spot with candidum it grows directly in marl (crunchy black alkaline mud)
Nice flowers


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jun 8, 2017)

Your Cyps look even happier out west. Now you can grow Calanthe and Pleione outside as well!


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## NYEric (Jun 8, 2017)

Vool. Good luck with the sun setting over water!


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