# Cypripedium californicum-potting up video



## terrestrial_man (Mar 25, 2013)

This year I decided to do a video on the cyp seedlings as they come out of vernalization and go into their pots for outdoor cultivation. May 5th will mark the 3rd year that I have been growing these 7 seedlings of C. californicum. My practice is to depot for vernalization and repot the following spring. So far I am satisfied with my culture though I need to start looking at larger styrafoam containers for pots in a couple of years!

Cypripedium californicum seedlings out of vernalization


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## KyushuCalanthe (Mar 26, 2013)

Nice looking plants Jerry. It is impressive you have grown them so well that far south in the state. Congrats!


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## terrestrial_man (Mar 27, 2013)

Thanks KyushuCalanthe! I checked out their natural habitat from what I could find on the net and they are found as far south as Mt. Tamalpais in the north peninsula of the San Francisco Bay. As I am just 10 miles east of the ocean in central California I figured that I had a good chance of them surviving the warm & dry summers and Santa Anas of early fall. As long as I did not let them dry out!! Been reusing old mix plus other mixes for xeric type plants. My main objective is not letting the mix get soggy but washing quality water through it to maintain root turgor. 
Not too sure if the annual depotting/repotting will make it hard for them to flower or not but we will find out. Hope to make another video or two on their progress later in the year.


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## wjs2nd (Mar 27, 2013)

Cool video!


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## NYEric (Mar 27, 2013)

Um, why the gloves? What's a "rut"? We actually did not see you pot the plants.


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## Dido (Mar 28, 2013)

Nice plants, have 2 of them 1 smaller ones which look like yours, and a big one which has now over 20 buds, this is a new swap out of the autumn and I hope for flowers this year...

By the way did you see fasciculatum where you live. 

Would love to see flower pics of this kind, or maybe one day to get seed of them.


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## terrestrial_man (Mar 30, 2013)

NYEric said:


> Um, why the gloves? What's a "rut"? We actually did not see you pot the plants.



Eric, the gloves are to keep my hands from getting mucky.
Did not think the potting was significant. Just stick the plant into the
styrafoam cup & pour in the mix. Shake to settle. Not much else.

kind of like potting cymbidiums. After doing a few hundred of them it is the same oh-hum!!


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## terrestrial_man (Mar 30, 2013)

Dido said:


> Nice plants, have 2 of them 1 smaller ones which look like yours, and a big one which has now over 20 buds, this is a new swap out of the autumn and I hope for flowers this year...
> 
> By the way did you see fasciculatum where you live.
> 
> Would love to see flower pics of this kind, or maybe one day to get seed of them.



I bought these from Spangle Creek Labs. A great source!!

Here is a link to a nice page with images you can click on.
Also the map showing the distribution is off. The plants occur further south just north of San Francisco Bay. 

Cypripedium californicum


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## gerhard (Apr 5, 2013)

Jerry I liked your movie. Can you tell us more about the soil you are using? I caught - grit and sand. What material is your organics?


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## nikv (Apr 5, 2013)

I wonder whether I could grow this species in my back yard. I live very close the the bay.


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## terrestrial_man (Apr 12, 2013)

gerhard said:


> Jerry I liked your movie. Can you tell us more about the soil you are using? I caught - grit and sand. What material is your organics?


The mix is a combination of hard wood leaves, decomposing bark, and granitic gravel with some nitrohumus. Roughly equal parts by volume of bark and hard wood leaves, such as oak, and to 1 part of this combination 1/2 part of granitic gravel. And about a teaspoon of nitrohumus blended into the mix.


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## terrestrial_man (Apr 12, 2013)

nikv said:


> I wonder whether I could grow this species in my back yard. I live very close the the bay.


My refrigerator temps are at 36 F from when they go in, around Dec. 10 to when they come out, around March 15. This is day & night temps. 
I think your yard really has to be cold without any significant warm ups as such would encourage premature growth and result in exhausting the plants.
The plants grow on Mt. Tamalpais. If you can find out what kind of temps occur there during the vernalization period and can match those then maybe it might be interesting to try??


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## Amadeus (Apr 12, 2013)

nikv said:


> I wonder whether I could grow this species in my back yard. I live very close the the bay.



Cyp. fasciculatum supposedly was native to San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara counties. I know someone whose been looking for a colony in these counties for years and I've been looking to buy one for ages...


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## nikv (Apr 12, 2013)

Thanks for the tips, guys. I don't think my yard gets quite as cold as Mount Tamalpais, so it probably won't work for me. I'll definitely look into Cyp. fasciculatum. I live in Alameda County, which is nearby. Now to find a commercial source . . .


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## Linus_Cello (Apr 12, 2013)

nikv said:


> Thanks for the tips, guys. I don't think my yard gets quite as cold as Mount Tamalpais, so it probably won't work for me. I'll definitely look into Cyp. fasciculatum. I live in Alameda County, which is nearby. Now to find a commercial source . . .



Did you mean "fasciolatum"? If so, here are three vendors:

http://www.gardensatposthill.com/website/StoreCypripedium.html
http://www.keepingitgreennursery.com/products/cypripedium-fasciolatum-ladys-slipper-orchid
http://www.raisingrarities.com/order_form.php

(another vendor, but currently sold out): http://www.plantdelights.com/Hardy-Orchids/products/982/#.UWhZEZjA8l8


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## nikv (Apr 12, 2013)

Thanks for the links, Linus! I placed my first-ever Cyp order with Oak Hill. I decided that I should start off with some less expensive ones, so I ordered a Gisela and a kentuckiense. If these two do well for me, I'll work my way up to the more expensive species and hybrids. And I think I'll grow them in pots in my yard. Thanks for everyone's help!


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## NYEric (Apr 13, 2013)

terrestrial_man said:


> Did not think the potting was significant. Just stick the plant into the
> styrafoam cup & pour in the mix. Shake to settle. Not much else.



Ok thanks, I was only upset because that was the title of the thread, after all! 

Nik, my only advice about Cyps is to use a mix someone has already used/made, and to get the biggest plants you can afford.


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## Linus_Cello (Apr 15, 2013)

nikv said:


> Thanks for the links, Linus! I placed my first-ever Cyp order with Oak Hill. I decided that I should start off with some less expensive ones, so I ordered a Gisela and a kentuckiense. If these two do well for me, I'll work my way up to the more expensive species and hybrids. And I think I'll grow them in pots in my yard. Thanks for everyone's help!



Best of luck. It'll be interesting to see how these do in your area (too warm?).
This is my third year with cyps (both ground and pot); yes Gisela is a good starter cyp. Another easy cyp you may want to try is pubescens. 

As for more expensive cyps, another way to do it cheaply is to order one plant, and the nursery substitutes it for something more expensive. Last year, I ordered a $40 Hank Small from Plant Delights, and they called me and told me they didn't like the quality of the Hank Small they received, and asked if I would be ok with $70 Ursel as a replacement (at the $40 price; it just sprouted last week). That's what I call good customer service.


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## Dido (Apr 15, 2013)

Linus_Cello said:


> Did you mean "fasciolatum"? If so, here are three vendors:
> 
> http://www.gardensatposthill.com/website/StoreCypripedium.html
> http://www.keepingitgreennursery.com/products/cypripedium-fasciolatum-ladys-slipper-orchid
> ...



There is an Fasciculatum too which is not often seen at all


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## KyushuCalanthe (Apr 18, 2013)

nikv said:


> Thanks for the links, Linus! I placed my first-ever Cyp order with Oak Hill. I decided that I should start off with some less expensive ones, so I ordered a Gisela and a kentuckiense. If these two do well for me, I'll work my way up to the more expensive species and hybrids. And I think I'll grow them in pots in my yard. Thanks for everyone's help!



Those are some good ones to start with. I'd say you'll have to refrigerate most Cyps in winter to give them an adequate vernalization, with at least 4 months being optimal. I've grown Gisela in the near tropical summers here in southern Japan and it manages to survive and even flower. C. kentuckiense lives as well, but is a bit more tricky. I'd also look into getting C. formosanum - without a doubt the most heat tolerant commonly available Cyp and it doesn't need particularly cold temperatures in winter to vernalize well - about the same as a narcissus.

Avoid C. montanum and C. fasciculatum - yes, they are native but both are a pain in the neck to keep going. In your marginal climate they'd be even tougher. C. californicum might do better as long as average summer temperatures are not too high.


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## Dido (Apr 18, 2013)

Avoid C. montanum and C. fasciculatum - yes, they are native but both are a pain in the neck to keep going. In your marginal climate they'd be even tougher. C. californicum might do better as long as average summer temperatures are not too high.[/QUOTE]

I only can agree :clap:
Montanum it is very hard, there are only a few in cultivation, but more and more come, as some peopel have started to select them and was succesfull. 

Fasciculatum is a dream for the most of us, who love the small one....
But not one in cultivation, at least reported or known. 
The same like elegans, I only seen one new picture of elegans in the last years
Of Fasciculatum there was none for a long time. 

If someone will get seed we would be very happy to try it.


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## terrestrial_man (Apr 21, 2013)

Amadeus said:


> Cyp. fasciculatum supposedly was native to San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara counties. I know someone whose been looking for a colony in these counties for years and I've been looking to buy one for ages...



I have looked at the Calflora records regarding the reported occurrence of C. fasciculatum south of Mendocino County in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, & San Mateo counties and believe the information is wrong. The basis of the report of the occurrence of this species in those counties is from prior documents. It is quite possible that the county of occurrence was reported erroneously or that the plant is a mis-identified plant of Epipactis gigantea which might be easily misidentified by a novice as a Cypripedium. No herbarium sheets were noted to support the reported documents. 

I would not be surprised if the species eventually becomes cultivated as most species of this genus should be as a measure of protecting the genotype as continued human exploitation and contamination of habitat may pose a risk to not only the species but to the fungal populations on which the young seedlings are dependent for their survival in the wild.


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