Cypripedium californicum-potting up video

[terrestrial_man]

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

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

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

 

[terrestrial_man]

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.

 

[wjs2nd]

Cool video!

 

[NYEric]

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

 

[Dido]

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.

 

[terrestrial_man]

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!!

 

[terrestrial_man]

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

 

[gerhard]

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?

 

[nikv]

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

 

[terrestrial_man]

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.

 

[terrestrial_man]

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??

 

[Amadeus]

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...

 

[nikv]

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 . . .

 

[Linus_Cello]

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

 

[nikv]

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!

 

[NYEric]

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.

 

[Linus_Cello]

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.

 

[Dido]

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

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

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

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.