Cypripedium Schoko

[fundulopanchax]

Cyp Schoko is another favorite. Each year the flower quality among my plants varies. For whatever reason this is a banner year (rain was typical - a lot! but the winter temperatures were somewhat colder more often than usual. We had a 24 F night and a few in the upper 20s). Here are flowers from three plants blooming now. I think Schoko tends to be more difficult than many Cyps is that its parent shanxiense is quite difficult to keep alive for more than a couple of years (at least for me) and its parent calceolus is always somewhat temperamental. The flower in the middle image was a very bright red two days ago - I did not get an image since it was raining and now the color is somewhat muted.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Lovely Ron. Almost looks like shanxiense but the sepals and petals are little too compact and the lip is more compressed. Would you say it is easier than its parents, or about the same?

 

[fundulopanchax]

Easier than any shanxiense I have had. Having said that I have never received shanxiense in excellent condition, even from Anthura. They just don’t seem to ship well. Schoko is similar to calceolus in ease of maintenance.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Ron, I wonder if you grew them with a little more limestone in the mix... the ones I saw in the wild were growing as a rule in travertine deposits and only above 3000 meters. It may just be a touchy species. C. henryi is a related plant, and I've never heard of anyone succeeding with that one very long either. I've had a few - they flower well for a few years and then wane away. Holger said the same thing of plants he grew in China. He grew C. shanxiense alongside all this other Cyp in Huanglong, but that was at 3000 meters elevation in its native climate.