- Joined
- Aug 28, 2006
- Messages
- 355
- Reaction score
- 29
Cyp subtropicum is a dream plant for Cyp growers. Years ago, I, like many others, was able to obtain some seed which germinated but the seedlings never thrived in flask and I lost them. A couple of years ago Wenqing Perner offered deflasked seedlings. The seedlings were of excellent quality. Like most seedlings that I pot for the first time, I put 5 seedlings in each of two deep 6 inch pots, filled with medium perlite. My seedling pots sit on the edge of a raised bed and are irrigated every morning for 10 minutes (computer controlled) so the medium stays quite moist but with a lot of air. I water weekly by hand using Miracle Grow powder - the kind with microelements - at 1/2 recommended strength. I also purchased 10 more seedlings last year that are kept in pots next to the first ones. All the seedlings have been in their pots outside all year since they were obtained. No growth at all has been observed since the seedlings were obtained. I carefully dig through the medium every 6 months or so to take a look at a couple of the seedlings. All of them look very healthy each time with not even a hint of growth, certainly no sprouting. I often refer to them as my "plastic Cyp's." Note that all of these seedlings remain outside all through the winter. Really low temperatures tend to reach 27 or 28 F a few times each year. Last winter we had an all-time record snowfall of 3 inches that stayed on the ground for nearly two days - the neighbors were horrified by the apocalypse.
The seedlings all survived our evil summer this year - several days well over 100 F. The Cyp beds are nicely shaded (and when high temps are 90 F or higher the irrigation runs in the morning, at noon and at 5 pm to maintain cool temperatures).
So, 10 seedlings (minus a couple that were dug up by animals) have not grown in 2 years and 10 have not grown in 1 year. November is the rainiest month here on the Puget Sound each year with an average of 7 inches. This is a La Nina year so there is more rain. From Nov 1 through Nov 20 there has been 19 inches of rain in our garden, 7 inches one day alone. About 4 days ago, I was checking the beds to make sure I didnt have any plants that needed to come in since frost was predicted. I was shocked to find 3 Cyp subtropicum seedlings sprouting. There were two in one of the 2 year pots and one in one in the other. I dug around a bit and found several other seedlings with no sign of sprouting and one that may be. I have posted images of the seedlings. The taller one is 39 mm in this image. It is 46 mm today. The middle one here is now about twice the height as when the image was made. The third one has been nipped on its tip, probably by a slug - we have giant slug races every day and this time of year there are millions of young sliming about. It is also growing well.
I dont know what stimulated growth at this time of year. Perhaps it was the artificial monsoon? I took a look at the annual rainfall in Malapo County in Yunnan China, which is home to a robust population of Cyp subtropicum. The monsoon is active in the late spring to early summer. From papers I have read that describe the local population of Cyp subtropicum, they sprout around April when high temperatures are in the low 80s. In the winter, I see lows in the upper 20s to around 30 F for several days so they are rather similar to our WA lows.
Certainly these seedlings should not have sprouted at this time of year. I plan to leave them outside except when temperatures are expected to be in the low 40s or lower so I will be running in an out.
At any rate, I can now say that I have seen living, growing Cyp subtropicum, so we have some progress!
The seedlings all survived our evil summer this year - several days well over 100 F. The Cyp beds are nicely shaded (and when high temps are 90 F or higher the irrigation runs in the morning, at noon and at 5 pm to maintain cool temperatures).
So, 10 seedlings (minus a couple that were dug up by animals) have not grown in 2 years and 10 have not grown in 1 year. November is the rainiest month here on the Puget Sound each year with an average of 7 inches. This is a La Nina year so there is more rain. From Nov 1 through Nov 20 there has been 19 inches of rain in our garden, 7 inches one day alone. About 4 days ago, I was checking the beds to make sure I didnt have any plants that needed to come in since frost was predicted. I was shocked to find 3 Cyp subtropicum seedlings sprouting. There were two in one of the 2 year pots and one in one in the other. I dug around a bit and found several other seedlings with no sign of sprouting and one that may be. I have posted images of the seedlings. The taller one is 39 mm in this image. It is 46 mm today. The middle one here is now about twice the height as when the image was made. The third one has been nipped on its tip, probably by a slug - we have giant slug races every day and this time of year there are millions of young sliming about. It is also growing well.
I dont know what stimulated growth at this time of year. Perhaps it was the artificial monsoon? I took a look at the annual rainfall in Malapo County in Yunnan China, which is home to a robust population of Cyp subtropicum. The monsoon is active in the late spring to early summer. From papers I have read that describe the local population of Cyp subtropicum, they sprout around April when high temperatures are in the low 80s. In the winter, I see lows in the upper 20s to around 30 F for several days so they are rather similar to our WA lows.
Certainly these seedlings should not have sprouted at this time of year. I plan to leave them outside except when temperatures are expected to be in the low 40s or lower so I will be running in an out.
At any rate, I can now say that I have seen living, growing Cyp subtropicum, so we have some progress!
) 
