Cypripedium subtropicum

[Hakone]

from the friend in his garden[URL='https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003843145510'] ( Xuân Sinh )[/URL]

 

[mrhappyrotter]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing these. Really nice to see something so unusual.

 

[abax]

What a treat to see such outstanding Cyps. Where
is this marvelous garden?

 

[Hakone]

Lai Chau , North Viet Nam

 

[likespaphs]

wow!

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Neat to see the previous year's leaves still intact. This species truly is unique. Do you know how long these have been in cultivation? Wenqing Perner offered seedlings this year for sale and I was really tempted to try a few, but I've heard they are nearly "impossible" to grow.

 

[TropiCool]

Wow! This is definitely on my wish list, but virtually impossible to source here in the EU. And starting with seedlings seems a death wish. I'd even be delighted with fresh pollen!

 

[Berthold]

Neat to see the previous year's leaves still intact. This species truly is unique. Do you know how long these have been in cultivation? Wenqing Perner offered seedlings this year for sale and I was really tempted to try a few, but I've heard they are nearly "impossible" to grow.

I tried a lot of seedlings and adult plants too.They need the original mycorrhiza substrate from North Vietnam or connecting China. Otherwise they rot quickly. Or You can grow them sterile in containers.

 

[NYEric]

These are impossible to grow here. Might be a collected specimen. Super-nice though. thanks for sharing.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

I tried a lot of seedlings and adult plants too.They need the original mycorrhiza substrate from North Vietnam or connecting China. Otherwise they rot quickly. Or You can grow them sterile in containers.

Hey Berthold, that was my suspicion. All the ones I've seen or heard of in cultivation were wild collected or recently deflasked seedlings. None that I know of survived. Too bad it is relatively simple to germinate, but not simple to grow. Hopefully cultivated specimens in its native homelands will grow successfully, and more importantly that a few hang on in some remote valley. Have the fungal symbionts been identified?

 

[Berthold]

Tom, I don`t think that the symbiont has been identified.

 

[Steve G]

It is currently being offered for sale as 3 year post-flask young plants for £30 ($40) on eBay UK. This same seller probably operates under a number of names on eBay.co.uk and is currently selling an amazing array of rare, dwarf Cypripedium species (or selected alba forms) as well as a number of choice Paphs at seemingly reasonable prices. Unfortunately these too good to be true offers are fraudulent scams. The plants are sold as cultivated European stock (not from wild) and that part is true. The rare Paphs are common cheap hybrids whilst the rare dwarf Cyps are young lab-grown Cyp. calceolus seedlings.

I suspect that this seller is currently active under the names: “begoniaceae67, “war-3971” and “paphphrags”. Take the name begoniaceae67 and check the last 5 purchases made by this “seller”. They are from a reputable seller of young in-vitro raised orchids. These purchases were for fifty young Cypripedium calceolus plants described by the seller as: “10 mehrtriebige XXL Jungpflanzen, mindestens 20 Sprosse” =10 multi-shoot XXL young plants, at least 20 shoots. I am not for a second suggesting that the german source of these Cyp. calceolus seedlings (who sells on eBay.de) is anything other than reputable. However, these robust cyp. seedlings purchased for 3euros each are then being passed on as dwarf cyp. species and sold on for £25-£50+ by our many-named seller. The irony is that the buyer will receive a smallish robust healthy-looking cyp. rhizome with numerous pristine white roots and perhaps 2 or 3 noses -prompting positive feedback. Only after one or more seasons of growth will the scam become apparent by which time the option of raising a dispute through eBay or Paypal has long gone as has the chance of leaving a negative review.

Strangely this seller (under the various names) seems to be based in Germany (though one of the names is also linked to Brussels) and offers Worldwide delivery with the exclusion of Germany. The seller paphphrags (until very recently greenhousetropicals) is definitely Kai Najda who I believe was investigated for online fraud by the German prosecution service a few years ago. Perhaps some of our German members have knowledge of this?

I complained to eBay but they did nothing. I suspect that the seller convinced eBay that my complaint was driven by malice. I tried to purchase some of this seller’s material to have it tested. I bought Cyp. wardi (through my wife’s eBay account -Kai Najda had blocked my account after my first complaint to eBay) but after 45 days received nothing. I raised a dispute through eBay and hoped that I could highlight this seller’s practices to eBay but although I was refunded they closed the dispute without any further dialogue. I chose Cyp. wardii as I currently have lab-raised material of this species for comparison -it looks different to young Cyp calceolus. Last year I saw a “large multi-nosed Cyp. wardii” rhizome sold by this vendor which looked to me to be a monster calceolus seedling that had been exposed to too much hormone in-vitro; it bore no resemblance to the long, delicate rhizome of an adult Cyp. wardii plant.

 

[Berthold]

It is currently being offered for sale as 3 year post-flask young plants for £30 ($40) on eBay UK. This same seller probably operates under a number of names on eBay.co.uk and is currently selling an amazing array of rare, dwarf Cypripedium species (or selected alba forms) as well as a number of choice Paphs at seemingly reasonable prices. Unfortunately these too good to be true offers are fraudulent scams. The plants are sold as cultivated European stock (not from wild) and that part is true. The rare Paphs are common cheap hybrids whilst the rare dwarf Cyps are young lab-grown Cyp. calceolus seedlings.

I suspect that this seller is currently active under the names: “begoniaceae67, “war-3971” and “paphphrags”. Take the name begoniaceae67 and check the last 5 purchases made by this “seller”. They are from a reputable seller of young in-vitro raised orchids. These purchases were for fifty young Cypripedium calceolus plants described by the seller as: “10 mehrtriebige XXL Jungpflanzen, mindestens 20 Sprosse” =10 multi-shoot XXL young plants, at least 20 shoots. I am not for a second suggesting that the german source of these Cyp. calceolus seedlings (who sells on eBay.de) is anything other than reputable. However, these robust cyp. seedlings purchased for 3euros each are then being passed on as dwarf cyp. species and sold on for £25-£50+ by our many-named seller. The irony is that the buyer will receive a smallish robust healthy-looking cyp. rhizome with numerous pristine white roots and perhaps 2 or 3 noses -prompting positive feedback. Only after one or more seasons of growth will the scam become apparent by which time the option of raising a dispute through eBay or Paypal has long gone as has the chance of leaving a negative review.

Strangely this seller (under the various names) seems to be based in Germany (though one of the names is also linked to Brussels) and offers Worldwide delivery with the exclusion of Germany. The seller paphphrags (until very recently greenhousetropicals) is definitely Kai Najda who I believe was investigated for online fraud by the German prosecution service a few years ago. Perhaps some of our German members have knowledge of this?

I complained to eBay but they did nothing. I suspect that the seller convinced eBay that my complaint was driven by malice. I tried to purchase some of this seller’s material to have it tested. I bought Cyp. wardi (through my wife’s eBay account -Kai Najda had blocked my account after my first complaint to eBay) but after 45 days received nothing. I raised a dispute through eBay and hoped that I could highlight this seller’s practices to eBay but although I was refunded they closed the dispute without any further dialogue. I chose Cyp. wardii as I currently have lab-raised material of this species for comparison -it looks different to young Cyp calceolus. Last year I saw a “large multi-nosed Cyp. wardii” rhizome sold by this vendor which looked to me to be a monster calceolus seedling that had been exposed to too much hormone in-vitro; it bore no resemblance to the long, delicate rhizome of an adult Cyp. wardii plant.

Be carful please.

We know this seller under following names
cakai2012
Calcagnile1981
2013rainforest
bellaxxx2011
cariati.1960
choicexxx
crazy.toni
deliciosum
dendro-fan
ladyultraviolett
leila-guitar
missviolett09
o-seven-eleven
papua-orchids
*leverage*
alpenjodel.13
baerbelde
insectosyplantas
ka_calca
eastside-orchids, als Standort wurde Fellbach angegeben
botanicalsandmore2011
rare-vivarium*terrarium-specials
tropicalfactory
begoniaceae67 (vermutlich, nicht gesichert)
kahacksc-0

The German Public Prosecutor's Office has investigated him

 

[Steve G]

“The German Public Prosecutor's Office has investigated him”

Is that the reason why this scammer doesn’t sell in Germany?

 

[Berthold]

Sure, Steve. His operation base is Fellbach near Stuttgart/Germany.
He is under observation by the public prosecutor and police in Germany

 

[Don I]

Thanks.
Don

 

[Hakone]

Cyp. wardii ?

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Yes, they are! In Germany?

 

[Hakone]

Yes Sir .

 

[Alex]

Yes Sir .

Wonderful. It seems they are outside - can you share any more information about their growing conditions? Temperatures Summer and Winter? Any extra watering or overhead protection?

alex