Cyps in pots 2013

[monocotman]

Hi,

the season has finally started and here we have a single photo of a pot of Michael just starting up.
My reason in starting this thread is not to bore you all with photos of cyp shoots but to ask about feeding.
General recommendations for hybrids in pots is full strength feed and for species, quarter strength.
I've just acquired a TDS meter and taken a few measurements.
Rain water - 20 units.
Tap water - 235 units ( it is pretty hard)
Rain water with full strength feed - 525 units.
I have occasionally fed the hybrids with tap water plus feed so I must have gone as high as 750 units with some watering in previous years.
No plants have ever shown signs of over feeding.
Has anyone experimented with feed to see just how much hybrids can take?
The plants go from nothing to fully in bloom in about a month and must have a huge requirement for fertilizer during this period.
It would be nice to know where the limits are!
Thanks,
David

 

[NYEric]

potted in aliflor only? Indoor or outdoor?

 

[parvi_17]

I have always fertilized all my hybrids with full strength Miracle-Gro 15-30-15 every 2 weeks and have never seen signs of toxicity. I fertilize some of the species (reginae and pubescens) the same and also don't encounter any issues. With the rarer and more expensive species I'm scared to go over half strength. I've experimented with slow-release pellets on reginae, pubescens, and the hybrids as well and again didn't encounter any issues. My experience is primarily with plants in the garden as opposed to pots however.

 

[monocotman]

Eric,
all the cyps grow outside in close to 100% super coarse perlite with a bit of orchid bark,
David

 

[Dido]

I give mine a long time fertilizer, and then use a strong fertilizer but the 2 leaf kinds, and seedlings I go down.

I use amino acids, the same as for my paph, and had the feeling they do great.
But no idea about how mcuh you can go

 

[Rick]

David

Despite the relatively high TDS of your tap water, it doesn't contribute any significant NPK to your plants. So the additive TDS values of a fert mix in tap water do not reflect an increase in NPK over putting your fert in rain water.

Your tap water adds a fair amount of Ca, Mg, Na, SO4, Cl, and bicarbonate ion. Maybe a few ppm of K.

 

[Rick]

Hi,


The plants go from nothing to fully in bloom in about a month and must have a huge requirement for fertilizer during this period.

What do you think the total biomass is (wet weight in grams) of the plant in full bloom?

You can calculate the demand, which I suspect will be shockingly low to you.

 

[Linus_Cello]

Right now I'm using MSU at 1/2 to 3/4 strength. I wonder if cyps would benefit from K-lite (like other slippers), or if some cyps may appreciate relatively high K considering how some species may be somewhat fire-adapted.

 

[monocotman]

feed

Hi,

Rick - I've no idea what the total biomass of a plant will be but it won't be very low - I've repotted some mature plants when still in leaf at the end of the season and they're quite heavy - most of the biomass is in the roots.
One of the reasons for asking is that I see some signs of lack of nitrogen and chlorosis in the newly developing leaves.
It can be genetic - some clones show no symptoms at all and others show it
each year.
Usually by the time the leaves are fully expanded they have greened up, however it must affect the total leaf area they produce and hence growth rate.
I did have one new hybrid that stayed chlorotic all last year.
In their new book 'Hardy cypripediums', Wienert and Cribb talk about pot culture using an almost 100% inorganic compost, as I do.
They state that you can double the concentration of feed during this early phase of development.
I'd like to know what TDS this is,


David

 

[monocotman]

cyps starting

Hi,

the pots are all lined up on the north side of the greenhouse and growth is evident in most.
There has been some excellent rates of increase in many after the cool summer of last year gave plenty of time for non heat stressed growth.
The pots closest to the greenhouse are all about 12 inch diameter and contain the largest plants with anywhere from 15 to nearly 30 growths.
One pot of 'Michael' should have around 50 flowers as there are 26 stems and it produces anywhere from 1 to 3 flowers on a stem.
There should be a great display in a couple of weeks,

Regards,

David

 

[NYEric]

OK, so these are the indoor pots which are temporarily outside. Looking forward to the show. I will try to get photos of mine that are coming up. Thanks.

 

[Dido]

cannot wait till it start
Have mine brought out today too.

I have the same thing to say, much more noses then the last years.

Will look forward to flowers lets start the season

 

[parvi_17]

Those look great. We're about a week behind here due to a big dump of snow a couple weeks ago and below average temps. Probably won't see any of mine break dormancy for a little while yet.

 

[Rick]

Hi,

the pots are all lined up on the north side of the greenhouse and growth is evident in most.
There has been some excellent rates of increase in many after the cool summer of last year gave plenty of time for non heat stressed growth.
The pots closest to the greenhouse are all about 12 inch diameter and contain the largest plants with anywhere from 15 to nearly 30 growths.
One pot of 'Michael' should have around 50 flowers as there are 26 stems and it produces anywhere from 1 to 3 flowers on a stem.
There should be a great display in a couple of weeks,

Regards,

David

Quite the Cyp farm you have going there:wink:

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Wow, looks fantastic David.

 

[monocotman]

the season finally starts

Hi,

a few photos from today.
First a general view showing the shading I use for the cyps.
It is green polypropylene shading that is pretty tough with some white frost fleece tacked to the underside.
This gives a slight shadow in full sun.
The two tibeticums were imported from Holger Perner at Hengduan Mountains Biotech. in early spring and are just establishing.
They were only potted up in late March.
I was expecting the flowers to abort but they've all opened.
Nice colour and veining. The 2nd is slightly darker than the first,

Regards,

David

 

[Dido]

2 really nice one congrats on this purchase.

Hope my new tibeticum turns out like yours

 

[Ray]

After 40+ years of growing, and admiring cyps while hiking and camping, I "jumped in" this spring with a Cyp. reginae acquired via a northern Minnesota rescue effort last fall. After spending the winter in the crisper of the fridge, it was potted up in a peat/perlite/fine Orchiata blend about 3 weeks ago, and the eyes are just emerging.


Ray Barkalow
Sent using Tapatalk

 

[monocotman]

reginae mix and tibeticum

Ray,

What made you use a tropical orchid mix for your reginae?
Peat is notorious for causing root rot problems with cyps.
Best to go with a mainly inorganic mix, depending on what you're growing it in.
Photo is of the best tibeticum bought from Henduan recently.
It photographs well in full sun.
Holger must have some excellent parental material if this one is anything to go by.
This plant is not fully established - it was only planted 8 weeks ago, so should improve next year,
David

 

[Dido]

I agree in pots nearly inorganic this is mainly the way.

I really like this flower, maybe next year you should self it, when established.