Cyp. reginae Minnesota State FLower

[Drorchid]

It is rarely that I post pictures of Cypripediums, but we have a bunch of them blooming right now, outside the greenhouses. And as they are our Minnesota State Flower, I had to share them with you.

Robert

 

[SlipperKing]

Nice Robert but how did you blackout the greenhouse in the background??

 

[Drorchid]

Nice Robert but how did you blackout the greenhouse in the background??

ahhh, my little secret.....

Robert

 

[Drorchid]

Here is an unedited picture (Before I cropped it):

I basically put a black cloth that is fastened to a frame, and stick it behind the plants, it gets rid of the greenhouse wall in the background, and makes the flowers pop out.

Robert

 

[SlipperFan]

Beauties, Robert.

The black cloth/card trick is also a good one to use at flower shows. If you can use it without disturbing other flowers (or people).

 

[parvi_17]

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!

 

[Kevin]

Very nice! We had such a cold spring here, ours are just coming up! It will be a few weeks yet to see blooms.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Very nice group you've got there Robert. I'd guess you had a cool spring judging by the deep color of the flowers. Are those all seed grown plants?

 

[Faan]

Vey nice. How long do they last?

 

[NYEric]

Very lovely.

 

[biothanasis]

Fantastic reginaes Robert...:clap:

 

[John M]

Absolutely beautiful! Thanks for posting these!

 

[Clark]

They are perfect.

 

[Elena]

Just fabulous!

 

[Drorchid]

Very nice group you've got there Robert. I'd guess you had a cool spring judging by the deep color of the flowers. Are those all seed grown plants?

Actually these were "Wild" collected (as far as it comes to "wild" here in Minnesota). These were collected years ago by the only person here in Minnesota (Tom Nelson) who is allowed to dig them up, He has a permit from the DNR, and scouts roadsides in Northern Minnesota for Cyps, when he knows they are going to expand the roads, he digs them up from the ditches (before they get bulldozed) and sells them to Nurseries like us, and we resell them to the public. These Mother plants have formed the base of our own seedgrown reginaes. Each year I have made seedpods, and have successfully been able to raise them in the lab. We now have 5 to 6 year old seedlings.

Robert

 

[Drorchid]

An interesting article that talks about Tom Nelson, and rescuing Cyps and other orchids from the wild:

http://www.midwesthomemag.com/media/Midwest-Home/April-2008/Coming-Up-Orchids/

Robert

 

[NYEric]

Thanx for the info. Wasn't there a native orchid seminar out there last week?