Once native to my locale, these unfortunately have all but disappeared from most of Ohio now. It lives in the back yard in a pot in a raised bed, and this is a first blooming for this one, bloomed in mid-May. the other one I have flowered last year and came back with two growths this spring but did not flower.
Cyp.reginae
- Thread starter tenman
- Start date
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phrag guy
Well-Known Member
very nice to see,we are lucky here they still gow in he bogs around
Leo Schordje
wilted blossom
Nice one. I wish I could drop in before the flower fades to see it in person.
newbud
Orchid Maniac
Wow that is so cool. I used to live in Toledo in a different life, first 40 yrs., and never saw lady-slippers. Unfortunately I did not grow up in a rural area. I did do a lot of Boyscouting but just don't remember any lady slippers. And a reginae to boot. How cool is that. What part of the state do you live in?
Columbus
D
Dido
Guest
A nice one congrats on that one
NYEric
Well-Known Member
Nice. who was your source?
W. Beetus
Well-Known Member
Great bloom! I'd like to have some in my yard, but don't know where I'd put them.
About half my cyps came from Roger Zelinski at Raising Rarities . The others , including this one, we're from Wayne Roberts (Roberts Flower Supply).
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Rick
Well-Known Member
It's great to see these guys growing in anyone's garden.
Good job Tenman:clap:
Good job Tenman:clap:
B
biothanasis
Guest
Lovely!
newbud
Orchid Maniac
I checked out Raising Rarities and he has a few Cyps left, nice ones, but I thought they were a little expensive. Are Cyp's usually more than regulare orchids?
Yes, in general slippers (like paphs, phrags and cyps) are not as easily cloned (or not cloned in the meristem process like catts, oncidium genera and phals, etc), so they are more expensive to "mass produce." Cloning, besides producing lots of individual plants, can also reduce the time to maturity, and blooming, significantly.
newbud
Orchid Maniac
Ok thanks...I didn't know that. Can't meristem huh? Are the seeds flasked the way other orchids are?
Yes, I believe so. But as you know, seed grown plants take a long time to get to blooming size. The advantage of seed grown is that each one may be a little different; good for selective breeding.
Not exactly. They are indeed flasked, as other orchids are. But a specific medium is used and special care is taken in the germination and growth process because they are terrestrials which need vernalization (a freezing winter rest period). CYps generally are among the more expensive orchids due to their relative rarity in cultivation, their delicacy, and the care that has to be taken as they grow. You will find a range of pricing from moderately expensive to very expensive depending on the source. If they're really, really cheap that usually means someone just tore them out of their habitat and they probably won't survive.
newbud
Orchid Maniac
This guy on ebay has C. acaule and Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens seeds for sale, 200ea./$5 and I was wondering if I got them, would I be able to germinate without any special equiptment?
parvi_17
Well-Known Member
Cyp seeds have to be sown on a sterile agar medium that has been infused with nutrients, as with any other orchid. You don't necessarily need "special equipment" (it can be done with basic household items like a pressure cooker), but it's an involved process, it's not like you can just throw them on some moist potting soil or something and expect any results. You'd need to buy the medium from a specialty agar medium supplier, and sterilize some flasks to sow the seeds in. The trick is to ensure the flasks are absolutely sterile, because any spores or bacteria that get on the medium will outgrow the seedlings and kill them. There are guides on the Internet that show you how to do this at home if you Google it.
newbud
Orchid Maniac
Thanks Joe. Sounds like you've done this before. Where can you get this special agar. When I google it I get a thousand hits with all different kinds of agar medium. How would I know which one is right for Cyp's. Thanks
parvi_17
Well-Known Member
I actually haven't done it before, I've just done lots of research on it and I probably will end up doing it at some point. Right now I don't really have the time.
There are media specifically designed for Cyps, which is what you need. All-purpose media or media designed for other genera of orchids will either not work with Cyps or give you bad results. I honestly have no idea anymore where you can buy the stuff as it's been years since I was looking around for it. You'll probably just have to do some digging. Start here: http://www.lidaforsgarden.com/Orchids/engelsk.htm
