Cypripedium acaule

[JPMC]

Great job! It may be a good clone to propagate since it seems to grow well without low pH soil. So are you growing this indoor under artificial light?

Thank you.

I have no proof, but I suspect that the medium is very acidic or in some other way favorable to its growth. I noticed a story from the Botany Boy blog site that describes the favorable condition for this orchid in an abandoned granite quarry outside NYC. It's grown under LED lights (100 W fixture at a distance of about 30 inches).

 

[Linus_Cello]

I have not but it might work. I do not have the room to set up that sort of apparatus in my apartment.

Ok, scale down to a 5 gallon bucket.

 

[John M]

Thanks for the reply. You sure have done a fine job with this one!

 

[naoki]

It is probably your good culture than the property of granite. I don't know about geology and chemistry, so I was looking around, and I noticed that there are a couple interesting things.

From looking at the abstract:
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00790664
granite powder can be a slow release K fertilizer. Wikipedia entry here mentions Silica is the main components. But it's unlikely that there are lots of nutrients leaching out from gravels. Maybe extremely low nutrient holding capacity + reduced exposure to fungi (indoor) might be helping?

 

[JPMC]

It is probably your good culture than the property of granite. I don't know about geology and chemistry, so I was looking around, and I noticed that there are a couple interesting things.

From looking at the abstract:
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00790664
granite powder can be a slow release K fertilizer. Wikipedia entry here mentions Silica is the main components. But it's unlikely that there are lots of nutrients leaching out from gravels. Maybe extremely low nutrient holding capacity + reduced exposure to fungi (indoor) might be helping?

Thank you for the research!

I do believe that there is something to the theory that this orchid has a low resistance to fungi and bacteria. It may be that pH is not as important as keeping the microscopic pathogens from overwhelming the plant. A low pH may be just one way to achieve this.

 

[Berthold]

Thank you for the research!
It may be that pH is not as important as keeping the microscopic pathogens from overwhelming the plant. A low pH may be just one way to achieve this.

Yes, the normal way is that specialized mycorrhiza fungi do this job. But that way doesn't seem to exist for the acaule species.
It was told to me that You never find acaule in a natural surrounding with a pH-value above 4.5.
So I think acaule escapes into this sour ecological niche to crack that problem.

Therefore we tested for pot culture different substrates and reduce the pH-value to 4.5 or below by acidified water and all substrates work well.

 

[JPMC]

Yes, the normal way is that specialized mycorrhiza fungi do this job. But that way doesn't seem to exist for the acaule species.
It was told to me that You never find acaule in a natural surrounding with a pH-value above 4.5.
So I think acaule escapes into this sour ecological niche to crack that problem.

Therefore we tested for pot culture different substrates and reduce the pH-value to 4.5 or below by acidified water and all substrates work well.

Thank you for sharing your research results. Do you have any images of acaule using this method that you could share? Also, how long have you been able to keep them in good health with this method?

 

[NYEric]

That's fantastic!!! My only attempt w/ these crashed soon after I got them because the vendor shipped in the hottest part of the summer. I will try them this way next time, thanks for the info.

 

[Berthold]

Thank you for sharing your research results. Do you have any images of acaule using this method that you could share? Also, how long have you been able to keep them in good health with this method?

It was in the last century in my old garden.

I had black peat beds in the garden with a pH-value of about 3.5 at the beginning.
Three times I planted adult acaule in the autumn. They came to flower in the next spring and disappeared in the summer. I checked the pH-value and it raised up to 5.5 due to rain.
Next I set an adult plant in a pot with Seramis and Rhein-sand and acidified and it came to flower for 3 years and it was still healthy.Then I gave away the plant.

Last year I started again with acaule in a pot an I will keep it as long as we live, me and the plant, whatever is earlier.

 

[naoki]

Yes, the normal way is that specialized mycorrhiza fungi do this job. But that way doesn't seem to exist for the acaule species.
It was told to me that You never find acaule in a natural surrounding with a pH-value above 4.5.
So I think acaule escapes into this sour ecological niche to crack that problem.

Therefore we tested for pot culture different substrates and reduce the pH-value to 4.5 or below by acidified water and all substrates work well.

I don't know if you have seen this paper (my friend is involved in it):
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00112.x/full
But among Cyps, C. acaule seems to be least specific about the association with mycorrhizae. But this molecular based study can't tell if they are offering the protection against fungi. Some of fungi may be just associated with orchids without any mutualistic benefits, i.e. endophytes. The paper isn't directly helpful for Cyp culture, but it is interesting to learn about their biology.

 

[Berthold]

Some of fungi may be just associated with orchids without any mutualistic benefits, i.e. endophytes.

Yes a agree completely. But the fungus will keep away other fungi and bacteria as a self protection and that will help the orchid on which the fungus is growing. I tested this with different fungi from the garden. Some of them are so strong that they strangler the orchid roots. But there is no rotting at all.