Cypripedium japonicum help

[Plantman13]

I recently bought two cyp. Japonicum plants from a vendor on eBay. They were delivered quickly and both look very healthy. right now they are in the fridge, because the ground is still frozen. I'm aftaid to plant them outside this early. They are still dormant. Should I leave them in the fridge? Or pot them and start them in doors? They are still dormant, but the growths are starting to swell like their Coming out of dormancy. Any advice will be helpful.

 

[Linus_Cello]

My understanding is that cyps don't like their roots disturbed. So I would keep in fridge until I could plant in the ground (rather than disturbing the roots to plant them in a pot, and then disturb the roots again when you plant them in the ground).

That being said, lots of people have success digging up their cyps and keeping them in the fridge over the winter, and then replanting them.

 

[PaphMadMan]

From experience with close cousin Cyp formosanum, once they do start to break dormancy you really can't hold them back for long. Until then they are best off in the refrigerator, but if they try to grow before you can plant them outside (and they probably will), I would be prepared to pot them up for this season, then plan to move them to their permanent home when they go dormant this fall. Small plants handled gently while dormant shouldn't resent the extra move.

 

[Plantman13]

Thanks for the advice. If they start growing to soon I'll pot them up.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

The only thing I would add is never allow this species to dry out, even a little. If you do pot them up, use oversized containers.