cyps in pots 2013

[Anthony Darby]

Cover by all means. I never did. The buds need to have air circulating round them. It's too wet and as well as too dry that will kill them.

[John Aipassa]

I don't have any experience with Cyps in pots. Mine are in the garden and almost all of them have a roof tile covering them against the winterwet like Neil showed with Svante's website.

Nevertheless I have experienced the same thing as Mark did last winter. Buds rotted and roots turned brown and shriveled. It was just bad luck I think because the majority just did and do fine with some covering for winterwet. Fall and winter can be quite wet here and frost is not a sure thing.

We have freezing weather right now for I hope another two to three weeks. The days around X-mas were just too warm and wet with a possible too short of time for vernalizing the Cyps and a possible disappointing show of flowers. I am happy with the frost right now.

The tiles are removed in february.

[Anthony Darby]

You can't get much wetter autumn and winter with temperatures very fickle,  varying from 10^oC down to -10^oC or lower and I rarely suffered losses due to wet, except where I hadn't prepared an open ground site correctly.

[angie]

Nice covering for my Cyps, in pots 

Angie 

[Anthony Darby]

Been there, worn that t-shirt, er, thermals, woolly jumper and cagoule.

[angie]

Anthony, I bet you don't miss this kind of weather. I have been watching Wanted Down Under on the TV in the mornings. Really feel like packing my cases and heading of to New-Zealand, do you think they would let old folks in 

Angie 

[Anthony Darby]

You're not old folk Angie. It's been quite hot here recently, but nothing compared with Oz. Sydney reached 45.8oC last week!

[angie]

You're not old folk Angie. It's been quite hot here recently, but nothing compared with Oz. Sydney reached 45.8oC last week!

45.8c    now that is hot. A nice 25c does me.

Angie 

[Anthony Darby]

A nice 25c does me.

Angie 

Yep, that was us yesterday. Looks like it again today. I hope Melbourne's not too hot at the weekend.

[brianw]

Seems we need a new subject line Maggie. We have run on a bit.

Prices dropping at the RHS
http://www.rhsplants.co.uk/plants/_/perennials/exotics/cypripedium-reginae/classid.2000019626/

[John Aipassa]

Prices dropping at the RHS
http://www.rhsplants.co.uk/plants/_/perennials/exotics/cypripedium-reginae/classid.2000019626/

Price drop at Judith Prins Garden Orchids in The Netherlands too. E.g.:
C. reginae        € 12.50
C. reginae alba € 16.00
C. flavum alba  € 17.50
Established multi-budded plants (mostly 2 to 3 buds and no divisions).

I am not complaining  .

[Maren]

Hi John,

that's a good price for Judith Prins. She grows very nice plants and must be feeling pressure from the competition of the big guys.

The RHS plants are marketed by Crocus http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/perennials/exotics/cypripedium-reginae/itemno.RH30002544/.
A 9cm pot is very small, these are probably very young plants, a few years from flowering. Then £14.99 isn't quite so keen.

[Maggi Young]

Prices dropping at the RHS
http://www.rhsplants.co.uk/plants/_/perennials/exotics/cypripedium-reginae/classid.2000019626/

The RHS plants are marketed by Crocus http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/perennials/exotics/cypripedium-reginae/itemno.RH30002544/.
A 9cm pot is very small, these are probably very young plants, a few years from flowering. Then £14.99 isn't quite so keen.

Well Maren, you got that right 
A friend of mine is desperate to try Cyp. reginae, finding it to be so very pretty. Learning of  this RHS offer  she asked me to order for her.  No problem, I did just that - the plants arrived the other day- speedier delivery than I expected and well protected in rigid plastic packing and a large cardboard box.
Now then, Maren mentions 9cm pots as being  quite small, but here in the home of the BD we are accustomed to 9cms pots holding numerous lovely flowering bulbs, so, frankly, my pal and I were hopeful that the smallish pot size would still be adequate to contain a reasonably sized Cyp.

The close up photos show what was in the two pots...... the first photos show the plantlets as they came out of the compost and the second two show them after the rotten bits were cleaned off. You will see a ruler to show scale. Thank goodness for photographic magnification- otherwise they may not have been visible!









Edited to add this picture of narcissus in 7cm pots

Ian has had 39 narcissus flowers in one 7cm pot  - you see why these cyps were something of a disappointment. Not sure how I will explain them  to my chum.......

[John Aipassa]

This is very sad Maggi. These are small and unhealthy rhizomes without any healthy growth bud and a shame to be sold even as a bargain  .

[David Nicholson]

I'd be inclined to complain to the RHS Maggi, obviously not exercising quality or value for money controls over their suppliers.