Hi All,

I live in France in Paris and I put some cypripedium in my garden last spring. Plants grows fast and well and I saw flowers of c japonicum and calceolus. All were seedlings from England or Germany bought on ebay.

I have the following species : japonicum, calceolus, henryi, parviflorum and Ulma Silkens .

Does I have to protect my plants by leaves or earth for winter?

The weather could be cold be cold but it is freezing very rarely because my garden is protected by walls ans exposed south west. In summer a tree makes a sun screen and provid shade to the plant.

thank you in advance for your help.

Philippe

I would think that if you covered them with pine needles, you would be fine. Just don't damage the dormant new growth buds.

I think your plants should be fine as long as the soil temperature stays between 0-5C most of the winter. It you like you can put a top covering of leaves about 30 centimeters thick over the Cyps for the winter, but be sure to remove them when the warmer weather comes.

C. henryi probably would like it a bit drier than the others, so you could put some kind of barrier over it like a board. The idea is to keep winter rains from wetting the crown of the plant directly, but also allowing the surrounding soil to remain fully moist at all times. The other species don't need to be protected this way.

Hi All,

thank you for your advices !

Philippe