I did a quick check on my sleeping cyps today. They seem to have stayed nice and moist and cold so far. No sign of growth in the one that I opened the plastic grocery bag that I wrapped each pot in last fall.

Just wondering when they will start to show signs of emerging and when/if I should move them outside.

Just wondering when they will start to show signs of emerging and when/if I should move them outside.

Steven, in your climate don't expect or encourage any growth until the night time frosts are over with - maybe around mid April. Avoid putting the pots in sunshine in particular since that could easily induce them to grow too early.

Even here in "warm, southern" Japan the season starts over a month from now beginning with C. formosanum, then C. japonicum, then everybody else, followed by C. kentuckiense. C. formosanum will start to expand its growth buds right around the third or fourth week of March and be in flower by mid to late April. C. japonicum is another week or so later.

Hold onto that dormancy, spring ain't here yet!

No, I do NOT intend to rush it. I just wanted a place for people to post their expected time of growth pushing. This would give new people like me a way of gaging MY expected time.

So post your growth schedules.

Here in zone 5b I take the pots out from the mulch around May 10th or so but leave mulch around them since there will still be a few light frosts until around the 21st. If there is a hard frost predicted I carefull cover with mulch again. The "frost cloth" materials also work well - some of the European growers recommend them rather than constantly raking mulch around. I havent tried that yet, I need to get some.

Ron

I was in my shop/storage area again yesterday and decided to take a peak. My makasin is really starting to push now, about a quarter inch of nice big green sticking out. My Ron B. reginae are starting to push too. I think I saw a little disturbance on one of mykentuckience, but nothing showed when I put a little water on the soil. Nothing from my larger reginae or parvi's yet.

Ron, did you say the makasin's would/could bloom this year? :confused:

All 5 of the reginea (both normal and albolabium color form) that I purchased from Hillside Nursery last fall started poking up out of the ground this last week. I think our last frost date is around mid-May here in southern Wisconsin. This is my first year growing cyps and it will be interesting to see have they progress.

All of the C Acaule growing in vacant spaces are just pushing their first growth in the past day or two. Green and about the size of a 12 penny nail.

Hi, all,

All the Cyps here in NW CT are out of the ground with the exception of reginae - probably another two weeks, and kentuckiense - probably another week. Some nice early buds on the yellows and the Asians as well as the yellow crosses like Gisela. I think two weeks from now will be a good time for blooming.

A couple of hybrids should bloom for me for the first time this year, for example Carolin. For those of you who bought Ingrid from me this year and I said it will take another year to bloom, of the 8 I have in my garden, two have buds so a few of those I shipped out may bloom after all. I am also excited that one of the parvi var planipetalums I have had for a couple of years has a bud - I am told by the grower that it is "guaranteed" to really be planipetalum so we will see. The plants I have are quite tiny but planipetalum is supposed to be quite tiny.

Some of the fasciolatum that I have been talking about are now on a real season schedule. They are coming up along with the rest of the plants.

I have a lot of young hybrids Paul Perakos and I have done - no flowers this year but some are coming up big and chunky - this is year 3 for the oldest so maybe next year! Among hybrids done by others originally, I have some Hans Erni coming up for their second year outside - they are enormous. They are each in a 4 inch pot, which for everything except reginae is good for three years, but they look far too big for their pots already as they are coming up Making them even more impressive is they are a cross between calceolus and franchetti, neither of which does extremely well for me historically. Having said that, the calceolus I have from VT Ladyslipper and the franchetti I have from Werner Frosch look spectacular this spring. Soil Perfector and Soilmaster are transforming my life! I also made ventricosum myself and last year was their first year outside. They, too, are enormous this year as they come up (some of them grew quite admirably last year in their compots as well). Some are so big that when I took the cover off their bed and picked one of the pots up to see what they were, I thought I had mislabeled the pot!

We are adding another 350 sq feet of shade house this spring and a couple of additional beds. Lots of seedlings in the refrigerator to plant in mid-May (I wait until right at the "last freeze date" which is May 22 here).

I am surprised reginae are up in Wisconsin, you are a lot earlier than we are!

Good luck all and photos of flowers soon!

Ron

Just checked the overwinter area again and :woohoo: my kentuckiense are all showing their noses. Also as expected my last (?) makasin bud is showing itself.

Three lf reg and one lg parvi to go. There are still several of the smaller reg from last years seedlings that are no shows, but I think I expected that to some degree.:confused:

Hi Ron,
You said " Soil Perfector and Soilmaster are transforming my life! "

What is it and whats in it?

And keen to see some pix..sounds awesome.

Cheers
Stephen

Down to the Parvi and a couple of small reg to go. I am so excited that as many made it as did so far. Not to start planning for the transition to outside beds this or next year.