does anyone know of anybody who has cypripedium wardii or plectrocilon? I will be willing to purchase the seed. If anybody knows of anyone who has those species please respond.

Those two both sound fairly rare and hard to find. I wish you luck on your search for seed!

does anyone know of anybody who has cypripedium wardii or plectrocilon? I will be willing to purchase the seed. If anybody knows of anyone who has those species please respond.

Roderick,

As you probably already know, these species are very rare in cultivation. Because of this, any seed growers may produce is used and not sold. C. wardii has, to my knowledge, not been successfully grown from seed to adult size yet. I've heard about seedlings being grown by different folks, and all of these were produced in Europe. There are no reports of ANY successfully grown C. wardii in North America, at least no one is saying anything. C. plectrochilum is not as rare in cultivation, but again, I doubt anyone is giving away or even selling seed. The same is true for any of the Chinese spotted leaf species.

You have to remember that all these plants are really difficult to keep alive for any length of time. Usually even established specimens don't live past 5 years or so. Even seemingly common species like C. henryi and C. macranthos are still rare in cultivation, especially in the states. I don't grow any of the Chinese plants because the climate is wrong for them here - it is just too hot and humid, and the winters are too mild as well.

Good luck with your quest. I suggest you focus on growing seedlings of the more common species to adult size first to get a good feel for the process. After that, you may try the harder to grow species. C. reginae and the varieties of C. parviflorum are the best candidates to start with.

Tom