AAAAHHHHHHH!!! I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!

It is the dead of winter and I haven’t seen my cyps for months now, not even the yellowing leaves of fall! Just barren, pots sitting outside, lifeless! I’M GOING CRAZY!!!

OK, end of rant. To placate myself (and all you Cyp lovers out there) here’s a few more shots of Cyps I’ve grown.

Cyp. japonicum from the wrong side. Is it an animal or plant?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/tvelardi/CjaponicumLip.jpg

Cyp. Ulla Silkens (reginae X flavum). Very similar looking to Cyp. reginae but much more variable even from year to year. Can’t boast about this one too much since I’ve killed this particular specimen! :( :confused: :unsure:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/tvelardi/Cflavum-.jpg

Finally, the lovely alba form of Cyp. ventricosum, the natural hybrid of Cyp. macranthos and Cyp. calceolus. Thank god this one’s doing well for me increasing from two growths last season to three this year :cheers: :whoo: :Party:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/tvelardi/CventricosumPL.jpg

Well, that’s it. I feel much better now. The question is, however, how will I survive the next three Cypless months with nothing to look at? I have no idea. :confused:

Maybe I should just buy some more :evil:

Tom

Cyps have such pretty leaves, to say nothing of the flower...

However, living in frigid Michigan, I feel your pain!!!

wow they look great!! :clap:

Beautiful

That Ulla Silkens is awesome!

Excellent shots.

Once again , I really wish I could grow them,

Have a friend who use to grow some of those , he would spend a lot time putting them in and out of the fridge and then back in the garden just to initiate flowering

Beautiful!!! Certainly a treat for the eyes in snowy Maine. :slippers:

i feel the same way about growing plants up from seedlings to blooming size

Don't remind me. I hate January. There's nothing to do. Maybe I'll start thinking about what to plant my Cyps in this spring and where to get it. I've been taking the roots out of the fridge and looking a them every week or so and they're looking good at this point. Before we know it, spring will be here.

Tom,
Do like me, have another beer and think on it ! I want a Cypr. tibeticum so bad !
Later, Carl ( Dionaea )

:slippers:

Nice pictures.
Sorry about your Ulla Silkens. After what I heard it is not so hard to grow maybe it is your heat that killed it :(

Nice pics on the Jap You see there is UPS and Downs with Your weather :)

The Vent is lovely. Is it a bit Yellowish on the petals with almost a hint pink on the sides of the petals?.
I remebered Yours a bit whiter is that the Picture that is slightly different or is it different plants or my bad memory.

I actually had to look at Your old pic of the vent and then I saw what I did not see the first time the slight colouration. Very discret and nice :)

I comforted my self by looking at pics on the net and by buying some. I also think on what I want and from where and make wishinglists like a little child for christmas.

It helps a bit :)

Joakim

nIce plants do you cover your pots outside with anything? I'm new to cyps I've got two yellows growing outside planted I usually heap a pile of leaves over them but sure to uncover them early This will be my second winter with them I'm hoping for at least one bloom this year they were blooming when I planted them but last year just plants no flowers.

Super flowers Tom!

I love the ventricosum alba!

thanks

Thanks for the nice replies everyone!

Joakim, yes, the photo shows up a bit on the yellow side because of light reflecting from the lower right of the shot. That makes the flower look too yellow. In fact it is white, green, and has a slight purple blush in the dorsal sepal:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/tvelardi/CVentri.jpg

Fred, I keep my pots at the edge of the house under the eaves so they don't get much direct rain or snow, just a little. I water them just to keep them moist. In your location I'd sink them in the ground since the pots could fully freeze which is not suggested. It could in fact kill them. As far as rain/snow goes, the North American species are more adapted to this than the Asian species. Most Asian ones should be protected from wet conditions when dormant or they will simply rot.

Tom

For those who have nothing to do in January - start flasking Cyps! They mature fast in flasks and most that you flasked in spring as dry seed from the previous fall (dry seed has to be refrigerated 3-4 months) or in July/Aug as green pods are ready to harvest now and put into the refrigerator to await late April for potting. Today I harvested 75 flasks, about 1100 seedlings. I have about 75 more to go.

Here in very windy and cold CT,

Ron Burch

That sounds like a great Idea Ron. Flasking Your self.
I have had that as an idea but never got around to even try. When I have my plants flowering I will start to see if I can get anyone knocked up. Then from that we will see. :)

Sounds like You have a lot of work :) done and ahead of You. I bet it is hard work even if it might be fun.

A more creative alternative to looking for plants is as You do making them your self :).
Hope they will thrive well and become lovely in colour and growth

Kind Regards
Joakim

More winter time boredom brings out the worst in me. :twisted: Here's some up close Cyp lips. Are they animals or plants?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/tvelardi/CypLips.jpg

Sorry for the indulgence!

they have some intense color! :clap:

Very nice, Tom! Now to get to late March.....

Ron Burch

Nice closeups!

Nice close ups
Is it Jap, Ulla Siilkens and Formosa or is the last also Jap?
Lovely strong colours
Joakim

Today I harvested 75 flasks, about 1100 seedlings. I have about 75 more to go.

That's crazy, Ron but it's the good kind of crazy!

Tom, that middle one looks like some kind of coral reef denizen.

Ah, living out the hostile winter, that's the trick indeed! Joakim, yes, they are from left to right, C. japonicum, C. Ulla Silkens, and C. formosanum.

Ron, you're a cultivating god!