As mentioned in my request for growth updates, my Cypripedium reginae is blooming a bit early this year, due to my need for some ID photos, among other reasons. The plant was taken out of dormancy at the same time as my Cypripedium candidum, but as expected, took an extra few weeks to bloom. This morning I was delighted to find the bloom open.

It may have some more opening to do, and the pink and purple are just starting to appear, so I'm holding off on any more detailed photography for a day or so. I'm hoping the plant will exhibit excellent color, because it has been very cloudy the past few days, and will remain so probably until early next week. At initial impression, the bloom is smaller than the reginae I have seen in the wild, approximately on half to three-quarters the size of the plants I visited last year in Vermont. It also has dimples on the rear.

very very nice pretty:heart::Party::heart:

wow nice!!!

It also has dimples on the rear.

How embarrassing! At least the plant is healthy...

Nice looking plant!!

Very nice plant.

That is quite a lovely plant in bloom!

Beautiful cyp plant!

Thanks for sharing!

An update...

The flower has now opened fully, but the color is still muted. There are hints of purple on the outside of the lip, and the sepals are now *mostly* white, having dropped their green tint except at the very tips. The inside of the lip is, as normal, spotted with bright purple/pink spots, and the staminode is the usually orange speckled yellow. Wondering where the color is. ;)

Please post an updated picture thank you!:hyper:

Very nice!

Reginae hates growing indoors. The pale color is do to the warm indoor growing conditions (no cold nights) and the stress of forcing the plant early.

Make sure it gets a lot of full sun outside so it can set a bloom for next year. Otherwise, it will have no blooms.

This happened to me for a few years with a plant I was growing in a pot and keeping inside.

Reginae hates growing indoors. The pale color is do to the warm indoor growing conditions (no cold nights) and the stress of forcing the plant early.

Make sure it gets a lot of full sun outside so it can set a bloom for next year. Otherwise, it will have no blooms.

This happened to me for a few years with a plant I was growing in a pot and keeping inside.

I suspected the indoor culture had something to do with the color, but I somehow overlooked the nighttime temps. Thanks for pointing that out. :D

Luckily the plant gets plenty of light, via a well-positioned window that provides a solid 5-6 hours of direct, full sunlight, slightly filtered by a screen. I do not have a sunny spot protected from the deer at this location to put the plant outdoors 24/7, I am going to try putting the plant out on the porch tonight to see if the color improves.

Nah... Either they need cold during flower development, or it takes longer than a night, because there was no color change, not even a bit, after a night outside, where temps probably hit the upper 40's.

Since it is going to be cloudy for the next few days, and since I'm taking notes on indoor culture, I'll leave the plant on the porch until the sun returns, and see if anything changes.

Once the flower opens the color doesn't change. The temperature as the buds form and then open is what matters.

Once the flower opens the color doesn't change. The temperature as the buds form and then open is what matters.

That's what I thought. Last year when I visited a population in Vermont, I remember hoping for cold weather in the weeks before hand, so I'm surprised that it didn't occur to me, since I knew about it. If I end up keeping this plant in indoor culture for next year, I'll find a way to cool it off at night.