Calypso Bulbosa

[theroc1217]

Right now, I have mine in a glass box near a window. The temperatures range from 50 at night, up into the 60's during the day. I have the box sealed, and the pots are sitting on damp sphagnum. I haven't watered them in nearly a month, and the leaves look great.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

If you want to know, I still have the 2 plants I got from the previous batch. The corms are still very much alive with the roots looking beautiful. They just don't have leaves.

The flower spike on one of them did not make it. The other corm still has a good flower spike. If the plant doesn't eventually terminate the spike, I might do it manually just so the plant can conserve energy. I haven't made a decision about this yet. Although, I am curious to know if the corm will still have enough energy to grow a flower spike and bloom, and still be able to make it to the next growing season, even without the leaf intact.

I think I might have gotten the mycorrhizal fungi that grows in the roots of the orchid, idk. I took one of the dead corms and threw it in a pre-prepared flask with an agar media. I have some sort of fungus in there, and it looks to be of one species, but I'm wondering if there really is one species of fungus in there and if this is the correct fungus to germinate Calypso bulbosa seeds with...

[theroc1217]

Aki James, can you post some pictures of yours? Mine didn't make it through dormancy, they either dried out or rotted. I'd love to see how they're doing.

[weederwoman]

I live in Oregon, near to buggycrazy. I work a native plant demonstration garden in a city park. I buy camas, trilliums, erythronium, etc. from him every fall. My first calypso was eaten after about two years. The corm is so very near the surface, and birds relish them. I got a second this Sept. Right now it is in a nearly unheated greenhouse with a very dirty yellowed roof. Heat is set at 40. Our average winter temp is about 35-45. I water it rarely. Its leaf is doing just fine. It's still in the pot I bought it in. Medium looks like forest duff. The corm is covered by doug fir needles. Over that is a square of hardware cloth (see birds - above). An orchid club friend bought one at the same time. She was going to put hers outside right away. We recently had a terrible (for us) cold spell - days in the teens and down to 9 one night. I'll see her in a few days and will ask how it fared. I feel like experimenting with mine as a pot plant. I can keep you posted.

Laurel

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by weederwoman

I live in Oregon, near to buggycrazy. I work a native plant demonstration garden in a city park. I buy camas, trilliums, erythronium, etc. from him every fall. My first calypso was eaten after about two years. The corm is so very near the surface, and birds relish them. I got a second this Sept. Right now it is in a nearly unheated greenhouse with a very dirty yellowed roof. Heat is set at 40. Our average winter temp is about 35-45. I water it rarely. Its leaf is doing just fine. It's still in the pot I bought it in. Medium looks like forest duff. The corm is covered by doug fir needles. Over that is a square of hardware cloth (see birds - above). An orchid club friend bought one at the same time. She was going to put hers outside right away. We recently had a terrible (for us) cold spell - days in the teens and down to 9 one night. I'll see her in a few days and will ask how it fared. I feel like experimenting with mine as a pot plant. I can keep you posted.

Laurel

Thank you for the info.

The problem has always been during the summer periods when they go into dormancy.

This has always been the pattern in cultivation (for me, anyways).

They do extremely well during growing season. Some even bloom towards the end of the same growing season you purchased them. They transplant very easily with what seems like little stress on the actual plants themselves. Very few actually die upon transplantation/initial purchase.

When mid to late spring rolls around, each bulb loses its leaf, and they start dormancy. This is when the trouble starts. Some shrivel or some rot. I don't know anybody as of yet, who has successfully pulled this particular orchid through their summer dormancy cultivating the plants outside of their native habitats.

Summer dormancy is the problem, not necessarily the growing season.

It's possible that they need to be dug out of their pots as soon as they go dormant, washed, bagged and kept moist and cool in the fridge.

Just in case anyone missed this…

Do not, for any reason, put your Calypso bulbosa in the freezer. It will turn out to be a massive disappointment.

[weederwoman]

You are right about dormancy being the challenge. Oregon has defined wet and dry seasons, and many wildflowers that need summer dry conditions. My friend grows a number of native orchids successfully in a specially built raised bed. I want to experiment with pot culture. Since we bought the same plant at the same time from the same person I think it will be an interesting experiment comparing her methods and success with mine.

Laurel

[drtd]

They will only live for about 2-3 years tops without an established mycelia of ectomycorrhizal fungus that is present in the native soil. This fungus feeds the underground bulbs to ensure that they grow to full size. they will sustain themselves from back bulbs for a couple of years, but need the supplemental nutrition from the fungus beyond that. this fungus is also associated with conifers such as spruce, Douglas fir, and hemlock. if you have any old growth forest containing any or all of these species of trees, you could harvest some of the humus underneath them and mix it into the potting mix. It takes several years of optimum conditions to sustain a fungal colony of this type. These orchids are very abundant in my native Pacific Northwest, and I have observed them extensively over the years. Cool temps, acidic, loose humus, and lots of water (the fungus takes up a lot) will yield good results. I would recommend a group planting in a shallow but wide container (I used a sterilized kitty litter tray with drainage holes drilled in the bottom). Good luck and happy growing!

-Danny

[weederwoman]

Thanks Danny
I'm hoping my friend has a source of the fungus already established in her growing area. I live on 13 acres of doug fir, but none of it is old growth. I have areas that haven't been disturbed for at least 50 years though. The real world is a harsh environment for little tasty plants. Deer, moles, squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, skunks, birds, droughts, floods..Much easier to grow natives in the city, believe it or not.

Laurel

[ron-in-norcal]

FWIW, I've seen a lot of these orchids growing in coastal Sonoma County (starting about 40 or so miles north of San Francisco). All of the ones I saw were growing in the duff of redwoods. I never messed with them, but they seemed to be very fertile, because after blooming nearly every flower had a pod. They also seemed to grow in mini colonies. These were definitely not old growth redwoods, just redwoods growing next to the road, and not all that big. But, plenty of duff. There's usually no rain in that area from May through October or November, but maybe fog dripping from the redwoods helps add a tiny bit of moisture. Almost never snows in that area.

[drtd]

That's really the biggest factor right there, duff. The depth of the duff or humus determines a lot of things. Water retention and evaporation rates during the dry season, thermal regulation, and structure for the mycelia. I use the term "old growth" for forest ecosystems dominated primarily by trees such as d. fir, spruce, and hemlock because of the rate in which they shed old leaves (needles) in order to maintain a certain humus profile. Redwoods on the other hand, especially coastal species (Sequoia sempervirens) are mostly deciduous and create a humus profile of greater depth quickly even at a young age. Even those these communities aren't true "old growth" they can achieve the same colonies of mycelia as true old growth communities.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk