So you can’t grow orchids without a greenhouse? Well, here’s the news for you. Some orchids are happy to house guests.
Cypripedium maudiae magnificum makes an excellent starter plant, and success with it will lead you to conquer new worlds.
You won’t think the color combination of media startling, but you’ll find it pretty enough. The main upper petal is a sparkling white-striped green. Two ribbonlike white petals, also striped green, flare out from the sides—their edges covered with hairs.
Notable Features Of Cypripedium
Unlike other orchids, cypripediums have no labellum or lip. Instead, the lower part of the blossom is made up of two petals that form a pouch—somewhat Like a moccasin or slipper. This gives the plants two common names—moccasin flower and lady-slipper orchid.
In Cypripedium Maudie, the pouch is a glistening apple green. Blossoms stay fresh for four or five weeks on the plant, and if conditions are right, the plant may bloom twice a year.
The foliage is handsome, too. It has an interesting mottled effect that makes the plant worth having even when it is not in bloom.
Ideal Growing Requirements
Light
Give this Cypripedium good soft light to simulate that of its jungle home rather than harsh brilliance.
Avoid direct sunlight in summer, for this would quickly burn the foliage. However, cypripediums can take late afternoon sun in late fall and winter without flinching.
I keep my plants in a west window with unobstructed light in winter. In summer, I cut the glare with draperies.
Humidity
Cypripediums like humidity. They do well in a kitchen window where steam from cooking adds moisture to the air. This, in addition to daily syringing, is adequate, but in a living room, you must provide some means of adding moisture to the air.
Since I grew many plants, I solved the problem by building a combination bookcase and plant stand.
The top shelf is countersunk about 3” inches below the case, forming a receptacle for three large plastic trays, which I partly fill with water. A layer of pebbles in the trays keeps the pots above water level.
And, of course, as evaporation occurs, the air is humidified. So I also use a small vaporizer for several hours daily in winter. In summer, this is optional since the moist air from the ocean (two miles away) comes in through open windows.
Your plant will be happy, set in a tray of pebbles and water and with daily syringing of the foliage with a fine mistlike spray—in the late morning and early afternoon. But make certain the water does not settle in the heart of the plant since this can cause rot.
Watering
Do not let cypripediums dry out between waterings since they have no pseudobulbs, like cattleyas, for moisture storage. Constant and even moisture is the rule.
Since I use bark for a growing medium, I drench my plants every other day. The bark is coarse and well-aerated, allowing excess moisture to drain quickly. In addition, I feed my plants once a month with liquid cow manure, which supplies needed nitrogen for my growing medium.
Temperatures
Ideal night temperatures for mottled-leaf cypripediums range between 55° and 60° degrees Fahrenheit. Daytime temperatures should be somewhat higher—the plain-leaf varieties like cooler temperatures—about 50° to 55° degrees Fahrenheit at night.
Keep in mind that an area near a window is cooler than the rest of the room at night and that daytime temperatures can be very high as long as the air is moist.
Follow these simple tips, and you’ll find Cypripedium maudiae magnificent, a temporary house guest that will stay on to become a permanent border.
44659 by Keith S. Phillips