Species library › Cypripedium › Cypripedium bardolphianum
Orchids Partly documented

Cypripedium bardolphianum

A tiny slipper orchid of the high mountains of western China, spreading by thin rhizomes in mossy, humus-rich ground under shrubs and conifers. It needs a genuinely cold winter dormancy and a cool, moist summer, and it is one of the more difficult Cypripedium in cultivation.

Cypripedium bardolphianum
Photo: Wang.QG, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Mossy forest floor, thickets and grassy slopes in high montane forest, typically in humus or moss over damp ground (genus-level and general literature).

Usually reported around 2300–3900 m; few GBIF records carry an elevation.

GansuSichuanTibetHubei

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

Grow Cypripedium bardolphianum? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY 4.0 licence, unmodified.