Mexipedium Xyrophyticum is a genus (sub-family member) of the Cypripedioideae, an orchid we described on this site. The name of this extraordinary orchid comes from the country of origin, southwest Mexico, and the Latin word, pes, for foot. Of course this relates to the slipper shape of the plant lip. The species name of xerophyticum means “lover of dryness” as it relates to its tolerance for a low moisture existence. It is pronounced pretty much like it looks, mex-ih-pee-dee-um zero-fit-ih-cum.

Restricted to only one lonely isolated locale in Oaxaca, Mexico, the orchid doesn’t get any full mid-day sun since it grows on those steep exposed cliffs with its roots in decomposed leaf litter or some moss in crevices or rocks. They have a north and east exposure and exist on dew and the night fog approximately 1,000 feet up. They must be monitored however, so that the growing mix doesn’t become dry once cultivated. Mexipedium orchids prefer clean water but will tolerate a bit more calcium and minerals already included in municipal water than other orchids since it often grew on limestone.

Much to the surprise of the orchid industry, this particular plant wasn’t discovered until 1991. If you can believe it, only seven of these magnificent plants were found at the time of their detection. We sure have benefited from this discovery. To prevent growers and others from plundering the plants, only a small number of them were removed and propagated. Since it grows by spreading runners from the parent plant, offset by several feet, they are available only as propagules or offshoots from these original plants every few inches. These orchids have small silvery green leaves that are semi-erect and stiff with tiny snow white flowers with a pink staminode and a slipper shaped lip. The curved petals are scythe shaped. Mature plants can be as small as a few inches across and the flowers are breathtakingly lovely. There is no fragrance but they bloom from spring to early summer.

You can grow these is pots containing mixtures of fine bark, perlite, charcoal or rock wool. Adding a bit of lime or oyster shell helps the blooming process. Directions always accompany your purchase. This particular species does prefer slightly more alkaline water and drier conditions than other slipper orchids. Let the mixture dry before you water again. They need plenty of air movement while living in intermediate to warm temperatures – like mid 50’s to 70’s in the summer, at night – and actually a bit more light than they had in nature. Daytime temperatures should not exceed 85°. These beauties have been known to grow bigger in cultivation.

Although spring is generally the flowering season for Mexipedium orchids, they can bloom at other times of the year when grown under lights. It normally produces a long rhizome in between growth spurts since it’s history is to creep along rocks in nature. There are times when they actually grow neatly together. All you have to do is take a new growth with a long stolon and plant it in another pot with mix, just barely covering the base of it. You can buy rhizome clips at the nursery to hold it down and then water as normal. The orchid will develop roots that you can then split away from the mother plant to replant. I like growing these orchids in a large shallow tray in order to accommodate the rambling growths which can be two to four inches. You can use a well drained mix like medium bark since it doesn’t break down quickly. A fine mix is better for seedlings or mature plants.

The Mexipedium orchids are easy to fertilize by using premixed GrowMore 20-10-10 if you use municipal water. You can buy Cal-Mag fertilizer if you use clean water, anertilize a dry plant – water them first. Another highly recommended fertilizer is Green Jungle Orchid food which is formulated to work with clean water. In this instance you would fertilize each time you water the plant. You can see that the care of these plants is minimal when you know what to do when. It is such a pleasure to watch them grow and they make wonderful gifts.

Now that you’ve enjoyed this article, we hope that you will take some time to go through the others as well. After all, we at Orchid Care.org a passionate about articles and we make it a point to provide our visitors with as must information about orchids as possible.

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