Whether you call them lady-slippers, fairy-slippers, or moccasin flowers, these choice woodland orchids are appealing.
Their common names are derived from the pouch-like lip of the flowers, which are held on graceful stems well above the leaves in late spring.
Like most orchids, the flowers remain fresh for several weeks, especially if pollination does not occur.
The lasting quality of the flowers, coupled with their beauty and increasing rarity, makes them desirable in wildflower gardens.
However, until recently, they were a group considered very hard to grow out of the wild, with few gardeners being able to maintain a collection of plants for more than a year or two.
This was true because the cultural requirements of the individual species vary noticeably. Therefore it is best to consider the species one by one.
Cypripedium Reginae “Showy Lady-Slipper”
First, let us consider the showy lady-slipper, Cypripedium reginae (sometimes listed as Cypripedium spectabile) because it is shown on the cover. This is the largest of the group, reaching a height of 2’ feet or more.
The fragrant white flowers with rosy markings, which sometimes make the pouch appear almost pink, appear in June or July, with as many as three on a stem.
It is happiest in partial shade in wet, neutral, or slightly acid humusy soils, like swamps, bogs, and wet woodlands.
It is found in the wild from Newfoundland to Ontario and southward to Georgia.
Cypripedium Calceolus “Yellow Lady-Slipper”
The yellow lady-slipper, Cypripedium calceolus, is the easiest species to grow and is recommended as the first one to try. It flowers in May or June.
Botanists sometimes divide this species into two varieties, parviflorum, the small yellow lady-slipper, and pubescens, the large one.
The first grows about 10” to 18” inches high and is home from Newfoundland to the Rockies and southward wherever conditions are to its liking.
The larger inhabits the southern part of the range, extending south to Nebraska and even to Alabama.
Other Varieties
In the North, expect to find either variety on moist, wooded hillsides, trout lilies, and false lily-of-the-valley under a mixed shade of evergreen and deciduous trees and sometimes in swampy and boggy areas.
In the South, they prefer somewhat drier locations in wooded uplands and hillsides.
Both varieties usually prefer neutral to slightly acid soil and form fairly large clumps that are easy to divide.
The southern strain is preferred of the two, for it seems to be a little easier to grow.
Cypripedium Acaule “Pink Lady-Slipper”
The pink lady-slipper, Cypripedium acaule, native across Canada and south to North Carolina and Tennessee, is a real challenge to grow, for it is most particular about its growing conditions.
It insists upon very acid soil and may be found either in dry sandy woods under
- Pines
- Oaks
- Birches with princess pine
- Pyrolas
- Spotted wintergreen
- Lowbush blueberries
- Birdsfoot violets
- Wild lupins
- Hummocks in deep
- Wet sphagnum bogs
It flowers in late May in the latitude of New York. Occasionally a pure white form is found, particularly in the northern parts of its range.
In the pine woods, its two large flat leaves almost lie upon the needles, the crown and growing bud often being several inches beneath the leaves.
If you want to move the plant, getting the crown and as many of the noodle-like roots as possible is imperative.
The division is possible but is more difficult than with the other species.
Cypripedium Arietinum “Ram’s Head Lady-Slipper”
Ram’s head lady-slipper, Cypripedium arietinum, is rare but is occasionally found in the cold swamps and moist evergreen woods.
Its solitary, nodding, rosy flower usually appears a little earlier than that of Cypripedium acaule and reaches a height of only 6” to 12” inches.
If you try to grow it south of its natural range, which is Canada south to New York and Minnesota, you will need a cool moraine—a peaty, gravelly soil with a steady underground supply of cold water and, very likely, light shade.
Cypripedium Candidum “White Lady-Slipper”
The small, white lady-slipper, Cypripedium candidum, unlike most of its relatives, prefers a limey home.
Normally, it grows in the open in manly bogs from New York State to Minnesota and south to Missouri.
It grows about 6” to 10” inches tall, blooms in May or June, and usually increases rapidly when it is introduced into the proper surroundings.
Cypripedium Californicum And Cypripedium Montanum
Westerners—and easterners, too, with the proper growing conditions—should try two more species, Cypripedium californicum and Cypripedium montanum.
The first, a native of California and Oregon, produces six to twelve small, white slippers on each 2-foot leafy stalk in May or June.
The other is a little more northern, a native of the pine and oak woods of Washington and Oregon, where it grows to a height of 15” to 20” inches and bears one to four showy blooms in May or June.
The pouch is white, usually veined with purple. It multiplies with reasonable rapidity and is amenable to transplanting.
In the wild, it rests about two months during the dry period each year, at which time it is best moved or divided.
It is next to impossible to grow lady-slippers from seed, propagation by division being the only method for most home gardeners.
Best Time To Propagate
With all the species, the best time to propagate (or to transplant) is in fall or early spring while the plants are dormant.
Spread the roots out and place the bud beneath the soil surface. Unfortunately, these plants are becoming hard to find in most places.
It should be purchased only from legitimate dealers and collected from the wild only when they are clearly in the path of a bulldozer or are otherwise scheduled for destruction.
44659 by Edwin F. Steffek