Cypripedium kentuckiense
Lady slipper orchids are native both to North America and China. Many of the modern lady slipper orchid hybrids combine the best traits of both the North American and Chinese lady slipper species into the same plant. Some of the most popular North American lady slipper orchids include Cypripedium kentuckiense, Cypripedium reginae, Cypripedium parviflorum, and Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens. Some of the most popular Asian lady slipper orchids include Cypripedium japonicum and Cypripedium macranthos.
Lady Slipper orchids are primarily grown from seed from a cross of two parents. As a general rule, it takes 8 years to grow a lady slipper orchid from seed to flowering, hence the high price these lady slipper orchids command. When you see lady slipper orchids for sale at the box stores, you may not know if these were stripped from the woods and have little chance of survival once planted. While many lady slipper orchids are difficult to transplant from the wild, they are quite easy to establish from nursery-propagated, container-grown plants.
When you're ready to try lady slipper orchids in your garden, be sure you have a bed of well-prepared, organically-rich soil that never gets extremely dry in summer. When you plant lady slipper orchids, remove the plants from the pots and spread the roots out horizontally. Do not bury lady slipper orchid roots like you would the roots of other plants. The roots should be covered with a thin layer of organic soil. We hope you’ll enjoy the large offering of cypripedium lady slipper orchids we offer.
