Yellow Lady Slipper Orchids

We saw these blooming in the woods at Bowman Hill Wildflower Preserve on Friday. I thought everyone would enjoy the pictures

close up

very cool

Oooooo, Jec. Gorgeous!

Beautiful!

I have these growning in my swamp. They are incredible aren't they? Mine will not be in bloom for another week at least.

Great pictures. At least you don't have to get muddy and walk through poisen ivy to get to them.

I bet that was a wonderful walk you had at the preserve.

Beautiful! Than you for sharing. I have two in my garden in a spot that is very much like
the one in the picture. I was not quite sure it was the right spot, but they seem to be happy. Now I feel better too :)

Thought I would share my wild ones that grow in the woods. They are finally blooming!

These are so beautiful. My Grandfather showed me some of these when I was a child. I haven't seen any since then in person. They must be rare around here.

I took these pictures yesterday. The temp went down to 32' the night before.

It amazes me that something like this can grow wild, with no protection, with our tough climate.

For our area, these grown in the swamp. The pink lady slippers grown in the drier areas. I am not sure how rare they are in the wild, but they sure are a treat to see.

I never saw yellow ones until we found these in our woods several years ago when we bought the land. We have had as many as a dozen blooming in this one area, and as few as 1 bloom, depending on the weather for the year.

Our pink lady slipper population seems to grow quite well each year. They tend to spread along ourr walking trails. We do not have the showy lady slippers, although they are native to this area.

cpartschick,
Thank you for sharing the pictures and notes. I really want to see what are the wild habitats of the yellow LS are. I've never seen them in the wild, actually I've never been to any really wild areas other then state parks :(

Can anyone recommend a source for plants like these? I saw them for sale. I think they were about 75 dollars!

I am not sure where you can get these. In Michigan they are a protected wildflower and cannot be picked or moved, Except on your own property. ah ha!

So I did try moving some of the pink slippers to a like area in my yard, they came up the next year and bloomed and then nothing.

I am not sure of the life span. There seems to be a complicated propagation that deals with spores and something in the root system or surrounding soil.

So I enjoy them where I can find them. It is worth venturing into the bug infested swamp hike to see them.

I remember going to Canada with DH on a fishing trip quite a few years ago. He was dragging the canoe and some supplies into the bush into a lonely lake. I had the poles and a bucket. It was quite a hike, dodging the muck holes and walking across roots.

I came to a clearing in the woods that was full of hundreds of pink lady slippers. I was in awe. The ground was just pink and covered. Of course my camera was in the canoe being dragged into the lake, and by this time DH was well ahead of me. I yelled to him, but as the canoe was hard to drag with all our supplies, he felt fishing was more important than some pink flowers.

I have now straightened him up on priorities! ha, like that would happen. I never saw anything like that ever again. The right day, the right weather conditions, and the right spot. Very rare indeed.

There is a website (I think from MN) that sells rescued orchids that would be destroyed in new construction projects:
http://www.wildflowerrescue.com/plantorder.html

Here is another (non-rescue) site:
http://www.hillsidenursery.biz/orchids.htm

and here is a bareroot site:
http://www.gardensoftheblueridge.com/native_orchids.htm

From what I remember the lady slipper type orchids need some kind of fungi to grow. That's why I was not quite sure what would happen to my yellow orchid when I planted it. I did request the seller to send a baggy with the soil from the site.

Next year, I will be getting some of these. I will never forget the sense of wonder and amazement when I saw that patch of these when I was a child. My Grandfather made me promise not to tell anyone where I saw them. He was so afraid someone would dig them up. I miss him so much. Thanks so much for posting these photos!

What great memories!

Maybe if you can get some, you will fasinate future generations!

Wow! Do I wish some of these would seed themselves around here!

Thank to all for the photos. They are great to see.

Echinaceamaniac: I bought a pink slipper orchid/mocassin flower this spring on eBay from a fellow who grows several different types of wild orchids on his property in the mid-atlantic. He seems to be going about it the right way (by seed and division; not collecting wild plants). I was able to win by a bid of about $20. The plant was shipped in a pot with soil, and looks good a month-and-a-half now, since it was planted. I'm sorry, I don't remember his eBay name. I know he also sold Rose Pogonia, orchis spectabilis, and some others.

Good luck!

Echinaceamaniac, here's a very affordable source, but I do believe they only ship them in the spring. I've been to the nursery and they have an amazing selection of native plants although I've never ordered from them online. They got about $110 from me the last time I went!
http://www.shootingstarnursery.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=278

Doug

Thanks for that. I'll probably get some next year. I have the perfect place for them.

From what I've read and heard they are quite hard to grow (yellow especially) because where they grow in the wild there is a fungus in the soil that helps them to survive but I may pick up a couple myself next spring and try them in my natural woodland garden just to see. The native pink ones are quite pretty too.

Doug

I was told that at one point my property was full of different lady slippers and this year I disturbed some soil in an old flower bed and now I have one kind growing and spreading in that bed with the hostas and flox

EM - your comment about your grandfather made me tear up!!

My mother, who is 89 told me the other day that when she was a little girl they'd go down by the creek in Newberg, Oregon and pick Trilliums. And if they were lucky, there would be a ladyslipper there, too. That had to be about 1928 -- it was a whole different time, but the fascination with these little plants still applies.

yes they do and when they start to grow they spread pretty quickly I started with one stem this spring and the only one to bloom but now I have about ten of them for next spring

in the woods I found solomon seal a patch about twenty feet across so beautifull in deep shade also found dog tooth lilies in two different area I am afraid to clean out the leaves I dont want to disturb them since they need a good layer of leaves to survive so those areas are out of bounds to the kids I dont want them walked on and damaged with 2.5 acres they can find somewhere else to walk hahahahah

I also have nine different wild asters from white to deep maroon along the woods DH wanted to pull them as weeds I almost had a heart attack since they give such nice colors in the fall different color in different areas also found wild poppies and anemonies the white ones love those also

I have been contacting all of the tree huggers I can find to get seeds and plants to add to the wood on the property I have gotten a few things but they seem to talk more than conserve hahahah

Yes, it seems that some of those plants do like it "unclean". I have 10 acres on two sides of my property that are undeveloped and that lead to wetlands. I was trying to make my way through the woods (lots of deadfall, etc.) a couple of years ago to catch my dog who had gotten out and stumbled across a patch of Trilliums that were not 15 feet from my front yard!! It's wonderful to know that little secret is there. I'm tempted to put some ladyslippers there and see how they'll do in those conditions -- it would be great to know that there was a little secret stand going . . .

mine are growing under an old apple tree and two evergreen close to the woods in a hosta bed they just appeared this year next spring I have to walk the woods more ofter so I dont miss anything this year we all had the n1h1 and I didnt go out for three weeks and missed many spring blooms

right now I have six different wild asters blooming from small white to large blue and purple I love to see them they are so pretty lots of them all along the woods and in the secret garden

my columbines that I started from seed last january are starting to bloom I will have to start taking pics of them tomorrow saw a couple of white ones today

Very cool that "they just appeared"!

My wild asters are doing great. We took down some crappy poplar trees and adding a little sunshine does wonders. I like seeing all the different sizes and colors. The vegetation is nice earlier in the year too. I love seeing them in the woods just coming up all over!

that is exactly how I got mine I cut out some service berries that took over during the last owner time to old to keep up the place and that same year they came up everywhere I just love them so cute and colorfull in the fall and they take care of themself that works for me