Species Orchid, Cypripedium, Golden Slipper Orchid, Yellow Lady Slipper, Yellow Moccasin Flower

I had a rescued YLS for many years. Then, when I moved to NorthGA, I put it in a cow watering trough (black plastic) to keep it from vol...Read Morees. It has one drain. I used clay and organic additions. Then one winter, we had snow cover for 4 or 5 days. It rotted in the soil. I discovered the organics had more or less been used up and it was brown clay soil. That, combined with a lot of snow on it, I feel, caused its demise. So I would say it needs GOOD drainage. I am trying again (not in trough). May I say Gardens of the Blue Ridge is a great place to buy natives? Happy gardening!

I am fortunate in Newfoundland to have my own variety of yellow lady's-slipper. The variety 'planipetalum' is only found in Newfoundland ...Read Moreand the north shore of the Gulf of St. lawrence. The plant is simply an ecotype being of shorter stature than the norm for this species. The lateral petals are generally greenish rather than the brownish colour of the typical form of C. parviflorum. The lateral petals are also shorter with, at most, a single twisting (many have no twist at all, rather, the petals are completely flat). Our variety grows in open limestone or serpentine barrens of western and northern parts of the Island. The characteristics are genetically fixed. It would be ideal for a moist rockery.

I received 3 of these plants from a friend of my wife's, and have had problems finding information about the proper depth to plant them. ...Read MoreI don't know how deeply the plant "bud" should be. It is known to grow well in this area of eastern Tennessee.

One of my favorite native orchids that I am lucky to have in my central Virginia garden. Native to my area, I transplanted a small colon...Read Morey (saved from a road project) years ago. What was 8 plants is now close to 20.
From my experience, this is about the only Cypripedium that will transplant and grow/colonize easily. I have it planted in a natural setting among deciduous trees and pines, my soil is red clay with a thick layer of leaf mould on top. Rainfall here averages around 45" per year, warm muggy summers and cold winters (max low -10*).
Have seen this growing in gardens in regular garden soil.