I have been trying to get my mom to plant interesting and native plants from our area in her garden. Mostly I received a plain no from her but, I have received a yes about a queens lady slipper. I have read the basic care for them on a few places. I live in South eastern Massachusetts. I have heard these plants were quite common when my mom was young but, I have never seen a single one in person. The only wild plant I know of is in my cousin's aunts house that lives in central New Hampshire and I rarely visit them. I am hoping you might be of help choosing a good soil mix and spot in my yard that would be most likely to hold long term success. I have a spot in my back yard that is shaded by a few large maples and is moist and cool to the touch. The spot is on the north side of my yard and gets only a few hours of direct early morning sun then is shaded by the trees the rest of the day. The area is also raised about 6 inches from the rest of the yard. I believe this may be the best spot though I have no idea if the soil in neutral or not. I believe my soil is already naturally acidic in nature and any mix I plant will also become acidic over time due to the rain. Would this spot be good or should I look for a different spot and should I use the soil there replace the area where the Cypripedium will be planted?

I also have another question. Is Cypripedium reginae the only species that is native in Massachusetts and if not what species also live here? I would like to get a few species planted if so.

Hi Joey welcome to the slipper orchid forum! Glad you joined us! I believe parviflorum and acaule also grow naturally in your state. Go to your local garden or orchid society and ask around or next spring go and take a field trip with them to see wild Cyps growing in your part of the country and try and create the same scenerio for your planted Cyps in your garden. Your garden sounds like a nice place to grow some Cyps!:D

:hi::welcomesof:

welcome to the site!! nice to start growing cyps at that age wish i had!!!

Welcome! Remember it is not ok to dig them up from the wild.

Welcome to the site! I would do as much research on cyps as you can, then get some inexpensive plants to try your skill on. Definitely get the adult plants since they are much more forgiving than the small seedlings.

Welcome! Remember it is not ok to dig them up from the wild.

I would never. I know that disturbing them during the growing season is always almost certain death to. I just love seeing plants in the wild. I grow carnivorous plants and even have some wild Drosera intermedia near my house that I barely even touch. :D

I got a list of the species that I think would do well here so far. I am in zone 6a. (I haven't reserved any plants as of yet)
Cypripedium reginea (my favorite and it is the one my mom saw when she was young)
Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens
Cypripedium parviflorum var. parviflorum
Cypripedium kentuckiense
Cypripedium x andrewsii
Cypripedium heryii

I also believe that I should make a bog to protect them from droughts. I was suggest this design. Make 2 cedar frames at least 2' by 2' using wood 6" by 2". Dig a hole to fit the frames in a foot deep an place the first frame in it. Put heavy plastic in to line the frame and fill it with clean silica sand or another type if silica can't be used. The sand will drain water and store it for droughts but, wouldn't overflow in heavy rains because the water can escape from the space between the 2 frames. Then place the second frame in and fill it with a 1 part peat one part sand mix. Will this be good, I thought peat would be a little to acidic.

I am not sure if it would be best to make the bog before or after winter though. If I make it now my mom probably wont change her mind about the plants.

Welcome to a great forum!

Enjoy!

Welcome to the slipper orchid forum...good strategy...looks like you have already done your research:cool:

Sounds like you are off to a good start! Nice list and let us know what you end up with.

Welcome to the forum!

wow nice list of plants!!! post pix of your plants.

Joey,

Good for you getting started so early - that'll give you more time to grow them. I was lucky enough to be interested at your age too, though honestly I don't have much to show for it these days! Oh well, onto your questions...

You should be able to grow Cyps well in your climate. I suggest reginae, any parviflorum variety, and kentuckiense to start since they are pretty "easy" to grow. Of these, reginae needs the most sun to be happy - around 3-4 hours early in the day is best, and then bright shade during the hottest hours. Any of the parviflorum varieties need more shade, but not deep shade - dabbled sun is fine, but a north wall with no overhead trees and no midday sun is even better. Ditto on kentuckiense. I strongly recommend NOT planting under maples due to their aggressive roots - believe me it will only cause you pain in the end.

The planting medium need not be wet, in fact this encourages pathogens - fungi and bacteria. The "Holman bog" you mention has worked well for some species, but is a real danger to others such as parviflorum v. pubescens and kentuckiense. Here are the key requirements for the substrate:

1. Even moisture year round, a bit more in summer is OK, but no stagnant moisture.
2. As Dr. Bill Steele says, "think fluffy" when selecting a mix - lots of air spaces between particles.
3. Not too much organic material, especially the kind that breaks down quickly (humus, rotten wood, peat moss, potting soil, etc.).

So, the "perfect" mix would be around 70-80% inorganic based to 20-30% organic. Coarse perlite, "turface", fine grain pumice, various coarse gravels, and the like work well for the inorganic component. The organic part is more tricky - coarse woodland loams have been suggested, but these can cause problems in large quantities. Coir, a material taken from coconut husks, is a good choice because it is slow to break down and retains moisture. The truth is that many growers these days skip the organic part completely and supplement nutrients via fertilizer.

To get more ideas see these suggestions at Ron Burch's site (http://www.gardensatposthill.com/website/Cypripedium%20overview.htm). You can also buy plants through him and he can give you more suggestions.

Good luck! Tom

wow nice list of plants!!! post pix of your plants.

I believe you misunderstood me. The list of plants are the ones I believe can live in my state. I was asking if the list was accurate. I plan to buy an adult C. reginae first.

Thank you tom the information and the site. It will be a big help.

You should not have any problem growing the plants you listed where you live. Try the easier ones first which Tom had suggested.