I would love to trade for one of your pink lady slippers--let me know if I have anything you want. I also have several irises that aren't on my trade list if you would consider trading for irises. I will e-mail you also. Deb

Congrats! You probably have a number of other lovely, but perhaps slightly less showy wildflowers growing on your land, so keep your eyes peeled as you walk around. Here's a link to the MA list of protected species. Scroll down to pla nts and from there to Orchidaceae. There are several lady slippers listed, but not the one that's all pink, which is most common around here. If due to wanting to build a ho use or other disturbance you want to move some, I've been successful relocating plants on my own land (to remove them from high traffic areas or construction) to other areas that already have lady slippers growing. I dig an area around the pla nt I want to move about the size of a garbage can lid and 6 inches or more deep, and then carefully move it onto a support. I transport it to where it will be growing and remove a plug the same garbage lid size. Insert your pla nt plug, water well and then just leave it to settle in. They appear to need some sort of soil fungus or microbe to grow well, so I never move them to locations that don't already have them growing. Here is a link that might be useful: MA List of Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species

This old post has stayed alive! I thought I'd comment to clear up a common myth: lady slippers do not need a mycorhizal fungus to survive. In nature, they require a symbiotic/parasitic relationship with a fungus to germinate and develop their first growth bud. After they spring out of the earth 3 years or so after their seed was dropped, they become photosynthetic, and no longer needing those fungi they expell them in some cases; however, often they stay *Partially* parasitic on these fungi which reside inside thier root systems mostly (so no need for transplantation of their soil). There are genera that stay entirely mycotrophic for their lifetime such as Corallorhiza, and Cephalanthera austiniae since they have no clorophyll. We are sure of this information because we grow these plants from seed in sterile jars on a sugar medium, and then transplant them into media, sometimes thousands of miles from their native habitats and native soil fungi. They grow fine this way; and Wendy Lee, you are correct that they don't like to have their roots disturbed during the growing season. As for endangerment, only a handful of the genus's 45 or so members is considered threatened, and only a few are considered endangered, certainly not Cypripedium parviflorum varieties nor Cyp acaule. That absolutely doesn't mean that it's a good idea to go dig them up! Species coexisting, absolutely! Many species of Cypripedium can co-habitate regions of suitable climate since they have similar growth requirements, at least within a few hundred yards! As for retail, here's a list of seed prop sources: http://www.uslink.net/~scl/ http://www.hillsidenursery.biz/ http://asiaticanursery.com/index.php/cPath/17osCsid=b32c4ea8dc7d74a5fc8974f9469d1c8c http://www.thimblefarms.com/98orchidtf.html http://www.c-we.com/cyp.haven/ http://www.orchidmix.com/cyps.htm http://www.vtladyslipper.com/ http://www.infonet.ca/cypr/engl.htm? Best Regards, Ross

Daniel, the best place on Gardenweb to look for plants is the Plant Exchange Forum. You might also try the Native Plant Exchange Forum, but it's less active. Also, some of the other forums, like the Hosta Forum, have exchange pages. This Forum is used for discussion. BTW, I noticed the comments on your Member Page. Sounds like way too much drama. Maybe it's none of my business, but if I were you, I'd move those comments to your thread on the Rate & Review Exchanges Forum or just delete them all together. You only have two reviews and your other one is really really good. You could also get others, that you have already traded with, add good comments to your Rate & Review thread. I wouldn't let one rotten egg stink up your reputation.