Which part of the country will you be visiting? Two days is not much time to get in the woods and search for orchids. Unless you are at higher elevations, you may miss the flowers - they are so fleeting.

Rx

Thanks Marty,

I will be in Denver - however, I couly fly wherever you send me... I find the North West very appealing.

Uli

Uli,

Actually the northwestern USA isn't the best place to find Cyps in the wild. They are around but confined to just a few species: C. parviflorum (two varieties, but uncommon in the NW), C. fasciculatum (very rare, hard to find, and not showy), C. californicum (wonderful, but only locally abundant in a few counties of northern California and Oregon), and C. montanum (showy, widespread distribution, difficult to find).

Your best bet is to contact someone who knows actual colonies of plants and the times they bloom. C. californicum and C. montanum are the most showy of them, but finding them without definite information will be difficult. As mentioned by Treedoc, elevation is an important consideration with bloom times. Colonies at high elevation can bloom up to a month later than ones at lower elevations!

Another beauty you may find is Calypso bulbosa. Good luck in your search. PF

Mid June is the time to see Cyp. reginae here in the Cleveland OHio area. Most of the other Natives in this area have already bloomed. There is a great place Gott Fen for the Showy Slippers, a nice colony on a preserve.

Here's a place in Wisconsin that may be of interest to you:

Here is a link that might be useful: Ridges Sanctuary

Hi Uli,
I live in Oregon in the Portland area, but I'm new to a lot of the region this year. Unfortunately, the only C. montanum colony I know of is winding down by mid june and the flowers look less than perfect at this time. I will be in search of C californicum this year, but still don't know exactly where. The parviflorum varieties are much harder to find here, apparently. I've heard that the Blue Mountains in Eastern Washington/Western Idaho are a nice place to see Cyps, but again, they may be nearly finished by mid June.

One thing I have seen in full display in late June is Calypso in the Rockies just northwest of Denver @ 10,000ft.

Of course, there are various Platanthera/Piperia species flowering at that time, though I don't know how interested you are in these.

Perhaps it would be useful to contact some of the native plant societies here and ask them about orchid walks at that time. There are populations of Cyps at higher elevations than those that I know.

Best,
Ross

Thanks for some really good hints! Please keep suggesting - thanks a lot, Uli

Most native Orchids are threatened or endangered and should not be collected in the wild. Seed of many will germinate in live sphagnum; but the seedlings will need to be fed a diluted Orchid fertilizer without Urea nitrogen, such as Urea Free 20-10-20 by Grow More of Gardena, CA.

Many of the NA natives are offered by reputable growers like Arrowhead Alpines and Fraiser's Thimble Farm Nursery

Here is a link that might be useful: Thimble Farm

There is a large colony of Calypso Bulbosa on the hill behind College of Marin in San Rafael, CA a suburb about 25 mi N. of San Francisco. The largest diversity of North American Native Orchids is found in Labrador, New Foundland, and Prince Edward Island in Canada. Thimble Farm Nursery in Salt Spring Island, British Columbia has a huge collection of native Cypripedia and many other hardy orchids from all over the world. Another nursery with a large collection of NA natives is Arrowhead Alpines, of Flowerville Michigan.