There's very little point in allowing the plants to produce seed pods, since the odds of getting volunteers in the garden are infinitessimal and they've only really been successfully artificially germinated using flasking techniques under lab conditions. Producing and ripening seeds uses a lot of energy that the plant could conserve and use toward building up the strength to flower in subsequent years. So, I'd suggest removing the seedpods before they develop... but I know it's tempting to leave 'em!

Various species of orchids are among the most common native plants in some of our local ecosystems. Calypsos by the billions (not millions) and various cypripediums as far as the eye can see. I applaud a posting above that dismisses the hyseria about 'orchids' as endangered, etc. there are 'specific' plants protected in some regions but not 'orchids' everywhere. Some lady slippers are among the easiest of native plants to grow. Some are more difficult. This however is often dependent on the ecology of where one lives...no different than trying to grow any plant. I can transplant a yellow slipper from one area of the garden to another and it doesn't even hiccup. If I try the same with a non native (to our area) slipper such as Cypripedium regina it will take a year to recover....if ever.

Hi terrestrial man! I don't think drainage is the problem, it's in the best area of our property soil-wise, 20 years of leaf mold. I think the real problem with my formosanum is that they were smallish to begin with. I do grow about 5 or 6 species of trilliums, and doesn't C. reginae need more chill than formosanum? We get in the mid to upper teens in winter, and about 90 nights below freezing every winter (I'm in a cold spot), plus our nights are in the low 50s or below year-round. Anyway, I love these terrestrial orchids, and would love to get some of the California natives going here, there's a Cal-native ladyslipper native to the county I live in (Sonoma). But, I've never found any sources for any of the California ones. --Ron

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