Lady's Slipper.

Don't move it. It is obviously happy where it is. :)

FataMorgana

EEK! Thanks, nel5397 and FataMorgana! I won't move it - it will be cherished. I hope it doesn't languish without the grape vines and briars and poison ivy it was surrounded with.

The line of brush in the background is what the plant was growing in.

Claire (about to research how to keep Lady's Slippers happy)

Cypripedium acaule, to be specific. They tend to do better when brush is cleared or trees are thinned and they have more light.

Thanks, macranthos. The area is surrounded by tall oaks mostly with wild viburnums interspersed. An opening appeared when some old trees died and fell. My reason for clearing it was to find a place to put a Norway Spruce seedling that sprouted by my deck (a terrible place for a Norway Spruce to grow). It will be years before the spruce gives much shade but the viburnums will probably thrive now that I've pulled the vines off them.

Do you think this will be a suitable environment? White Wood Asters usually take over any unoccupied space here. I'm trying to think of suitable plants to accompany the Lady's Slipper.

Claire

As long as you can keep some dappled light on the plants, they'll be ok. Companion plants will compete for light, so I wouldn't recommend any. However, if the spruce isn't blocking any light and the viburnums and oaks are kept thin and high then some little native things look good: trilliums, arisaema, violets, hepatica, asarum, clintonia, erythronium, hydrastis, mediola, and other orchids like goodyera. These won't compete terribly. Head to your local native plant nursery to look around.

Thanks, macranthos - right now I'll sit back and keep an eye on the light at different times of the day. I'm a little worried that there will be too much sun but I can easily provide some shade if necessary. I've been looking for a good excuse to visit the New England Wild Flower Society's Garden in the Woods.

Canada mayflower does well here and I can easily transplant a few square feet of it if that's suitable. Unoccupied ground will be colonized by something and I'd rather it not be grapes and briars and poison ivy.

Claire

Here's a link to some information on lady slipper orchids. Never move these. They choose the spot that suits them and often die if moved. Enjoy:)

Forgot link...http://www.plantdelights.com/Article/Cypripedium-Lady-Slipper-Orchids

FYI, there are several errors in this "fact" sheet. Nothing major but don't read too much into it.

Thanks, callirhoe23 for the link. I've bookmarked it. Dry, sandy, acidic soils in pine/hardwood forests is what I have so that's good.

macranthos: Should I start a new post on the Orchids Forum or just keep asking questions here? My questions so far are:

1. If the roots are actually spread out on the surface I'd like to know about how far outward they go (I hope I didn't disturb them when I ripped out the poison ivy roots that were surrounding the orchid). I assume I need to leave the leaf litter around it (I do that anyway in the garden).

2. Will added irrigation upset the orchid since I want to plant a few other things nearby. Right now, the area only gets natural rainfall plus whatever the town sprays around when they flush the hydrants once or twice a year.

3. Does the orchid completely disappear over the winter or are the leaves visible in some form? I'll want to mark the location if the plant disappears.

4. What is the correct common name? I see Lady's-slipper, Ladyslipper and Lady Slipper.

5. Does compost help or hurt? I usually add compost and fallen oak leaves to most of the garden in the fall. My inclination is to just leave the leaf litter since that's what it's been living in.

Claire

Ah, macranthos, I've found a font of Cypripedium knowledge! (When I saw there is a Cypripedium macranthos I suspected you were an enthusiast).

With that wide a spread of roots I probably did disturb them when I pulled the poison ivy roots. There was a network of P.I. roots right around there. Maybe I should water the plant a bit to help it recover/regenerate the roots - it's been unusually hot and droughty here with no rain in sight.

My compost pile is cold and fungally dominant, with a lot of paper and cardboard spiked with household scraps and used coffee grounds. It doesn't really attract critters but I think I'll forego adding it to the ladyslipper. The surrounding oaks will provide plenty of leaves without me having to do anything and there will also be leaves from the viburnums and vine piles.

I won't plant anything new until it gets cooler and we get some rain, so I think I'm going to go out right now with a watering can to lightly douse the root zone of the ladyslipper.

Thanks again,

Claire

edit note: I just sprinkled a full can of water on the ladyslipper and the root zone out about 2 feet radius, and I swear the plant smiled at me. I'll wait a few days and then repeat (the surrounding vegetation will suck up whatever water it can reach).

For when you do need to dig nearby, note that all cypripedium have a very earthy scent to them when bruised or injured (and even when not if you sniff them closely enough). So you can smell if you're breaking roots before you see it probably.

Good tip, macranthos, thanks. My planting plan is evolving and I'm moving more towards keeping the area natural and invisible to passersby. I don't want someone coming by, walking in, and "collecting" the ladyslipper(s). My contribution will probably be mostly just making sure the vines don't come back with an occasional "plant wellness" check.

I still do intend to plant the Norway spruce there and maybe a screen of the pathway.

Claire

Just to follow up, the ladyslipper is blooming!

Cypripedium acaule, AKA Pink Ladyslipper

That's a small poison ivy plant there on the left - I'll probably remove it and a few others very carefully after the ladyslipper has stopped blooming. I don't want to mess with the roots right now (but I don't want to have poison ivy overrunning the area again).

Claire

Thanks for the update, Claire. Aren't they a lovely surprise! when I checked a couple of patches two weeks ago, they were just skinny cigars of rolled leaves. I'll have to check again this weekend. With a pair of them blooming, watch for seedlings, which look a lot like nonblooming Canada mayflowers. Takes 5+ years before you see blooms. My leaves often last much to all of the summer.

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing!