Pink Lady's Slipper

[Nature25]

I was out hiking with my husband this past spring in the woods and I came across a cluster of these beautiful pink flowers that looked like orchids. I had never seen them before so I took a picture of them and when I got home I showed it to my mom. She told me that they are called lady's slipper orchids and that are endangered. They are just so beautiful and I really would like to add them to my garden collection. Does anyone know if you can purchase these?

 

[DancingLady]

I have never heard of them myself. You might want to look online and see if anyone is selling them for gardening. Something like that may be very rare and hard to find in a nursery.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

They are very rare. I know an area that has one, a yellow one. I'm not expecting them to be purchasable considering their rarity, but you never know.

 

[Nature25]

They are very rare. I know an area that has one, a yellow one. I'm not expecting them to be purchasable considering their rarity, but you never know.

I have never seen a yellow one, I bet that it is absolutely beautiful! The only one that I have seen are pink ones and I wish that I could find them somewhere. Maybe I will have to do some internet searching and see if someone sells them somewhere.

 

[LIcenter]

Mother Nature has a lock on these gorgeous orchids. You can't buy them, collect seeds, or transplant them. If you touch them, they will die very quickly. Pink is the most common, but there are many different varieties, shapes, and colors out there. They like to grow in the understory of not too dense trees, Preferably in pine mulch. I know of a few spots in my area where they grow, but they have a very short life cycle, so you gotta be on your toes. Also they will not grow back in the exact spot they were in last, but do stay in the general vicinity.

 

[LIcenter]

Mother Nature has a lock on these gorgeous orchids. You can't buy them, collect seeds, or transplant them. If you touch them, they will die very quickly. Pink is the most common, but there are many different varieties, shapes, and colors out there. They like to grow in the understory of not too dense trees, Preferably in pine mulch. I know of a few spots in my area where they grow, but they have a very short life cycle, so you gotta be on your toes. Also they will not grow back in the exact spot they were in last, but do stay in the general vicinity.

I stand corrected! It looks as if you can now buy them. $220.00 (american) for ten stalks! Here's a link to the many different types.

https://www.google.com/search?q=wil...=jd_PVLGKCMKegwTar4HYAw&ved=0CFMQ7Ak&dpr=1.75

 

[Owdboggy]

I presume you mean Cypripedium species.
Here are some from Plant shows in Britain

Cypripedium fasciculatum

Cypripedium kentuckiense

C. Axel'
I have more pictures if people are interested.
Sadly none of the plants are mine. they are beyond my purse and expertise.

 

[Jewell]

I was out hiking with my husband this past spring in the woods and I came across a cluster of these beautiful pink flowers that looked like orchids. I had never seen them before so I took a picture of them and when I got home I showed it to my mom. She told me that they are called lady's slipper orchids and that are endangered. They are just so beautiful and I really would like to add them to my garden collection. Does anyone know if you can purchase these?

You may definitely purchase but like mention you better have deep pockets and expertise with terrestrial orchids. The ones I have seen for sale were small plants around $150 or more. They are costly and time consuming to start. You also have to be careful of slugs and snails. For some if you break off the flower you may have killed the plant.

There are house plants, the lady slipper orchids paphiopedilum that are fairly easy to grow. Here are photos of mine

. There is also a yellow one but I wasn't able to keep it alive.

For out side start with the Chinese ground orchid. Not nearly as fussy and kind of pretty. They are also priced reasonably. I give some away to friends every few years because they have to be divided occasionally to keep them blooming profusely.

Here's a patch of them next to the fish pond. The flowers look lovely in a bud vase.

 

[BotanicalBoi]

They can be purchased locally (here in Ga.) and I have occasionally need them in a garden catalog or two. I can not remember the name right off but there is a company located in Charlotte, Vermont that used to have reasonable prices. I purchased one at a Master Gardeners Plant sale one year. Sadly, it only lived that year.

 

[BotanicalBoi]

PS: I found the link! Sorry for the separate post. http://www.vermontwildflowerfarm.com/

 

[Fernsdaddy]

PS: I found the link! Sorry for the separate post. http://www.vermontwildflowerfarm.com/

I've use them before, They stand behind what they sell.
I have a pink lady slipper in my shade garden, that hasn't bloomed in over 3 years but I don't want to move it just in case it wants to bloom next spring.

 

[BotanicalBoi]

They are a god company. Never had even one complaint about them.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Over the years I have seen them sold, but they are pricey. Have not noticed in a while. Only seen in high end nursery catalogs.

 

[Troy]

The 'Lady's Slippers' Owdboggy posted Cypripedium whereas those top 2 images posted by Jewell are Paphiopedilum, often called the same thing but from a different genus. There are also Phragmipedium which look similar but are again different. Paphs are most likely expensive in the US and Europe as they are mainly from south east Asia. If you are going to get one look for the non variegated leaves as they come from cooler habitats and will tolerate fairly low winter temps. The variegated leaved Paphs are hard core tropicals from Borneo, Sumatra, etc and like it hot all year round so will likely need special care unless you are in the tropics.

 

[Buggs81]

I have never heard of those flowers before. They are sure beautiful! Does anyone know what zones they will grow in? Do they tolerate extreme summer heat? Thanks.