Re: [SG] Corydalis and Cyprepedium

>White Flower Farm is selling a "trade"-produced Cypripedium this spring, at
>a cost of $60.00 (?!) per bare-root plant.

These were undoubtedly produced by Spangle Creek (?) Orchids, the outfit
someone referred to as being in Washington state.  They have recently moved
their operation to Minnesota.  I do not have the url of their website here
with me, but it could be easily found by searching on the name.  They have
numbers of cypripediums available.

As I recall, their prices were a LOT lower than $60.  But then, White
Flower Farm has to raise a lot of money to pay off that toney catalog!

I have a plant of yellow ladyslipper purchased from a small nursery in NC
(name now forgotten) which propagated them, albeit slowly, from natural
increase.  The plant returns faithfully each year and now has 3-4 flowering
stems.

Several times I have tried to rescue C. acaule, the pink ladyslipper (very
common hereabouts in scrubby second-growth pine woods), but with little
success, even taking very large amounts of soil along.  I suspect that they
or their companion fungi are very sensitive to certain soil conditions.
They seem to be pioneer plants here, disappearing as the forest canopy
grows more dense.  The biggest clumps and best plants I have seen are in
nearly full sun in recently cut-over pine woods!

Bletilla is a very successful garden plant here.  Available from many bulb
dealers at a reasonable price--shop around, there are some ripoff artists
out there, usually with luxurious color catalogs to support.  There's also
a white variety which looks just like a miniature white cattleya.  Calanthe
discolor, a Japanese species, is also useful. Among natives, Tipularia
discolor seems to transplant easily.  It has tiny miniature brown and green
orchids on an 8" stem, followed by pleated green and violet foliage that
persists over winter.

In mild climates you might try Pleiones, which work like bulbs.  I have
these in pots, but because of the expense have been reluctant to put them
outside, though they should be hardy here.  They bloom in pots in February
and March, after spending the winter on a cold back porch.  The flowers
precede the foliage and are spectacular, up to 4" in diameter on a short
stalks.  The "bulbs" (actually pseudobulbs) multiply quite well.

Pleiones, Calanthes and Bletillas are available from Red's Rhodies in Oregon.

Bill Shear
Department of Biology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney VA 23943
(804)223-6172
FAX (804)223-6374
email<bills@hsc.edu>
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