Cypripedium ‘Rita Alba’
Lady Slipper Orchids
Lady Slippers (Cypripedium) are a stunning group of hardy orchids (not tropical orchids). In the shade garden they put on a yearly show that is unmatched - a celebration of spring that often stops one in one's tracks.
There is a wide held belief among gardeners that lady slipper orchids are too difficult to grow and should be left to the experts. There’s no denying that they can be fussy, but with the proper care in planting and site location (as with any perennial you value), Lady Slippers will not only grow, but over time will form large clumps which tend to be very long-lived.
If you’re just starting out, we recommend that you start with a variety that is easier to grow. Often these are our multi-cross hybrids as those have more Hybrid Vigor. We recommend Anna, Michael, Gisela, Kentuckiense x Candidum and Philipp as well as some others. We try to put it in the description of the plant if one is good for beginners.
We start our Lady Slipper orchids from seed we collect from pollinating our stock plants. During pollination, we like to experiment with different crosses to see what we get. A lot of our experimental crosses do not have registered names, but calling the plants by the parentage can sometimes get confusing especially when it’s a quadruple cross, so we’ve given them our own names to honor loved ones or places.
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