Saturday, May 13, 2006
Speaking Of Orchids...
The showy orchis is not the only native orchid blooming right now; the large flowered yellow ladyslipper, Cypripedium parviflorum v. pubescens, is in full bloom right now. Its pouch is bright yellow with interior brown spots, and the lateral sepals are yellowish brown, and often twisted (the sepals are shown better in the picture below). It is one of the easiest, and perhaps the most vigorous, of the ladyslipper orchids. It just about doubles every year, and I've gradually over the years, divided it into about fifteen colonies, but it is difficult to divide, as its roots are very fragile, and spread out in an extensive network just under the surface, so it is easy to damage the roots when transplanting, and this may kill the orchid. I finally hit on the idea of lifting up the whole area with a flat shovel, then gently washing away the dirt with a hose, but I only divide it when I have to. If I was a brighter, more disciplined gardener, I'd give each ladyslipper a lot more room to expand, so it didn't need to be divided for many years. I've never been an elitist type of gardener, and have given away tons of plants over the years, but if you want to hear me snort, just suggest to me (which a number of people have), that I pot up half a dozen or so of the ladyslippers and bring them to this or that plant exchange, to trade for some beebalm or what have you. The next time I will be dividing a yellow ladyslipper will be in 2010!
// posted by IBOY @ 7:11 PM 
