SHOWY LADYSLIPPERS
Cypripedium reginae
In the last decade, Showy Ladyslippers have risen to the top of our list of spectacular and easy-to-grow plants. Until recently, gardeners believed that “showies” were nearly impossible to propagate and that their cultivation was best left to the orchid experts. All these misconceptions have been swept away and we now know that these wonderful plants are among the easiest and most rewarding subjects for the woodland and perennial garden.
We now have propagation beds with hundreds of blooming size plants and we have large clumps established in our gardens, from five to twenty years old. We are thrilled that volunteer seedlings have begun to appear in the beds and in the gardens.
We invite you to see our Showy Ladyslippers at their peak in mid- June.
Cady’s Falls Nursery
Don & Lela Avery
637 Duhamel Rd. Morrisville, Vt. 05661
802-888-5559 avery@vtusa.net
Cypripedium reginae forma albolabium,
the pure white form
Cypripedium reginae, an old established clump
PROPAGATING LADYSLIPPERS
by simple division
The last fifteen years, has seen a major breakthrough in the laboratory propagation of Cypripedium from seed. The availability of large quantities of vigorous seedlings has allowed us to build up stock in our beds and has finally made it possible for us to propagate our ladyslippers by simple division. Seedlings require four to five years to reach flowering size and it takes another two or three years before they are large enough to be divided. After that, a one eye division planted back in the ground, can be divided in another three to four years. This is essentially the same schedule we use for propagating peonies. The plants we sell generally have two strong shoots and generally produce four flowers the first year. We divide our ladyslippers in the fall or spring and we sell them in pots at the nursery.
Sorry, but we are not set up to ship plants at this time.
Cypripedium reginae, three year old
clumps freshly dug from the beds and ready to be divided.
Cypripedium reginae, old garden clumps with dense shallow root mass exposed and ready to be lifted, separated and replanted. It is possible to move large dormant clumps without damaging the roots.
Cypripedium reginae
in pots for sale at the nursery
Blooming plants in the propagation beds, to be dug the next spring.
By early summer, the buds for next year’s growth have been set.
“Showies” in mid-June
RD
