Ladyslippers

One of the special features of our farm is a narrow strip of pine woods occupied by hundreds (perhaps thousands) of pink ladyslipper orchids. These extravagantly beautiful orchids bloom in late April/early May; ours seem to be on the increase, though they are still considered rare.

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Pink ladyslippers require a very specialized environment. They grow in sterile, acid soil and require the presence of a specific mycorrhizal fungus to survive. As a result, pink ladyslippers collected from the wild and transplanted into a garden will slowly languish and eventually die. Besides being unrewarding long-term, collecting this species from the wild harms native populations and should be avoided. If you wish to incorporate pink ladyslippers into your garden environment, buy them only from nurseries that propagate their plants.

Our rocky Virginia mountainsides are challenging to hike, but worth it: on a recent walk to the top of Bessie Bell Mountain behind our farm, we discovered another native Virginia orchid...a small beauty called a Showy Orchid and also saw a wild azalea in full bloom, just dripping with delicate pink and white blossoms.