Subject: lady slippers

From: [email-masked] (Suzanne Daurio)
Date: 7 Mar 95 12:49:59 GMT

I'm looking for some lady slippers seeds/plants.  I've checked
everywhere (well it sure seems like it anyway) locally and can't
seem to find them.  My three year old has an ABC book with a flower
for each letter.  She fell in lover with the lady slippers and we've
been trying ever since to find something.  If you know of somewhere
that I can contact, I'd appreciate it.

I've also checked a few seed catalogs that I have, and still can't
find them!

Thanks!
Sue and Amy

-- 
Sue Daurio
[email-masked]

---

From: [email-masked]
Date: 7 Mar 95 09:15:30 -0600

> I've also checked a few seed catalogs that I have, and still can't

Ladyslippers are orchids, and as such, generally not too happy with
being hauled about and plunked down in a garden like a rosebush or
a petunia.  You may find some packaged Cypripedium acaule (pink
ladyslippers) for sale  in nurseries, and I urge you not to buy them.
Most have been taken from wild populations, and this contributes to the
decline of ladyslippers throughout the world (there are many species,
and I work with naturally occuring hybrids between yellow and
white ladyslippers, C. pubescens and C. candidum.)

Instead, consider popping over to rec.gardens.orchids and asking
about "Paphiopedilum hybrids for beginners".  Paphiopedilum is
a tropical orchid genus that looks very much like Cypripedium, and
is often called a tropical ladyslipper.  They grow quite nicely
in a windowsill, and they can be purchased as full grown plants, 
almost ready to bloom, for about $20-30 by mail order.  If you
describe the picture of the ladyslipper in the picture book, I'll
try to figure out the species illustrated, and then you can ask
r.g.o if there's a similar-looking "paph". The information I
need is the color of the pouch and the color of the rest of the
petals, and the apparent height of the plant or number of leaves.
(If you can't tell height and leaf number, the flower color 
should be enough to help satisfy Amy).

Best wishes,

Kay Klier  [email-masked]

(BTW, one of my favorite series of ladyslipper drawings are the
ones Carl Luer tucked into his book on North American orchids...
I especially like the "ladysneaker" high-top!

---

From: James Michael Kocher <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 8 Mar 1995 10:29:15 -0500

Apart from being taken from wild populations, many need the wild
loaction, specifically a naturally ocurring companion fungus in the
soil, to grow.  Which is why many Ladyslippers only survive for a year
or two in home gardens - the fungus is not present there.

---

From: gmarlow@PROBLEM_WITH_INEWS_GATEWAY_FILE (Grant W. Marlow)
Date: 7 Mar 1995 20:27:10 GMT

> I'm looking for some lady slippers seeds/plants.  I've checked

US native lady slippers are in the Cypripedium family.  They can't be grown
inside and are not easily naturalized outside.  There is a company
called Spangle Creek Labs that can provide plants and is one of the
few (if not the only) people that have figured ou the recipe for their
propagation.

There are a lot of exotic lady slippers that can be grown inside on the
windowsill with most from the Paphiopedilum family.

This should give you a couple names to start with.  Good luck

---

From: [email-masked] (Janine Dahms Walker)
Date: 9 Mar 1995 01:42:49 GMT

Grant- do you have an address for Spangle Creek?  Janine