"Worth all one's pocket money," writes Graham Thomas, in
his classic reference book Perennial Garden Plants, about this American lady's slipper orchid. It is certainly
expensive, and when for its first two years mine sat there looking pallid and pathetic, I did get a little
agitated. But year three it perked up and produced a flower.
I grow it in fibrous acid soil in part shade. Expert William Cullina of the New England Wildflower Society
summarises its needs as "adequate sunlight, moisture, and a well-aerated organic soil with adequate fertility".
So, there you have it. Z3