Showy Lady's Slipper
Cypripedium reginae
Showy Lady's Slipper is a large, slow-growing native orchid prized for its inflated white pouch flushed with rose-pink. It is the state flower of Minnesota and one of the most spectacular wild orchids of North America.
- Light
- Partial shade to dappled sun
- Water
- Consistently moist, well-drained
- Difficulty
- Hard
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Overview
Showy Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium reginae) is a terrestrial orchid native to wet woodlands and fens of northeastern North America. It is among the tallest and showiest of the genus, often called the queen of native orchids.
The flower features a strikingly inflated white pouch (the slipper) brushed with deep rose-pink, framed by pure white petals and sepals. Plants are long-lived but extremely slow to mature, sometimes taking over a decade from seed to first bloom.
It is the official state flower of Minnesota and a protected species across much of its range.
How to identify it
Key recognition features:
- A large, inflated pouch-shaped lip, white heavily suffused with rose-pink to magenta
- Broad, pure white dorsal sepal and lateral petals (not twisted or ribbon-like)
- Hairy, strongly ribbed leaves clasping a stout stem
- Robust stature, typically 40 to 90 cm (16 to 35 in) tall
- Usually one to two flowers per stem, blooming in early to midsummer
Care & growing
A connoisseur's plant that resents disturbance and demands specific conditions.
- Light: Dappled shade to partial sun; protect from hot afternoon light
- Water: Keep soil evenly moist but never stagnant; it favors seeps and fen edges
- Soil: Neutral to slightly alkaline, humus-rich, well-drained loam; tolerates limy soils
- Temperature: Very cold-hardy, USDA zones 2 to 7; needs cold winter dormancy
- Feeding: Minimal; a light topdressing of leaf mold is sufficient
- Propagation: Division of established clumps in dormancy; seed is extremely slow and fungus-dependent
Habitat & origin
Native to northeastern and north-central North America, from eastern Canada through the Great Lakes region and south along the Appalachians.
It grows in calcareous fens, wet meadows, swampy woods, and seepage slopes with cool, moist, often limy soils. In cultivation it is grown only by specialist native-orchid and woodland gardeners.
Frequently asked questions
Why does it take so long to bloom?
Cypripedium orchids grow very slowly and depend on soil fungi early in life. From seed it can take 10 or more years to flower.
Can I transplant one from the wild?
No. It is protected in many states, rarely survives transplanting, and digging wild plants is often illegal. Buy nursery-propagated stock.
Does it need acidic soil like many orchids?
No. It actually prefers neutral to slightly alkaline, often limy, moist soils, unlike bog orchids such as Grass Pink.
How tall does it grow?
It is one of the tallest native lady's slippers, with stout stems typically 40 to 90 cm (16 to 35 in) tall, usually carrying one or two large flowers.
Showy Lady's Slipper guides
In-depth guides for identifying, growing, and caring for Showy Lady's Slipper.
