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Saturday 12 April 2014

CYPRIPEDIUM FORMOSANUM

This Cypripedium formosanum plant is terrestrial.  It's also known as a slipper orchid and was growing in the warmth of the Alpine House of the RHS Gardens at Harlow Carr.  It's got a really delicate colouring and pleated leaves which I find fascinating.  Apparently, it's the easier Cypripedium to grow and although it needs moisture it has to be grown in a well-drained medium.  You can see from the photograph that it is in gritty soil.  One website says it grows the plants in a mixture of river sand and loam.  It's not frost hardy. 








Cypripedium formosanum in Alpine House, RHS Gardens, Harlow Carr, April 2014