Something like Paphiopedilum insigne does better here outside in in a Shade-house or in a shaded spot in the garden than in a glass-house. So it depends a bit on the ancestors where you site your Paph. because some like it warmer than insigne. I think they need a mix that doesn't dry out between waterings, in other words just moist all the time rather than very wet or very dry. Not much help! See if you can find some complete culture notes on the net that are written for NE USA.

Hi terrestrial man! I don't think drainage is the problem, it's in the best area of our property soil-wise, 20 years of leaf mold. I think the real problem with my formosanum is that they were smallish to begin with. I do grow about 5 or 6 species of trilliums, and doesn't C. reginae need more chill than formosanum? We get in the mid to upper teens in winter, and about 90 nights below freezing every winter (I'm in a cold spot), plus our nights are in the low 50s or below year-round. Anyway, I love these terrestrial orchids, and would love to get some of the California natives going here, there's a Cal-native ladyslipper native to the county I live in (Sonoma). But, I've never found any sources for any of the California ones. --Ron

Hi Twiz, You since you mention a 3 ft trail at this spot with the Cyps on the side, could you put a wire cage around/over the plants? This would prevent trampling and pose as an obsticle for path widening. 3ft seems wide enough. Some people use tall chickenwire, & some use thicker cage material, though I'm not sure what. As for laws, as long as they are on your property, you can do anything you like to them... Not that I'm saying go put them in the compost bin, but legally you can. Ethically, it's best to leave them since they seem to like it where they are. As for propagation, they do form new growths if happy enough. cf the link below. They also produce seed, though this species seems to produce seed an average of 10-20% of the time it flowers. Artificial pollination bumps this up to 80-90%. The seeds are the size of a grain of sand and germinate in nature very slowly. It may take 2-5yrs before they show signs of their first leaves, and 6-15yrs (purportedly) to flower. Artificially, we can do better in vitro with seedlings in 1 to 2 yrs and flowering in 3-7yrs. Best, Ross Here is a link that might be useful:

Hey I really like that expression: Guerilla rescue! I really hate the thought of loss of habitat due to human encroachment as I have seen some very cool natural spots turned into dirt and development. If only time was on my side I would have been out digging up some native violets and peonies that were literally stripped off the face of the earth along with an endemic manzanita and ceanothus species! Definitely let it be known about the C. acaule needing rescue! I am glad to hear that kwoods is growing the species. I have tried but did not succeed like I wanted. I attribute this entirely to total ignorance about its growing conditions. I tried for a year to get more detailed info on the kind of substrate the plant was growing in but only succeeded at getting general terminology such as acidic soil! So now I am letting bags of leaves rot and have some old bark that will break up in your hands but in mulling this all over I think that the acid soil idea is not really the definitive factor in raising C. acaule. I think the definitive factor is soil temperature. I am starting to suspect that C. acaule needs a cool substrate in which to grow. Kind of like Darlingtonia californica or even Dendrobium cuthbertsonii. The roots need to be cool. Is there a relationship between soil pH and soil temperature? Eventually I hope to try C. acaule again but from a different perspective and experiment. Oh, I grow the plants in pots as I have to refrigerate over winter because my night temps only get down into the high 30s occasionally. As far as handling the plant I do not really know if it matters whether one is ginger with the plant or not. Now is the time to repot and/or divide up plants. I have a C. kentuckiense and a C. reginae that I just depotted and potted up into a 1-gallon pot. I removed as much as the old mix as possible-it had gotten too mushy for my tastes and think that the debris type mix that I am currently using on most everything will prove to be the best yet. It will be interesting to see how they do with my handling! Whatever is done regarding the threaten cyp please do make a journal with images and observations about the plant and share!! The biggest problem to success with these babies is the conflicting information that is on the net as to how to handle them. Hopefully in due time that will change.