Yes they do have seeds. Little elongated pods form on some of the plants on the flower stem. The seeds are very small but just pick the whole pod. Since they are perenials I'm sure they have to be stratified before seeding. I have 100's of them growing along the RR tracks and just dug up a couple clumps some years back and they are doing great.

Orchid seed is difficult to germinate since the seeds don't contain cotyledons (a built-in source of food) that all other seeds contain. The seed needs to come in contact with a beneficial fungus that provides nutrition for the developing seedling.

You cannot plant the seeds on the surface of a planting medium and get germination. I would recommend going to an orchid nursery (tropical orchids) in your area and they can germinate the seeds for you (for a charge or for some of the seedlings).
Good luck,
Mike

Lady Slippers are orchids and as such need a symbiotic relationship with a specific mycorrhizum. Besides this, they take a long time to germinate. It takes many years to get a blooming plant from seed.
To answer your question. The seed pods are very obvious and filled with tiny, tiny seeds. At this time of the year the seeds may already have dispersed and the pods may be empty.
We too have hundreds (maybe thousands?) of yellow lady slippers on our land. I have never picked seeds, etc since they seem to do a fine job of multiplying on their own! The Showy Lady Slipper is a different story. Deer munch off the flower heads and should they miss one they get the seed pod later. Makes me crazy! So we do protect some of the Showy's from deer munching in an attempt to give them a chance of reseeding.
One last thing. There is a law that protects native orchids in some states, so a nursery may not be able to accept seeds picked from native plants. However, as Greenthumb says, you should check. There may be some sort of permitting process for the nursery that gives them some leeway while protecting the native orchids.

thanks all for your responses. I think I will just leave my slippers alone and since they are mulitplying well on their own.

Daliah,
Like you, we found some native lady slippers on a new property in the spring of 2002. Being a gardener, I wanted to grow them in my gardens, and enquired about them at our Museum of Natural History in Halifax.
We discovered that they are on the endangered list. Furthermore, if moved, they will do well for a couple of years, but then wither away. They also take 7 years from seed germination to bloom.
Since then we have treasured this area and have 'marked' it so no one will walk there, and not alter the area. Ours are pink and white, and we were happy to see the numbers climb this spring from 7 flowering plants to over a dozen.
You've made a good choice! And I know we have as well!! :)
Nicole.

I just came across your posting, and although you've made the best choice,if you wish to find out more re: Cyps, the Orchid flasking group meets at the R.B.G. Burlington, On. a very interesting group. Rai

We've never had lady slippers that i've seen right on our property, but years ago, there used to be some up the road. My son, then 3, picked some before i could stop him. Between him and the deer that frequent our area, could that be why we don't see lady slippers anymore?

There used to be a nursery here that sold them. Maybe 18 years ago I bought a plant and it did great. Then we moved over the winter so I couldn't dig up plants to take with me. Later the new home owners put up a fence right where these yellow lady slippers grew. I want another plant so bad but you can't buy them any more. I'm so bummed!

I would love one too. You'd have to take some of the moss/dirt they are growing in for them too. And develop a good bacteria growth, that they need, in your own bed or pot. I've never seen one in the wild but would love to! I keep my eyes open in the bush.

More and more nurseries are propagating and selling their own lady slipper orchids (for a premium price). I have a small clump in my garden that was bought through such a place. I've seen some offered through mail-order, so it just takes some researching. When buying lady slipper orchids, make sure it's from a reputable dealer...someone who has not just dug the plants from the wild.

Yes, do a google search. They are sold be several nurseries. I think White Flower Farm sells the terrestial orchids.

The Yellow Lady slipper is not uncommon in Minnesota. In fact, in the right locations they will grow by the hundreds, even thousands. We are fortunate to have our wooded acreage populated with them. A delight! No, I am not advocating digging them from the wild or otherwise reducing their numbers in the wild! But....I think their presence varies from area to area. In our case, they are growing in a bottomland hardwood forest. They are not on an endangered list in Minnesota.
Marciaz3. Your son picking the blooms one time had nothing to do with their "disappearance." More probably they disappeared because the area they were in changed (even slightly) and they could not compete with the other vegetation. Deer might have had something to do with it since they are merciless on the plants, eating the flower heads and if they miss the flower heads they get the seed pods later. Or perhaps some yo-yo dug them up if they were growing by a public roadway. Happens here all the time. Bummer.
Jan

I have a neighbor that has a bunch of yellow ones, any information on transplanting, or how to get the fungi in my soil?

There is a company in Ottawa selling yellows and pinks from seed.

Lady slippers need a specific bacteria in the soil and are difficult to transplant unless they come with th original soil. Once they are planted...do not move again until well established. Although they are protected in many areas they still grow profusely in many areas. Seeds will not be successful as you will not have the soil requirements they need. I would love to trade a clump of something I have for lady slippers and reintroduce them to the forest where I am.

I have pink ladyslippers growing wild in the woods in my backyard. I have been clearing some overgrown dying trees to encourage the plants to multiply. I am wondering if yellow and pink ladyslippers ever coexist?

This is an interesting thread. Thanks!

This old post has stayed alive!

I thought I'd comment to clear up a common myth: lady slippers do not need a mycorhizal fungus to survive. In nature, they require a symbiotic/parasitic relationship with a fungus to germinate and develop their first growth bud. After they spring out of the earth 3 years or so after their seed was dropped, they become photosynthetic, and no longer needing those fungi they expell them in some cases; however, often they stay *Partially* parasitic on these fungi which reside inside thier root systems mostly (so no need for transplantation of their soil). There are genera that stay entirely mycotrophic for their lifetime such as Corallorhiza, and Cephalanthera austiniae since they have no clorophyll.

We are sure of this information because we grow these plants from seed in sterile jars on a sugar medium, and then transplant them into media, sometimes thousands of miles from their native habitats and native soil fungi. They grow fine this way; and Wendy Lee, you are correct that they don't like to have their roots disturbed during the growing season.

As for endangerment, only a handful of the genus's 45 or so members is considered threatened, and only a few are considered endangered, certainly not Cypripedium parviflorum varieties nor Cyp acaule. That absolutely doesn't mean that it's a good idea to go dig them up!

Species coexisting, absolutely! Many species of Cypripedium can co-habitate regions of suitable climate since they have similar growth requirements, at least within a few hundred yards!

As for retail, here's a list of seed prop sources:

http://www.uslink.net/~scl/

http://www.hillsidenursery.biz/

http://asiaticanursery.com/index.php/cPath/17osCsid=b32c4ea8dc7d74a5fc8974f9469d1c8c

http://www.thimblefarms.com/98orchidtf.html

http://www.c-we.com/cyp.haven/

http://www.orchidmix.com/cyps.htm

http://www.vtladyslipper.com/

http://www.infonet.ca/cypr/engl.htm?

Best Regards,
Ross

Hi to All. I just came across this thread on LADY'S SLIPPERS and had to let everyone know that DOMINION SEED HOUSE - SPRING 2005'S CATALOGUE on page 96 has an assortment of NATIVE PLANTS advertised. Namely: Cypripedium parviflorum (Large Yellow) $54.99. Cypripedium Reginae (Pink & White picture) $44.99. Cypripedium Montanum (White) $64.99. any a few more. When I lived in the country I had the Pink/white and it was absolutely beautiful. When we decided to move back to the City, I dug it up and planted it in my back yard and the following summer it came up but with no flowers. This Spring/Summer 2005 I don't see anything at all. What a shame.

please detail how to grow plants from seed in sterile jars on a sugar medium :)