Cypripedium Otto - Lady Slipper Orchid

Cypripedium 'Otto' is a hybrid Lady's Slipper close to Cypripedium calceolus, but much easier to grow. It offers fairly large flowers with a swollen golden yellow lip, tinged with red on the inside, topped with twisted brown-red sepals, marked with yellow-green at the base. It is vigorous and thrives in partial shade in rich, well-drained, slightly moist soil and readily forms beautiful clumps where it is happy.

Cypripedium 'Otto' belongs to the orchid family. It is a hybrid of Cypripedium calceolus and Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens. Its first parent is the most well-known species in Europe, still present in a few rare locations in the French Alps. Its second parent is American, very common in most of the United States, Canada, and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.

Cypripedium 'Otto' has a perennial sucker-forming rootstock. Its thick underground rhizome elongates and divides over the years, allowing the plant to spread in colonies. Its roots penetrate deeply into the soil. They are mycorrhizal, meaning they live in symbiosis with specific fungi. The deciduous vegetation is absent in winter and emerges from the ground between April and May. This Cypripedium forms small clumps of 2 to 6 leafy stems reaching about 45 cm high. Each hairy stem bears 3 to 5 light green, broadly ovate leaves, sheathing at the base, marked by strong parallel veins and slightly hairy on the underside. Flowering takes place around May, earlier or later depending on the climate and the year. Each individual produces only one or two flowers, in the axils of bracts. Each flower, which can measure up to 10 cm wide, consists of 3 sepals and 3 petals. These tepals are elongated, tapered, lanceolate in shape and slightly twisted. Their colour varies between brown-red and amber. The swollen lip, in the shape of a 'slipper', is golden yellow with red spots on the inside. The fruit is a capsule that can persist on the plant for a year.

Cypripedium 'Otto' is a perfectly hardy variety that multiplies rapidly both in pots and in the garden as long as the conditions are suitable. It thrives in forest edges, preferring light soil that retains some moisture without being waterlogged. Plant it somewhere with not too intense shade, in a moist rockery, an ideal habitat that allows it to thrive and decorate your garden with its unique presence. Accompany it with a simple fern like Polypodium vulgare along with the flowering of Trilliums and Lamium orvala. It also thrives in containers and unheated greenhouses. It is a plant that dislikes heat, drought, and strong winds.

When you receive your orchids, handle them with care: these plants produce few roots and are delicate!