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Species library › Cypripedium › Cypripedium arietinum
Orchids Well documented

Cypripedium arietinum

The ram's head lady's slipper, a small, cold-hardy terrestrial orchid of the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence region that needs a real winter. It is notoriously hard to grow: cool, moist, calcium-rich soil under part shade outdoors, never a houseplant.

Cypripedium arietinum
Photo: Pverdonk, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

0–400 m; records 61–250 m.

OntarioQuébecManitobaSaskatchewanNova ScotiaMichiganWisconsinMinnesotaNew YorkVermontNew HampshireMaineMassachusettsConnecticut

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.