Sign in Start free
Species library › Cypripedium › Cypripedium calceolus
Orchids Well documented

Cypripedium calceolus

The yellow lady's slipper, a long-lived rhizomatous terrestrial orchid of semi-shaded woodland on moist calcareous soils from Spain to Japan. It needs a genuine cold winter dormancy and is best grown outdoors in a woodland bed, not as a houseplant.

Cypripedium calceolus
Photo: Mg-K ((GFDL)), 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

Open deciduous or mixed woodland, woodland edges and clearings on moist, humus-rich limestone soils, in semi-shade.

Recorded 216–1965 m, median about 1000 m; reported to 2100 m.

FranceSwedenSwitzerlandGermanyFinlandRussiaAustriaNorwaySiberiaMongoliaKoreaJapan

🔒 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

Grow Cypripedium calceolus? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Start free Sign in

More Cypripedium

Cypripedium candidum Cypripedium arietinum Cypripedium acaule Cypripedium parviflorum Cypripedium reginae Cypripedium formosanum Cypripedium macranthos Cypripedium passerinum Cypripedium tibeticum Cypripedium guttatum Cypripedium kentuckiense Cypripedium fasciculatum All 62 →

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.