Cypripedium Sabine - Lady Slipper Orchid

The Cypripedium 'Sabine' is a hybrid that impresses with the size of its flowers, with the labellum the size of a hen's egg. This Lady's Slipper Orchid is a very robust plant that is highly resistant to heat. Its flowers last up to 3 weeks and are ivory-white, washed with green, and more or less widely streaked and washed with purple. To acclimate it to the garden, provide it with a shaded or semi-shaded exposure and a well-aerated, well-drained and humus-bearing soil, slightly acidic, remaining somewhat moist but not waterlogged.

Cypripedium 'Sabine' belongs to the orchid family. It is a hybrid resulting from a cross-breeding of two Chinese species, Cypripedium fasciolatum and Cypripedium macranthos. The first is a species native to the mountainous province of Sichuan in China, where it is very rare. The second is a species found in the undergrowth and fields of Siberia, Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan.

The 'Sabine' Lady's Slipper Orchid develops from a fleshy stump from which light green, oval, elliptical leaves emerge in early spring, measuring 12 cm in length, sessile and embracing, with enormously impressed parallel veins—the stump slightly suckers, allowing it to form beautiful colonies eventually. In late spring, around May or June, the plants produce beautiful hairy flower stems for about three weeks, rising up to 50 cm from the ground. Each stem bears a solitary flower. The flower is formed by slender, twisted sepals and petals, streaked with purple and white, and a sizeable bulging labellum with an ivory-white colour washed and streaked with purple. Each plant is usually uniflorous. The above-ground vegetation is absent in winter.

The 'Sabine' Lady's Slipper Orchid is a very hardy and robust plant. It thrives in forest edges, preferring a light soil that retains some moisture without being waterlogged. Plant it in a location that receives not too intense shade, in a cool rockery, an ideal habitat for it to thrive and enhance your garden with its unique presence. Accompany it with a simple fern-like Polypodium vulgare and 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!