How to Transplant Cypripedium Acaule

Select a new planting site with a 3- to 4-inch-deep layer of humus on top of the soil. Humus is decomposed organic matter found on top of the actual soil just beneath a light covering of fallen leaves. Find an area with a dappled shade exposure where the orchid will be exposed to about one hour of direct light each day.

Test the humus and top 1 to 2 inches of soil at the new planting site to determine the pH. This orchid grows only in acidic humus and soil, preferably with a pH of 5 or lower. Select a planting site with the correct natural pH for best results. Mix sphagnum peat moss into the humus to lower the soil pH, if necessary. It commonly has a pH of 4. Do not mix the humus with the soil just below it. Use a hand trowel or dirt shovel to scrape the humus away from the soil at the new planting site in a 2-foot-diameter circle just before lifting the lady‘s slipper orchid.

Push a garden fork into the humus 1 foot away from the lady’s slipper orchid at a shallow angle below the plant. Work the shovel handle up and down gently to loosen the roots until the top of the plant lifts up slightly on the fork. Remove the fork, and work the roots and plant free from the humus and soil by hand, being cautious not to damage the roots. Broken roots cannot grow, and the plant will usually die within two years.

Pick the lady’s slipper orchid up by the roots or base of the plant. Move it, either with the old humus still on the roots or bare root, to the new planting site. Replant it immediately, or cover the bare roots with moistened burlap or a light layer of wet humus until it can be planted. Spread the roots out on top of the soil. Push the humus into the hole over the roots. The top of the white, pointed bud at the base of the plant must be barely covered with humus. Water it gently to help settle the humus around the roots. Space multiple lady’s slipper orchids 2 feet apart.

Spread a 1- to 2-inch layer of pine needles or dry crushed leaves over the lady’s slipper root zone. Water it once or twice per week for the next three to four months if it does not rain. Give it a total of 1 inch of water, which is equal to 3 gallons, per week.