I'm so envious of this.

I would do the same thing if I didn't have two big issues, the first being a lack of established trees and the second a ravenous garden snail population.

Slugo resolves the snails...

Very nice, Harvey. Thank you.

Adam I have a third, even worse issue with growing in the landscape. -20*F winters. ;-)

tj

tj, does paphs live in the woods your way. ? Or any other ground orchid that grow there? I would find out if it is possible to create a natural environment for local species. I can't imagine trying to grow tropical orchids in the frozen north like WI?

Adam, to do it right get a 25b bag of slugo. Don't just treat one area. Do the whole yard. I have a hand spreader. Get the neighbors involved. Everybody buys 25 lb. bag. It improves freight. I solicited my orchid society. Down with snails. If the neighbors don't buy in I throw a little slugo over the fence. The non poison version is all that is needed. It is iron. It is harmless to all creatures. Including earth worms. Slugs and snails are attracted and die. Teach them a lesson!.

Yes, many orchids are native to Wisconsin. Most, however need poor or very specific soils or even bogs and I've amended my soil with my home made compost for nearly 30 years. After seeing the list at my link I can see I need to do some more research as I didn't realize how many were native here.

tj

Here is an old pic of a phal growing on a Cassia roxburghii . As you can see the quality and number of flowers is way below par but still it flowered. It took two years to recover. Hoping for a much better display come spring lol gary