Hi, Catherine,

Oh, I do wish the wildlife would leave our plants alone. Don't they know what we're trying to do?! Their interference is certainly not appreciated. I live in a relatively protected spot on the south side of Mount Vernon so I never see deer in the yard. The resident moles, squirrels, and groundhogs can do some damage, though.

Good luck with your Cypripedium! I can't imagine growing that in my yard -- far too much clay in the soil.

Yes, Heuchera is the genus of coralbells, Asarum (also known as Hexastylis in the south) is the genus of wild ginger, and Monotropa is the genus of Indian pipes. I have seen Monotropa uniflora at the Honey Run Highlands park in Knox County.

The only native orchid I know of in Knox County is the downy rattlesnake plantain (Goodyera pubescens), which is fairly well-established on the sandstone at Honey Run park in eastern Knox County. I enjoy the native species and seek them out when hiking, but spend most of my academic efforts on unresolved questions in the Australasian species.

Cheers,
Ryan

OK, I'm going to HAVE to check out Honey Run for the orchids, not to mention all the other flora....You are a BAD influence (grin)....

I'm on the south side of town, but probably more rural than you and have soils ranging from brick clay (I have made pots from this stuff, not kidding) to sandy loams. Have a couple of spots that are nice and loose since they're the original plantings and I've made sure to mulch with deeply with leaves every year, so they're probably my best best for Cyprepediums--already have Asarum canadense, Jeffersonia diphylla, and Trillium sessile and T. grandiflorum growing happily, so I think I have a fighting chance.

The Pilgrim and Shetland geese (aka "homicidal maniac attack birds") have solved most of the critter problems this year around the house, but doubt that they're a viable option for you in town...And they have the nasty tendency of munching on the plants I want to keep, up to and including one of the orchids on the porch....

Catherine

Hi, Catherine,

I love Honey Run. It's such a unique habitat in our county with its collection of disjunct boreal flora. The hemlocks are particularly lovely and so are the trout lilies found there earlier in the season. The Goodyera pubescens I mentioned is near the Kokosing River on top of the small sandstone plateau. It's not the easiest thing to find so I'd be happy to show you where it is. I've been meaning to get back over there soon and check to see if it's in flower, though I fear I may have missed it.

According to some other sources I have, Knox County should have populations of Isotria verticillata, Liparis liliifolia, Malaxis unifolia, Platanthera orbiculata, and Spiranthes cernua, but I haven't seen these yet. I need to make more frequent trips to Wolf Run Park in the spring.

Hah! I'm glad your attack geese are doing their jobs for the most part. Too bad they're not picky eaters!

Cheers,
Ryan

Welcome to the OB!

KitKor (Ryan),

Sounds like you're on a pretty interesting journey, I wish you all the best!


I've wanted to give Cypripediums a shot outdoors too. I think it would be awesome to have native Orchids growing. Perhaps next year I'll give it a shot.

Ryan--Let me know when you're free--had no idea Knox Co. had such interesting biotopes!

Lotis--Native Cyprepediums are a diverse bunch, and some do prefer the sweeter, clay based soils of the Midwest. Robert's Flower Supply near Cleveland is a Cyp specialist and can probably recommend something that would work in your climate and soil type.

Catherine