Yes, there are American orchids. Are they the same orchids that are now sold in all large supermarkets? No.

U.S. orchids tend to be very habitat sensitive. They generally will not survive in a pot on your kitchen windowsill. Like most of our magnificent blooms and wildlife, their habitat requirements are real and special.

This Pink Lady’s Slipper Orchid blossom was seen in a wooded grove in Chapman State Park, within the giant Allegheny National Forest. Some 7.5 hours drive east from New York City (for our international friends). It prefers moist ground, in spots where there is a break in the canopy of densely wooded habitat.

I remember when I came upon my first one, at Bear Run Reserve, in the Laurel Highlands of Southwestern Pennsylvania. You may have been just a few hundred feet away from that spot, if you have ever visited Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright‘s architectural phenomenon. Bear Run is just across the road. I saw them, and fell forever in Love.

Jeff