Most Sugar Hill residents and neighbors have noticed the increasing disappearance of our large trees to make way for apartments and townhomes. We don’t always think about the destruction of the smaller plants that live within these wooded areas.
The Pink Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium acaule) can grow in the eastern third of the United States. While they are not endangered, they are unusual in Georgia. They are threatened by habitat loss and poaching, as well as their low rate of seed production and very specific growing requirements.
The City discovered a colony of these orchids near the Greenway. Noting their beauty and rarity in the area, they plan to name that section of the trail after them.
A colony of these beautiful flowers is also growing on the property next to The Springs, where a developer is asking to build 81 townhomes. The City and the developer have been made aware of the colony. The developer recently reconfigured the site plan to leave the colony. However, they still plan to remove all of the old-growth trees in the nearby buffers, claiming that it’s likely the adjacent clearing and construction will eventually kill them anyway. If a tree couldn’t withstand the nearby clearing and construction, these little orchids probably don’t stand a chance, either.
They take many years to bloom and can live 20 years or more. They require highly acidic soil and thrive near pine trees (whose fallen needles lower soil pH). These orchids don't produce seeds prolifically, and the seeds depend on a fungus present in certain soils to germinate.
They rarely survive if transplanted and are best left where they occur naturally. In Georgia, they are protected from poachers for that reason.
