Some orchids thrive in moist woody areas or in fens and bogs. The lady's slipper orchid, of which there are many varieties and colors, is one such flower. This fragrant, perennial starts flowering only when it is 5 years old. It propagates itself through spreading underground roots or through seed. The tall white bog orchid is another orchid that lives in fens near such carnivorous plants as pitcher plants and sundews. This tall orchid starts flowering in late June and smells like vanilla or cinnamon.
The rose pogonia is an Ontario perennial that is bright pink in color. It has the prominent lip and smooth stalk that is characteristic of most orchids and flowers in late June. One reason it is fairly common is because of its method of propagation. It spreads by sending up new shoots, often as close as 2 inches away from the mother plant. Grass Pink is another common Ontario orchid. This pink flower grows from a tuber and also flowers in June. Both types of orchids enjoy a boggy habitat.
The green adder's mouth orchid is very small and rare and grows near the water's edge on lumps of sphagnum moss in Ontario's bogs. It is quite small, only 4 to 7 inches in height, although its leaves are very large . It can be recognized by its cluster of tiny light green blooms. The blunt leaf rein orchid is another extremely rare and small orchid. It is found in the acid-rich soils of fens and unusually, for orchids, is pollinated by mosquitoes. This orchid starts flowering in July. It grows no taller than 8 inches and has one leaf and up to eight light green flowers on a smooth stalk.
Like most orchids, the early coralroot has a smooth, leafless stalk with a white, three-lobed flower lip. It enjoys growing beneath the cool shade of different types of conifers such as balsam and pine as well as in forests populated by birch and poplar. Other shade orchids include rein orchids which are distinguished by a spur on the flower lip and propagates through buds on its fleshy roots. Checkered rattlesnake plantain orchids also love the shade and are often found growing on moss. They are so called because their leaves resemble the common lawn weed named plantain.