I have a plant growing in my flower garden at home. My mother-in-law told me that it looked like an Orchid, however I've been told that it is impossible to have orchids growing outside. I live in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. I have been to a local greenhouse and they cannot even figure out what it is, it is not in any of their books. The plant is between 4-5 feet tall. It has single tall stocks, very thick at the base. The leaves are quite long and are what they call "sawtoothed". The leaves go all the way up the stem, (single - not bunches). There are clusters of flowers at the top that do kind of look like orchids, however, there is kind of a bell shape to them too, so they almost look sort of like a lady slipper. The flowers are pink with white on them. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know! Any help would be great!
There are thousands of orchid species, and many grow in places that are not tropical jungles. For example, Cypripedium acaule, pink lady-slipper orchid, grows right here in Ohio---about as non-tropical-jungle as you can get!
Ditto to Impatiens glandulifera (Himalayan Balsam). As you guessed, not an orchid; orchids don't have serrated ("sawtoothed") leaves.
But - one of its common names is "Poor Mans Orchid". They are very pretty and very invasive, so watch them. barb
It is known by the name "Poor Man's Orchid". It is a type of Impatients. It re-seeds very readily from pods that "pop" open and send the seeds flying in all directions. It can be quite invasive and in some areas are considered to be a noxious weed. (As far as outdoor orchids go, I live in central Alberta. I have wild Lady Slipper orchids growing on my acreage and cultivated ones in my yard in town.) I've grown the Poor Man's Orchid on many occasions, but try to pick the pods off before they mature so that I don't have them popping up everywhere the next year.
Note the genus is spelled Impatiens. The combining of this with impatient to produce "Impatients", while common is nevertheless a boo-boo.
I agree with Impatiens grandiflora. In some places it is considered a noxious weed. If itis in your area, I would suggest getting rid of it. Depending on the laws in your area, you could be fined if you have one. As for orchids, it is not impossible to have orchids growing outside. There are actually nearly 40 species of orchids native to Nova Scotia alone! If you meant that it is impossible to have orchids growing in someones yard all on it's own, without you planting it, then yes, there is a very small probablility of that. Except for Epipactis helleborine, which itself is an introduced species and is considered a weed in some places.
It's a typo. They happen. I know of no place in Canada where growing Impatiens grandiflora carries a fine.
