Question
Help! The last week of frosts and snow in the UK killed a young shoot of my cypripedium reginae in a pot (I live near London). I knew I should have brought it inside, but too late, it's all wrinkled and brown. Is there any hope for a new shoot to come back? I thought that being hardy, the orchid would be fine outside, but was clearly wrong :o(

Answer
Svetlana, even in its natural habitat, Cypripedium reginae may begin to grow during an especially cold period.  If the tuber has not been damaged, it may yet attempt to send out another shoot. Each tuber has a number of growing "eyes" from which a plant may develop. It is nature's way of conserving the species.  If you have an option, in the future you may want to bury the pot in the ground and mulch it with straw during the winter.  I have planted mine directly into the ground and mulch it with straw near the end of November and remove the straw in mid-April.  I  have also buried a pot of yellow lady slippers in the ground for comparison and they all have flowered.  In their native habitat in the state of Minnesota (it is the state flower) winters can be brutal and tubers are only a few inches under ground so they are quite well adapted to the cold.