Pleione orchids

[tom499]

I recently bought a book on orchids, it gives a good basic advice on all aspects of growing,and also, lots of lovely pictures. i have found the pleione orchids flowers encapsulating. they are so big and beautiful, I now want to grow pleiones too!

The book tells me they grow from bulbs, which you plant in early spring. they grow leaves, then flowers, then die back to just the bulb, and "sleep" through the winter.

Before i splash the cash on bulbs, ( i cant find anywhere who sells the plants themselves, i guess due to their life cycle) i wondered if anyone could give me their views on growing such orchids.

it says they like coolish climates and not too much water, which matches better with where i live compared to other orchids. i could grow them outside in the summer, then leave the bulbs in a cold greenhouse over the winter. i guess im just unsure on how easy they are too grow, as not having a full time job, every dead orchid is money down the drain for me hehehe

roll on adulthood ^ ^

[fred]

hi tom499
I have just found a few suplyers for you
Butterfields Pleiones
Harvest Hill
Bourne End
Bucks.
SL8 5JJ
Tel 01628 525455 uk

Springwood Pleiones
8 Tredgold Avenue
Bramhope, Leeds
LS16 9BU
Tel 0113 2301159 uk

Gold Hill Pleiones
Russett Cottage
11 Olivers Mead
Child Okeford
Dorset
DT11 8HT
Tel 01258 861849 uk


Kath Dryden
Manavlins
30 Sheering Lower Road
Sawbridgeworth
Herts.
CM21 9LF
Tel 01279 722184 uk

Where to grow them?
Pleiones come from areas with distinct seasons of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter and grow best wherever the average summer temperatures dos not exceed 25 centigrade (though a few odd days up to 30 centigrade is tolerated). In winter, while they are dormant, they need to be kept cold but just frost-free. A range between 1 and 5 centigrade is ideal. If need be, small numbers can be kept in a fridge if your winters are usually too warm. Within these restraints they may be grown on a windowsill, in a glasshouse or coldframe and may be outside for those months that are frost-free. In areas with few and gentle frosts they can even be planted in the garden. But most people grow them as pot plants.

Containers
Clay or plastic pots can be used and both have their devotees. Clays may need watering more frequently but the evaporation from their surface helps to keep the roots cool and provides humidity around the plants. Plastics need less frequent watering, are easier to clean and lighter to use. Many growers use half pots, pans or seed trays, as Pleiones are shallow rooting in the wild, while a few use deeper pots. Kew says they find that they are not especially shallow rooting and suggests they will adapt themselves to whatever depth of container is provided, so long as the compost structure and watering are correct. It is probably wise to thoroughly clean and disinfect pots before use.

Potting and Compost
Pleiones can be potted or re-potted anytime while they are dormant. I usually do mine in late January/early February. Any old compost should be cleaned off and the old roots trimmed back. Some trim them very short - to 1cm or so- while others prefer to leave them rather longer to help anchor the pseudobulb in the new compost. The pseudobulbs should be planted with approximately one third their depth sticking out above the compost and spaced about 2cm apart. A few seem to prefer being completely buried (P. bulbocodioides, yunnanensis, limprichtii and scopulorum). They will grow in a variety of compost mixes, the main requisites being that the mix should be very "open" and free draining. I have used two different mixes: (All "parts" are by volume):

2 parts bark and 1 part moss. The moss may be wood moss or sphagnum. The bark can be medium grade orchid bark or even a good quality mulching bark. Here in the UK I have used a product called Melcourt Potting Bark, which is similar to (though not quite as good as) orchid bark in quality. I used to use this for all my hybrids.

2 parts fine grade orchid bark, 3 parts sphagnum moss, one part perlite. This mix holds more water and I find that the species and hybrids do better in this mix for me. I now use this mix for everything.

Many other mixes are suitable - you can use pure wood moss or pure sphagnum, or a mix containing these along with such ingredients as bark, pine needles, leafmould, coarse peat, perlite and others - the main aim is to get a "scrunchy" or spongy, open and free-draining mix. There are as many recipes as there are growers!

Watering
The critical time is early in the season. The roots usually start to grow more or less as the flowers fade and at this time it is important to give only a little water - the aim is to keep the compost only-just damp and make the newly-emerging roots go searching for moisture. If the mix is too wet at this time there is a danger the new roots will rot. Once however the roots are well established (often evidenced by rapid leaf growth) watering can be increased substantially. Pleiones come from areas which get the summer monsoon. As long as your mix is very free draining, it is difficult to give them too much water once they are actively growing. Rain water, soft tap water or RO (reverse-osmosis) are best. If you have very hard tap water, this is OK but I would be cautious about keeping them too wet. If possible, keep them open to the weather in summer so they can be rained on. They love it! Personally I take the roof glass out of the glasshouse they are in so the rain can fall in on them. It also keeps them cooler. As days shorten in the autumn, growth slows and finally stops and the leaves start to go yellow. This is the time to reduce watering and as the leaf colour starts to go brown, stop watering altogether and allow them to completely dry out. The leaves will finally fall off and the pseudobulbs enter their dormant phase.

Feeding
Pleiones need to be fed to build up the pseudobulbs for flowering the following year. They like regular but weak feeds with a liquid fertiliser. The old adage of "weakly weekly" comes to mind. Feeding should start once the leaves start to grow quickly. Personally I feed once a week with fertiliser at one-third of the recommended strength. Many people use a balanced one (NPK 1:1:1) to start and change over to a high potash one (NPK 1:1:2) in mid-summer, though either can be used throughout if desired. Personally I start with just a few feeds with a higher nitrogen one (NPK 2:1:1) to get good leaf growth before switching to the usual regime already described. I use the Chempak brand.

Light and Air
When grown under glass, Pleiones need to be shaded from direct, bright sunshine. A shade cloth giving about 50% shade is ideal, or the glass can be painted with a traditional style whitewash. Outside they can tolerate full sun but it is more usual to provide somewhere semi-shaded, for example in the shade of a tree providing dappled light. They also enjoy fresh air, so provide plenty of ventilation. If outside you may also need to think about some protection from birds and other wildlife (not to mention the footballs coming over the fence from the neighbours sporty kids!). Growing inside a fruit cage would be ideal.

Exceptions
Some species require different treatment to that outlined above:

Pleione maculata, Pleione praecox and their hybrid P. x lagenaria are autumn flowering. They have a rather shorter rest period and need to be kept warmer during this time - I suggest a minimum of 10 centigrade. They will start to grow new leaves very early - often before the end of the year - and new roots too. Despite this new growth, do not be tempted to give a lot of water - keep them dry but mist them occasionally and perhaps stand the pot in a few millimetres of water for a few minutes to give some moisture at the bottom of the pot for the new roots to go heading for. Don't start regular watering until you are sure the new roots are well down the pot. P. maculata in particular also likes to be kept warmer in the summer with plenty of humidity too.

Pleione saxicola is another autumn flowerer recently introduced to cultivation, but I don't feel we have enough experience of it yet to best advise on its treatment. It seems to grow a lot of new root very early in the autumn, before even the flowers die down. I am uncertain as to whether it is better to keep it moist so these roots don't die if dried, or to let it dry out as normal. I am also uncertain as to the best temperature for its dormancy. I am experimenting with these factors. Watch this space!

Pleione coronaria, P. hookeriana and P. scopulorum all have a longer, cold winter and a shorter growing season than other species. These species do better if kept cold for longer in the winter, using a fridge if necessary. I suggest keeping P. coronaria and P. scopulorum in the fridge until around early March and P. hookeriana until late March. Keep an eye on them though and take them out if they threaten to flower earlier than this. Also, P. scopulorum unlike other Pleiones must not be allowed to dry out completely during dormancy or it will shrivel and die.

Pleione forrestii also I believe benefits from a long, cold dormancy and should be kept cold until early March if possible. However, this one more than the others has a tendency to flower early and if the buds are clearly developing quickly, remove it from the fridge. It might be worth noting that while cold may delay flowering it will not necessarily prevent it altogether - plants can achieve full flower in the fridge in the dark!

I hope this helps

[tom499]

wow thanks fred thats everything i need. summers with no temperatures above 25 celsius sounds like the UK alright i reckon i could grow those rather well then if i follow those guidelines.

thanks for the suppliers too fred, not only an orchid geek, but a wizz as a net searcher too

thanks again

[fred]

tom499
you are welcome
Its just called helping out.
I am glad you find the information helpful.

[arleneg]

Hi tom499,

You beat me with posting this thread. I bought a Pleione formosiana a week ago, but haven't had a chance to post a question on this subject. Thanks for starting it.

Fred -- Thanks for all that info! I haven't found much detailed info on Pleione culture. Now there's one I can refer to.

I hope I can successfully grow it and make it bloom.

[Anton]

OK, so how is it pronounced ?

I'd never heard of them till this thread.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Well, I just bought 2 more to try again. Good thing they are often on the $7.50 specials at Santa Barbara Orchid Estates. The first 2 or 3 didn't make it, or they lasted long enough to get smaller the second year before expiring. Tried the refrigerator and keeping them dry in the greenhouse. Will try the cold frame next winter. Having a similar problem with Habinaria and Stenoglottis, getting them thru the winter. But perciverance I am sure is the answer.

[arleneg]

Cynthia, I reserved my Pleione before visiting SBOE. So I paid full price. But then I saved on the others (two Sarcochilus I found on the $7.50 table )

Since I bought mine with two new growths and in a 2-inch pot, I'm thinking about repotting it into a 3 or 3 1/2 inch pot, even though it looks like it was recently repotted by the nursery. I hope it will survive.

[Anton]

But HOW do you pronounce it ??????

[tom499]

well i thought it sounded like "pleee-own"

[fzzdk]

plee own ee?

[arleneg]

Darn it! Last night, I replied to your question Anton. For some reason, it didn't post.

Anyway... I believe it's pronounced play-oh-nee.

[Anton]

That sounds feasable Arlene, thanks.

[kmarch]

Hi Anton,

I usually hear it pronounced PLEE-oh-nee (which is how i pronounce it) and occasionally PLAY-oh-nee. Last year a gentleman brought what I can only describe as a 'pan' of these to orchid club. It was a shallow bulb pan about 40+cm in diameter, FULL of blossoms. there must have been 50 blossoms, a spectacular display. He grows them outdoors here in the Melbourne area. i'm told they are really quite easy to grow along the southern part of Australia where it is cool and that they grow similarly to some native Australian terrestrials.

[Anton]

Interesting Kevin. At present I am going to stay with the Paphs, Coel pandurata (lovely orchid) and the Coel tomentosa and maybe a Catt or 2 in the new GH.

I am not going to have an enormous space to move in if I get too many species.

You know where I am headed with that though ..................... ?