Complete newbie Pleione watering question

[Houseslippers]

Hello to all you wonderful forumites. I'm an inveterate plant obsessive, a bit of a jack-of-all-trades - which is one reason why I find this forum (I've been lurking for a few weeks) simply the best I've found to date for the sheer breadth of plant knowledge and interests covered by forumites, and for your friendliness of course. In the past I've had a thing about shrub roses, Clematis, Hostas, ferns, grasses, cacti, succulents, bamboos (!), Camellias, Dahlias, Geraniums, bromeliads, tropical plants as houseplants etc etc, one forgets ...... orchids now have me by the throat.

I have a very new interest in Pleiones and have potted up my first 12 pseudobulbs (from Pottertons & Edrom - nice fat specimens) in my own mix of equal parts of thoroughly soaked & buffered coarse coco husk chunks, chopped Chilean moss I got from an orchid dealer at Peterborough last year (he said it was better than sphagnum), and perlite. The mix is very open and almost completely dry. My absolute beginner's question is - when do I start to water? I've read that I wait until the flowers begin to fade, but do I keep them absolutely dry until then? I'm tempted to dribble a little water around the pot edges or give them a short dip keeping the bulbs themselves dry but suspect this may not be very wise.

[Slug Killer]

Hi Tony

With most Pleione the roots don't really start growing until the leaves have started to form and until then I would hold back on watering and then only start slowly as you want the new roots to go searching. Watering to soon can cause the roots to rot off or not develop enough as they don't need to search for water. At this time of the year I give a good misting now and again but even that is not essential. You could also sit the pots in water for a few minutes so that is soaks up from underneath and gives the roots something to go towards at the bottom, be careful though because I'm not sure how absorbent your mix with coco chips will be and it could soak it up fast leaving you with a soggy mess.

I'm prety sure you will find the your Chilean Moss is Sphagnum as I believe this is the only moss that is exported from there. As for the Coco husk chips, I am trying some of these myself this year on a few Pleione with added coco coir, perlite and some moss.

Good luck

David

[Maggi Young]

Hello Houseslippers Tony.... a warm welcome to you 
I love your description -  "Wallet-emptying plantaholic" ..... honesty is always the best policy and you've stepped up and 'told it like it is'..... and you are, without doubt, among like minded friends!

[Houseslippers]

Thanks David, that's very helpful. So I guess it's a game of keeping my nerve for the time being. Do the pseudobulbs shrivel while the plant is flowering? And if they do, would that be a good time to give a good misting or a quick shallow dip? I keep them in a cool frost-free greenhouse which gets quite hot when the sun comes out even with the automatic louvres.

The coco chips are interesting. I confess I quite like all the fiddling about that comes with them - the leaching, buffering and so on. But I took an ailing Paphiopedilum to Ratcliffes the orchid specialists last weekend and they were highly critical of the coco chips. They said no amount of leaching will remove all traces of seasalt and I have to say that while most of my Paphs are doing well in it, a few are showing signs of salt damage. I wonder how salt-intolerant Pleiones are.

The Chilean sphagnum was sold to me by a man who recognised a plant sucker when he saw one. He said it lasts twice as long... the strands do seem to be much thicker and more 'wicky' than the norm.

Thanks, Maggi, for your welcome. Yes, wallet emptying indeedy, but what else is money for? There's nothing quite like a new plant. Thank goodness my wife is of a similar bent (she's the allotment fanatic)!

[monocotman]

Hi Tony,

great to have another plant obsessive amongst us. About the greenhouse and the potential heat - I have a problem with pleiones in the early part of the year when they are flowering. They really do not like hot weather when flowering - it seems to inhibit them and some sit there for ages before throwing a flowering stem that lasts just a few days due to the heat. They then start into growth later than they should and make smaller bulbs. This has been my issue for the past two years when we've had lots of sun in March/April.
So - they need shade and cooler temperatures if we have sunny weather in spring.  I apply shading early and sit the bulbs close to the floor of the greenhouse. This helps, as does regular damping down. At this time of year the best greenhouse for them is an alpine one with lots and lots of ventilation. Of course we could have a dull spring and then it isn't a problem. Once they're growing well and have a good root system the best place for them ( in my opinion) is outside in some shade. Just watch the blackbirds don't pull up the labels and smaller bulbs - they can cause a mess. I suspend string across the pots to deter them.
You can also bring them into the house to enjoy the flowers if you have a cool room. This is much less stressful than a hot sunny greenhouse and the flowers last alot longer.
Also -the bulbs do shrivel when starting to grow and flower but be brave and do not water them - they recover very quickly later in the season,

Regards,

David

[Houseslippers]

A sunny day at last, and warm in the greenhouse, so your comments are very useful, David. My current problem with the greenhouse is that it houses a collection of various S African succulents like Conophytum and Tylecodon (two more obsessions that linger) which like the sun & heat. But I've lost my heart to orchids so will have to rethink. I've moved the Pleiones to the shady end under the staging in the meantime.

[Nick_the_grief]

Ah but Cono's don't take up much room ... mine are in 2" pots, it's the cacti in the 15" bowls that are the trouble   Good to have another plantaholic on board

[Maren]

Hello Tony,

welcome - nice to have you with us.

The weather has been so hot recently (in the greenhouse at least), that the compost in the pleione pots has dried out. This is no use to the plants. There needs to be a bit of moisture in the compost for the new roots to grow into. Today I watered mine with a fine rose, not thoroughly, as I would later in the year, but just very lightly. I then lifted a few pots to check their weight. That's always a good indicator. If you observe your plants and check their weight when wet and dry, you soon get a feel for when they are just in between. That's what they should be like now. I think plunging them in water now would be too much.

Also, consider how deeply you have planted your pleiones. If they are very low in the compost, the chance of rotting is higher if kept too wet and temperatures are cold at night.

So the bottom line is: make sure they are neither wet nor dry. Or in other words, if 12 o'clock is dry and 6 o'clock is wet, keep them at 2pm.

Simple, really.

[Houseslippers]

Hi Maren

Ah yes, the mythical not wet, not dry state  ... a similar aspiration as for some of my other picky plants I see. That makes sense. The clock time comparison says a lot! I assume I sprinkle lightly first thing in the morning on a dryish day if I'm going to, to allow growing points etc to dry out before evening. But yes, my compost is dry and it was warm today, so I'll investigate and do as you say if needs be.

What a great forum!

[Darren]

Tony,

Welcome to the forum. I have similar interests but got into Conophytum long after the Pleione! I can't add anything to the great advice from the others. My Pleione also live under the bench in the same greenhouse as my Conos and bulbs. I have just repotted into slightly damp compost but in the years I do not repot I do as Maren has done and give a little bit of water around now if things are starting to grow - the earlier ones such as Eiger are certainly already rooting. As David notes - flowering is feeble if the plants get too hot - which is why I keep them under the bench until the flowers open, I also agree that they are generally better outside for the summer. I use clay pots which dry much faster - essential in the monsoon conditions of a Lancashire summer!

Nice to know spring has arrived with you Maren. We had a day of sunshine last week and a few hours yesterday but the dull cloudy weather predominates so it is still cold under glass. It is at least mild (and cloudy again) this morning but nothing you could describe as 'hot' !

[Slug Killer]

Tony you could also have a separate pot with no plants in and water it the same as the rest of your Pleione. If unsure by weight if it's too dry or too wet you can then tip out and have a look. You will have to take in to consideration that the pots with Pleione growing will use more water though,