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Author Topic: winter flowering plant care  (Read 1270 times)

garyhove

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winter flowering plant care
« on: February 20, 2011, 08:57:59 PM »
I have picked up a couple of winter flowering types

Confirmation
Wharfedale

do they need to be grown different from the spring growers? 

Maren

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Re: winter flowering plant care
« Reply #1 on: February 21, 2011, 12:15:02 AM »
Not in my experience. although I grow the Confirmation a little warmer, since it is a maculata cross. I know the Wharfedale also has maculata in its ancestry, but not very much.
Maren in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom - Zone 8

http://www.heritageorchids.co.uk/

SteveC2

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Re: winter flowering plant care
« Reply #2 on: February 21, 2011, 12:28:22 PM »
I must emphasise my relative lack of experience, but having seen them at the BOGA show and following a recommendation by a member of the forum, I purchased my first Wharfedale Pine Warbler from Mr. Butterfield this autumn.  I put them with the spring flowerers, but the first bud tried to grow during the very bad weather and aborted.  A quick chat with Paul Cumbleton followed and he suggested that I keep it a little warmer and more humid, so I popped it in a covered tray with my Aussies in a slightly warmer greenhouse (minimum about 3-5) and hey presto second and third bulbs flowered well.  Of course the first bud might have aborted due to the shock of moving but who am I to argue with Paul?  
My Confirmation overwinters with my maculata and praecox in the coldest window in the house, (minimum 7-8) and is bulking up well, (a single 2010 bulb, produced two flowering bulbs each producing two shoots this year) then will spend the summer in a well shaded ventilated greenhouse.  But again this is based on the experience of one bulb.
Noticing that they were not doing a lot I've also moved my Barcena and Tarawera into the greenhouse with Wharfedale.  This produced instant growth and they are just flowering although sadly the slugs have made such a mess of the flowers that there's nothing worth posting on the picture front.
« Last Edit: February 21, 2011, 12:31:12 PM by SteveC2 »

Slug Killer

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Re: winter flowering plant care
« Reply #3 on: February 21, 2011, 01:25:07 PM »
I always bring my P. Wharfedale inside when there are signs of growth, where they happily flower on the coldest windowsill in the house. I find this gives them a good head start and they bulk up very well and produce large bulbils with two or three new bulbs per old one.

Picture attached is taken today and you can see they are now all in leaf. They will go out to the greenhouse at the end of the month. I started off with 5 bulbs three years ago and had over thirty this year will will more than double by the end of the season.


Kevin

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Re: winter flowering plant care
« Reply #4 on: February 22, 2011, 09:57:33 AM »
Slugkiller,

it looks like you are running out of space there! 

Maybe you should send a pot to me  ;)

Regards,
Kevin



 


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