Pleiones in live Sphagnum

[Danshi]

Hi everyone!

I read some reports about growing Pleiones in live Sphagnum moss, but as Pleiones don't grow in bogs, there might be problems in keeping both the moss and the orchids happy.

So far I've filled a transparent plastic box with living Sphagnum and made holes in the walls to form a water reservoir at the bottom of the box. That should keep the moss alive in summer when I'm away over the weekend or so. The upper layer of moss is not immersed in water, it's moist and quite airy, so it should be fine for Pleione roots in summer.

But what about spring when we're supposed to keep the substrate relatively dry until the roots have established? Is it fine to put the bulbs straight into moist Sphagnum because of its antiseptic properties or should I rather risk the moss suffering some loss and keep it dryer?

Also: What kind of substrate would you recommend for the true terrestrial species like yunnanensis and scopulorum that don't like to grow in Sphagnum moss?

Regards, Daniel

[Maren]

Hi Daniel,
would it be possible to contact the reports' authors and ask them these questions? If they recommend growing in live sphagnum, they must be drawing on some success with this method.

I have no experience growing pleiones in live sphagnum and can therefore not comment on how to do it successfully. But I have my doubts for the reasons you mentioned.

As for Pleione yunnanensis and scopulorum, they grow very happily for me in a mixture of 2 parts medium bark and 1 part sphagnum moss (dead), like the rest of my pleiones. Good luck.

[Danshi]

Thanks for your answer, Maren.
I read about it on Paul Christian's website: http://rareplants.co.uk/page.asp?id=PleiCult (the last paragraph). He is using lattice pots or orchid baskets for this method, but also mentions that the plants would have to be watered daily. I cannot guarantee that, so I'll just plug some not too expensive bulbs into my Sphagnum box and see what happens.

[Roma]

I do not have nearly as much experience growing Pleiones as many other members of this forum so this may not be of help to you.  Many years ago I bought Pleione forrestii from Paul Christian and tried growing it in live sphagnum.  I do not remember how long I had it but it was not successful for very long.  In April 2011 I bought Pleione forrestii at the International Conference in Nottingham.  I thought it was a bit late but decided to take a chance.  I planted it in live sphagnum in a 9cm ordinary round plastic pot  The flower bud had aborted but it produced a leaf and grew well.  I had the pot in a saucer and mainly watered from the bottom when the moss appeared to be drying out.  I did not repot it last year and it flowered and grew well.  I am about to repot it now.  The only decision is what colour and texture of moss - see Moss Garden in General Forum - November 13th
 

[Danshi]

Any experience is helpful, thanks Roma! Your red sphagnum looks really cool, I don't think we have any growing naturally around where I live.
Take a look at this thread for forrestii if you haven't already: http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=8292.0

[Maren]

Hi,
I wrote to Dr Paul Christian, who runs RarePlants, to find out more about his method. This is what I wrote:

"Hi, your method of growing pleiones in live sphagnum moss has found a lot of interest. What do you feed them with? In my experience, feeding live sphagnum moss tends to reduce it to slimy mush. I look forward to your reply. Regards, Maren"

Here is his reply and I'm sure he won't mind me quoting him:

"Thanks for your interest. The method and feeding is basically as outlined in the Members section on the website. Weak, balanced feed early in the season, less N and higher PK feeds later but they do not need a great deal. Its very much as case of "when remembered" They make size without much.

The Sphagnum starts life as live moss, but by the mid point of the season it is usually dead. It is however fresh each season and is replaced after use with fresh moss, no re-used.

It seems to be the physical properties of the moss that suits those pleiones that like it (and which also finish off those that don't quite quickly)."

I hope this is of help.

[Danshi]

Thanks again Maren for asking Paul Christian!

So the moss is replaced after one season. I will try growing bulbils and a few other bulbs in my Sphagnum box and report back.

[LarsB]

Quite interesting.  I've planted my P. humilis in live sphagnum this spring to try to give them a better start as the roots comes so late and they have failed for me several times. It is my plan to keep the moss alive throughout the season. I grow most of my Disa in live moss year round, so it's no problem for me to keep it alive. After the leaves have fallen i'll just let it slowly dry out. At least that's my plan.

Lars

[LarsB]

Thought it was time for an update: Both my humilis are doing well in live spaghnum and their feet in water. The root development has been great and contrary to my previous attempts at growing humilis the plants looks happy and capable of developping a couple of good bulbs. I also plantet a Pleione Fuego just to see how that would do and it seems to like it as well.

[Maren]

Hi LarsB,
thank you for the updates. That is very interesting, worth an experiment with a couple of species and hybrids.

[Danshi]

So far it's going well for me, too. There are two species I planted in both conventional substrate and in Sphagnum, forrestii and formosana. Especially forrestii is doing better in Sphagnum, growing a strong replacement bulb, two plump little bulbils and a small secondary bulb at the base that appeared at the same time as the bulbils. The one in conventional pleione compost grew a smaller replacement bulb and nothing else, but at least I didn't kill it. in  With formosana the difference is more subtle, but the ones in living moss also seem to have the edge over the one in bark mixture.

[LarsB]

Hi Danshi,

My plan was to try forrestii next year as i haven't found a good compost ofr that one yet. I'm glad to hear that it works for that one as well.

[fredg]

I'd rather keep the Sphagnum alive 

[gregork]

Lars,... can you please explain more about how are you  growing Pleione in sphagnum? Is it just live sphagnum that you use or do you also use some peat moss at the bottom of the pot? what kind of pot did you use and what was the water level? were the roots completely in the water or just above it?
sorry for so many questions but i am relly interested in this kind of cultivation

regards
Gregor

[Danshi]

Hi!

It's been a year now since I started growing Pleiones in live Sphagnum moss, time for a little summary.
I'm using transparent/translucent polypropylene boxes with drainage holes drilled a few centimetres above the bottom. That way you have a little water reservoir to keep the moss moist at all times. To cut a long story short, I will list the pros and cons I noticed:

Pros:
-Growth was good and I had no losses whatsoever in 2013, except for a little bulbil I accidentally cut off.
-Keeping the moss moist and well-aerated is quite idiot-proof, even in very wet and in hot (up to 36 °C in 2013) periods.
-You can leave your plants unattended for a few days.
-The moss is reusable.

Cons:
-Sphagnum moss is not cheap, unless you can grow your own.
-The more terrestrial species like yunnanensis and some hybrids might not like it.
-Viruses might survive in the moss.
-You have to water with rainwater or filtered water.
-High fertiliser concentrations can harm the moss, so if you're aiming for huge bulbs, you should look somewhere else.
-The moss can overgrow smaller bulbils, so you might have to cut it back a little.

Regards
Daniel