Pleione 2014

[Steve Garvie]

Hi Gregor,

Does your fridge have a fan (inside the fridge) and was it quite full?

In fan-less fridges -especially when fully loaded, the air does not circulate properly and so some parts of the fridge can become much colder giving rise to freezing spots. This can damage and in extreme cases kill Pleione pseudo-bulbs.

[gregork]

So i am posting some pictures for you to see what i am talking about
the first two pictures are P.limprichtii  with the brown spots, the second one is P. humilis. if you can see, the top of the bulb is turning brown, and the last one P.formosana- bulbs shriveing and also some browns spots on the smalles one

Steve i am not sure this is the problem. I keep my thermometer inside my fridge all the time. the temp are between 5 and 8, but most of the time arround 6°C. Although i keep my bulbs wraped in paper and i put them in carton box so there cant be much air circulation arround the bulbs. I keep them on the lowest shelve ( where there is normaly a place for fruit and vegetables).


Best regards
Gregor

[Danshi]

I'd put the shriveling bulbs into plastic bags with slightly moist Sphagnum. I store most of my bulbs in zip bags (without moss), but it's important to let the bulbs dry off well before storage and to leave the bags open if you put more than a few bulbils inside.

[erf]

Hello gregork
These bulbs does not look good. I would dispose of them. Maybe you could have a look at the thread from pleione 2013, 16. January. It seems to be the same problem discussed there. Only there is no conclusion to what went wrong. Sorry
Regards Erling

[gregork]

I am afraid I will realy have to dispoze them. Sory Erling, cant find the thread you are talking about.

[Maggi Young]

I think Erling might have been referring to this thread :
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=9989.msg263989#msg263989  Pleione overwintering problem


 On a related problem - that of virus : http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=1186.msg34756#msg34756    this may be of interest too.

[gregork]

Yes. i just found the thread. i had to search a little more thanks Maggi

[Michal Mikita]

My new little travelers...

I bought them through eBay.de in December and Deutsche Post sent them from Germany to Slovakia via New Zealand

They arrived today, one month in box... Mother Nature is great - they are healthy

[Maggi Young]

My new little travelers...

I bought them through eBay.de in December and Deutsche Post sent them from Germany to Slovakia via New Zealand

They arrived today, one month in box... Mother Nature is great - they are healthy

Via New Zealand ?  Good grief! It must be a miracle they are still alive after all this time.

[Michal Mikita]

Via New Zealand ?  Good grief! It must be a miracle they are still alive after all this time.

Maggi, yes, via New Zealand

[erf]

Hello all
I got an quite upsetting mail today about the pictures of my pleione on facebook, stating some of my pleiones might be affected by virus. Of course I separated the ones that have been stated from the rets of my stock, and I will follow them careful this spring.
The problem I want to raise, is that I have bought it from the the most well-known nurseries around. If I have got the virus, quite a few must have got it as well. What do we as pleione growers do about this??? The only cure is disposal...... Can we expect all growers to do that?
My second problem is, that I do not have access to a lab, that can check all my plants??
I read on a tread here at the forum, that you can not only detect the vira by look. Some that look affected are not, other that do not look affected are affected??? This is really frustrating.

I am looking forward to a debate on this forum with all the wise and famous people discussing the problem.
Kind regards
A very frustrated pleione grower
Erling

[goofy]

hello Erling,
I wonder, whether the person who wrote you is a "real Pleione specialist"

it would be interesting to see those pics (again) here in this thread.

be cautious, but dont worry, until the "problem" is clear and stated............
BUT hopefully just false warning...........................

cheers

[erf]

hello Goofy

I do not doubt the expertise of the one writing the mail. I am just wondering how big a problem this is. Pleione circles are not that very big, so plants must have circulated fore quite some time. It has been known for some time that especially some Pleione Zeus Weinstein have colour changes, but I thought it was a somehow limited problem.
About my own plants, I had them placed in a small south facing room last spring. This meant that temperature was very fluctuative, and that resulted in some plants aborted the flower. Those who flowered, looked a little strange. It is mainly those, I was warned about might show signs of virus. I hope that the shifting temperature last year has something to do with the problem?
This year I have made my self a new shed, where I can store the plants in winter and early spring. Here I can keep the temperature between 5-8 degrees Celsius. Right now a lot of plants are starting to flower, so this will be extra interesting this year 
So far I do not worry to much, wouldn't help anyway. If it is virus, they will burn 
Regards Erling

[SteveC2]

How are these pleione viruses transmitted, aphids presumably?  I only ask because I wonder just how serious the issue is.  Suppose some of my plants have viruses, but the effect is minimal, colour breaks in flowers etc, then providing I do not sell them to anyone else, does it really matter?  Now if they are going to be easily transmitted and cause death and weakness in the bulbs that is a different matter altogether!

[GordonT]

Sadly, there are few sources for Pleione bulbs here in Canada (I know of only one- Fraser Thimble Nursery in BC). You may want to read this post about possible virus:

http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=1525.15

I would look out for mites, aphids scale, and mealybugs as potential spreaders of virus. Of course, humans manage to do it ourselves by being careless with garden tools (scissors, knives, secateurs). Hopefully your bulbs aren't a loss!