Pleione 2018

[ashley]

Flowering today:

Confirmation     still going after almost 2 months
Riah Shan 'Nr. 1'
Sirena
Tsingtau   almost finished

[ian mcdonald]

Early flowers Ashley. I like the Confirmation. There are not so many suppliers now. I visited a Pleione grower on Thursday. He no longer exhibits but sometimes sells a few spares to friends but only on a small scale.

[sjusovare]

I really like tsingtau, never could find a supplier for that one though

[ashley]

No growers near me unfortunately Ian, so I have to rely on photos & mail order. 
This 'Confirmation' came as straight praecox but is obviously a hybrid with maculata.  Unfortunately the supplier couldn't give any more information but is now advertising x lagenaria

I like Tsingtau too Julien; it's elegant but the flowers don't last very long.  Have you asked Ian Butterfield, or Maren?

[Paul Cumbleton]

A very long time ago I promised to make all the issues of The Pleione Review magazine available online. With help, I have now at last managed to do this and you can find all the issues now as pdf files to read or download from my website at http://www.pleione.info/pleione-review.html

Happy reading!

Paul

[sjusovare]

Interesting Paul, I was precisely reading the ones previously available on your site last week and wondering if the older editions would be

[sjusovare]

As I mentionned somewhere else, it would be nice if something similar would start again.
Forums and online groups are nice, but they don't come with a table of contents, and with time everything get lost in the flow of newer posts (I even have a hard time finding back my own old posts sometimes)

[Maggi Young]

Julien, most find that the search facility for  the forum  members is pretty good! 
Also  online search engines  are also quite  effective at searching  SRGC -  trust me - things are much worse elsewhere!   

[GordonT]

I agree, Maggi, though I've been guilty in the past of relying on others to point to articles. Searching the forum often retrieves countless treasures.... if I spent the time to read everything, nothing would get done at home.

By the way, Ashley, I really find your 'Sirena' quite stunning! You folks in the EU, and Britain have a much broader selection of Pleiones available for purchase!

[sjusovare]

I agree Maggi, but that's not exactly what I meant, quite hard to explain...
Basically, search functions are quite good when you know exactly what you're searching for, or have the right keywords, but it's not the same as looking at an index, find a title that might be pertinent even if it's a little off topic and go there.

[Maggi Young]

 Ah yes, I see what you mean, Julien.

[Janos]

Dear Hardy Orchid Growers,

We are doing research on bulbous plant viruses, mainly potyviruses and cucumber mosaic virus. I'd like to get in touch with hardy orchid growers Europe-wide who might have suspicious plants, both winter green and summer green species are interesting for us (including Pleione). I know, that most of you are working hard to keep your precious collection free of such diseases, discarding the plants as soon as you have suspicion. Next time if any of you see a suspicious plant please do not throw it away, but separate it from the rest and contact me by PM with a picture, because it can be interesting for our academic research.
For virus symptoms there is a collection of demonstrative pictures on the website of Paul Cumbleton http://www.pleione.info/pests--diseases.html 
We need intact plants, because  we will carry out several tests (including Transmission Electron Microscopy, PCR, inoculation of virology test plants) during the upcoming months. Samples are welcome whole year round, when there is no risk of frost, as freezing and thawing of plant material is bad for virus isolation. Samples will be planted at the virology glasshouse of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. We keep all our sources confidential!

With Best Regards,
Janos

[Ffion]

Hi, I'm new to pleiones, I've read cultivation notes but I still have questions. My pleiones have overwintered in the garden (protected from frost) but I've been wondering - do they need to be brought into a warmer house for bud development? Or simply to admire them when in flower?
I also have Confirmation, till now it has been kept with spring flowering pleiones, but it has leaves already - does it need to be kept warmer now?

[Maggi Young]

Welcome, Ffion - some very experienced pleione growers around - sure you will get some good advice!

[Tim Harberd]

Hi Ffion,
   Your profile says ‘British’…. I doubt if one cultivation regime suits all the British microclimates!
   Here in Yorkshire, my pleiones grow outdoors until leaf fall, and then indoors (unheated) until the risk of frost has passed. The overwintering pseudobulbs can survive quite serious cold. (I’ve only had big losses during a prolonged episode of minus 10.) But they seem to prefer being dryer than staying out doors would permit. (Storing them ‘dry’ also reduces mollusc problems.) The young new growth is not frost hardy.
   By contrast: I know one grower had success keeping them in the bathroom all year round!
   
   I have no experience with Confirmation.

Tim DH