Pleione 2018

[Anders]

Hi Ffion

I also overwinter mine in the garden. Those from the greenhouse are dried a bit, packed in plastic bags, placed in a polystyrene box in a hole in the vegetable garden, covered with leaves and fir, and finally with a big piece of plastic. They have survived this treatment the last 7 years with down to minus 17 degrees C. I repot them in the greenhouse early in April.  I also keep some in the garden, the beds are covered with leaves, fir and plastic in November. I take away the cover in early April and they usually flower in May. No loses yet to freezing, but the slugs are hungry and my compost was too dense for forrestii and yunnanensis.

I also have no experience with Confirmation.

Anders

[Ffion]

Thank you for the responses and the pics, very informative
I live in South Wales and by the sea. The climate here is fairly mild, there were only a few nights with temperatures below zero this winter, and minus 1 or minus 2 would be the lowest. So the pleiones spent the whole winter in the garden, under the roof, though I took them in for those few freezing nights.
My bulbs have tiny buds coming through but it's still quite cold. I understand from your posts that new growth isn't frost hardy, but will the flowers develop when it's just above zero, or do they need some warmth?

[Anders]

Most species and hybrids will need some warmth, but I have had forrestii flowers in March in the vegetable tray in the fridge (not recommended), so the early species may flower already at 5 degrees.

Anders

[Graham Catlow]

Hi Ffion,
The photo below is my pot of P. 'Confirmation' taken today.
It currently resides on the kitchen windowsill and has done since the flowers started to show in the Autumn. The kitchen window faces East.
It will transfer to the greenhouse when the chance of frost has gone and will then reside outdoors for the summer in dappled shade returning to the greenhouse as the leaves start to turn yellow and then back to the kitchen windowsill.

Hope this helps.

It is in serious need of repotting into a larger pan which I will do (very carefully) very soon. I have left it a bit late.

[sjusovare]

Hello Ffion, I usually keep Confirmation indoors along with maculata all year round.
Other hybrids are kept dry in an unheated room during winter and remain so untill they flower, I would be carefull about moving your plants indoors to give them more warmth as each time I have raised the temperature during the bud's growth I've had issues with aborting flowers

[Tim Harberd]

I think Julien is right expressing concerns about raising the temperature. Also the colour in some cultivars seems to be affected by this treatment. In particular yellows seem to be improved by slower/cooler development.

Tim DH

[Graham Catlow]

Whilst I was checking my stored (paper bags in a cool room), Pleiones earlier in the week to my surprise I discovered one of my P. x barbarae was about to burst into flower and others weren't far behind so had to pot them up. This pan is now on a cool windowsill in the house. Some of the other stored ones are starting into growth but nothing like this.
Something to brighten these cold wintry days.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Quite surprising Graham.
I grow 3 different x barbarae clones and all 3 of them are amongst the last to flower in Spring.
Bulk of my collection flowers in March and April - the 3 above only start flowering well into May... 

[Graham Catlow]

Hi Luc,
x barbarae is usually flowering in May for me also. I really don't know what has happened here. P. forrestii is usually my first to flower followed by grandiflora both in late March.

[Steve Garvie]

I bought this a few years ago on ebay as Pln. grandiflora “red-spotted lip”. It is clearly a Winter-flowering hybrid (is it Wharfdale?).

Does anyone have an image of “Pln. grandiflora red-spotted lip”?

[ashley]

Yes it looks like Wharfedale (unusually late?).  Lovely photo.

[SteveC2]

Looks like a Wharfedale to me as well.  Is it really really vigorous and making huge bulbs?
You

[Steve Garvie]

Thanks Ashley and Steve.
I bought it as a small FS-2 in 2015. The flower opened just after New Year and persisted well into February. I’ve not had it long enough to comment on adult bulb size but it does seem quite vigorous.

Does anyone have a photograph of Pln. grandiflora “Red-spotted lip”?

[PaulFlowers]

Ive inherited a couple of pleiones from my brother who lost the labels, I am trying to identify this one which I think might be Pleione Alishan Mt Fuji. Can anyone confirm this?

[sjusovare]

Alishan allright, but not 'Mt Fuji', it's 'Merlin' (white tips to both petals and sepals, while Mt Fuji has white tips to the sepals only), and, sorry to tell, most likely viral