Pleione 2018

[sjusovare]

Nice pictures Steve
Are any of your forrestii having flat pseudobulbs rather than the usual conical ones?

[Steve Garvie]

Thanks Julien.
All of my forrestii have conical pseudobulbs.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Some goodies in flower here :

Pleione askia 'Goldfinch'

Pleione Muriel

Good old Pl. rakata 'Shot Silk'

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Pleione Red Colobus

Old faithful Pl. shantung 'Ducat'

Pl. Ueli Wackernagel 'Pearl'

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Two pots :

Pleione Glacier Peak

&

Pleione Ueli Wackernagel 'Pearl'

I truly admire the Pleione growers that manage to grow a potful in such a way that the flowers more or less look in the same direction.   

[SteveC2]

I have been experimenting fot the last couple of years, trying to get the flowers to face the same way.  Unidirectional light seems to be the trick, but the challenge is to get it right so they face the same way but don't lean.  Under the bench, right at the edge, in my main greenhouse seems to be working, and increases the height which judges seem to like, though I don't.  It is too dark under the bench in my pleione greenhouse and they wind up leaning at 45 degrees.  If all else fails then very carefully rearranging the bulbs works wonders, but judging from the looks on people's faces when I mentioned this at the AGS show in Chesterfield on Saturday it is frowned upon.  Funny really as I have always been told that there is a difference between growing and showing and on varieties with very little root at this stage it seemed a logical idea.  I remember reading about someone who grew them in shallow trays then placed them to perfection a few days before the show, but that was in Australia.  Perhaps there are different rules over here.  Oh well, we all learn.  Before anyone thinks I am moaning I have now been to two AGS shows and am thoroughly enjoying it, if only because it allows me to marvel at Barry Tattershall's orchids.  The pleione are now coming on as well.  (Sorry, this ended up miles away from where it started!)

[Maggi Young]

I've known pleione growers who place their flowers/bulbs  in a pot  just before a show to get a neat arrangement.  Can't say I was aware of any  disgrace in that!  Perhaps the open sharing of such tips is  what is frowned upon?!!
The lengths many exhibitors go to to prepare their plants for show is mind boggling in many cases -  but most of it is  a question of dedication and effort  and not in any way "unsporting"

[SteveC2]

Thanks Maggie, maybe I misinterpreted the expressions.  Wouldn't be the first time!

[Paul Cumbleton]

Arranging them in the pot just before a show is pretty standard practice, and not just with Pleione. For example Iris reticulata types are often done like this to get pleasing spacing and to pick flowers all at the same stage. I think showing is as much about art as it is about growing. I agree with you Maggi, techniques used for showing plants should be much more widely shared. I haven't done enough showing myself to oblige, but I wonder if some of the frequent showers might be persuaded to share their tips? An article in the journal perhaps? I'm sure this would be of real help to those who have perhaps only just started showing or even been put off showing as they feel they could never match the well-displayed plants they see regularly on the show benches.

Paul

[Maggi Young]

We've got some of that - there's  cyril's  article - 
http://files.srgc.net/journals/GrowingforShow_CyrilLafong.pdf

....and a search of the Journal Index revels some older articles too.     http://files.srgc.net/journals/RockGardenIndex.pdf

And then there is this thread- with links to a couple of  pieces I put together in the past  to help beginners at the Aberdeen show!
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=10808.0

 Exhibitors wishing to share their  tips are welcome to start posting again in that thread.

[sjusovare]

I've been lucky, the new Pleione Nyiarongo I bought to replace the pale clone that I lost, turned out to be similarly pale (in contrast with the really candy pink clones we usually see)

[Graham Catlow]

Had some problems with P. grandiflora over the past couple of years but today things are looking up and I hope they will continue that way so I can get back to a potful instead of a single flowering.

[Tim Harberd]

Hi Guys,
   A late start to the pleione year for me. A solitary flower of P. Edgecombe ‘Burnished Gold’. Not quite its usual colour, but I’m VERY pleased to see it.. This is one of of the cultivars which suffered from the unwelcome attention of a rodent. The attack was sadly rather prolonged as my attention at the time was focussed on a spot of unexpected surgery, to remove a portion of the digestive system! By the time I was up and about again, the level destruction was heart breaking.
   On reflection I think said beast was more interested in seeking out the odd worm at the bottom of the pots, rather than primarily chewing off the flower buds. It certainly had no interest in the bulbs themselves, which were discarded in mixed piles. Without flower buds, it would have taken at least two years of growing them on, individually, to re-establish which cultivar each bulb was. I don’t have that sort of space.

Tim DH

[Maggi Young]

I'm sure we can all agree that concentrating on your own health is more important than that of your plants in such circumstances, Tim!
I hope you are making great progress yourself- and in rehabilitating your plants!

[Steve Garvie]

Sorry to hear of your health issues Tim.



Nice grandiflora Graham!
I have had some grandiflora types in flower over the last couple of weeks including two pink-lipped forms, the typical form, a yellow-flowered form and the yellow-lipped form.














......and Pleione x confusa: