Pleione 2019

[Don Peace]

Help needed!

I’m trying to identify a clone of Pleione Ueli Wackernagel that was given an Award of Merit (AM) by the ‘RHS Joint Rock Plant Committee’ at Hexham AGS/SRGC show a few weeks ago. It was given an AM “Subject to a cultivar name”.

See https://twitter.com/RHSJointRock/status/1112679887947616259



I bought the initial bulb in 2012 but unfortunately my attempts to trace the origin of this stock have drawn a blank.

Before I try to dream up an appropriate name, I need to ensure that my plant does not conform to any of the known named cultivars.
I’m aware of a number of clones (some with names and some with just numbers) but have ruled out all but one.
•   ‘Calcite’ - a near white clone
•   ‘Quartz’ - a near white clone
•   ‘Regal’ – Bred by David Harberd under the initial number 'H169.7'. The photo of 'Regal' from Tim Harberd on the SRGC forum (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=15025.45) and another photo emailed to me by Tim show that 'Regal' differs from my own plant in both flower shape and the amount of yellow in the lip marking
•   H169.1 – Another of David Harberd’s clones and a sister seedling of ‘Regal’. Again I’m ruling this one out on the basis of flower shape
•   H169.2 to H169.6 may no longer be in cultivation. Correct me if I’m wrong
•   ‘Pearl’ – a pale clone originating from a cross made by Jan Berg and named by Paul Cumbleton.
•   ‘Pink Pearl’ – another clone originating from a cross made by Jan Berg and named by Paul Cumbleton. This is from the same seed pod as ‘Pearl’ and judging from photos I’ve found and in Paul’s opinion may be the identity of my plant

So:
Is my plant ‘Pink Pearl’?
Are there other clones of P. Ueli Wackernagel in existence?
The grex was registered by Pinkepank. Are there Pinkepank clones in existence? Where did 'Calcite' and 'Quartz' come from?

I appreciate that colour is difficult (depends on the lighting, the camera, the computer screen etc.)

[Paul Cumbleton]

Hi Don,
I can't say any more than already on your pink clone, but I can confirm that both 'Quartz' and 'Calcite' were also named by me. They came from a re-make I did of Ueli wackernagel using 'Pearl' as one parent and another different, un-named pale clone as the other. In the end neither proved good growers and ultimately both declined and died, so neither of these clones exists now.

Paul

[Don Peace]

Thanks Paul,

I very much appreciate your additional info on 'Quartz' and 'Calcite' - useful in terms of building up the wider picture regarding Ueli Wackernagel.

There must surely be a very limited number of clones in existence and the AM clone is such a good clone it would surely have been named already. This all leads me to think that it is in all likelihood 'Pink Pearl'.

Hopefully someone else out there may have information or views on whether my plant is indeed 'Pink Pearl'.

It would be useful to know if anyone is currently growing 'Pink Pearl'.

Regards
Don

[Tim Harberd]

Hi Don,
    On April 11th 2009 Eric Locke apparently posted photos of four different UW clones..

    Pearl, 3 & 4 from Jan Berg and, presumably one other, but the photos are no longer there.

    May be some other forumist can advise on missing pictures?

Tim DH

[Maggi Young]

Some  photos  are  missing  because  of the  method used to  load them to the  forum - others  have  been removed - but I saw  Eric' photos  of  Pleione Ueli Wackernagel  forms the  other  day - I'll try to  find the  site  again!

Assorted  photos here, of  course  : http://www.pleione.info/pleione-hybrids-gallery-t---z.html   but I'm on the  hunt  for  Eric's  pix....

 quite a few  here - https://www.orkidehagen.no/pleione/     but  not  of the right  ones!  or  here  http://www.pleioneworld.dk/pleione-hybrids-1-2/nggallery/page/4  right  orchids, different  photographer!

[Tim Harberd]

Hi There,
   End of season shots from me:

H139.1 P. Stromboli ‘Senorita’… This one has gone up my ‘Favourites’ ranking in recent years, because of its habit of looking up.

M205.2 P. bulbocodioides 6X  RGB Edinburgh ACC.NO: 812467… I appreciate the long stem on this cultivar.

L2 P. x taliensis ‘Lushan Mist’… A particularly gladdening sight since I thought I might have lost this. Hopefully the start of a comeback.

Tim DH

[erf]

Hello all
I have been contacted by a friend i China, Assistent Prrfessor Mrs. Sha-sha Wu. She is working at a Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, writing on some papers on Pleione species. For that purpose she would like to get in contact with Martin Hazelton and Kath Fairhurst. Do anyone have contact informations on them.
Erling

[Tim Harberd]

Hi There,
   Springwood have just released their new catalogue. I’m not a buyer of Pleiones, so can’t I recommend them from experience. However, since they are an established specialist Pleione nursery, I thought I’d flag up their existence here. (According to the ‘Search’ they were last referenced on this forum in 2013)

Tim DH

Ah! The pdf is too big for posting here... So I've dumped the contents into a txt file... If you want a copy of the pdf send me a pm.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Has anybody heard from Ian Butterfield ?
Is he issuing a new catalogue this year ??

[Slug Killer]

Hi Luc, Ian has sent a catalogue out in the last two weeks. Its the 2017/2018 version with Pleione crossed out if unavailable. There is also a supplementary list of newer Pleione with it.

[Tim Harberd]

Hi Guys,
      Don Peace is STILL trying to track down a grower of Pleione Ueli Wackernagel 'Pink Pearl'  (See earlier posts on this thread in May). It'll be interesting to see how the AGS decides to resolve this conundrum.. The easiest (and most satisfactory) solution would be if a 'Pink Pearl' grower came forward. Failing that, some photos of 'Pink Pearl' would be helpful.

Tim DH

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Hi Luc, Ian has sent a catalogue out in the last two weeks. Its the 2017/2018 version with Pleione crossed out if unavailable. There is also a supplementary list of newer Pleione with it.

Thanks David !

[Bart]

Pleione 'Slender Loris':


and Pleione Wharfdale 'Pine Warbler'


just opened here. This Autumn my collection has been decimated by woodlice! Initially I blamed slugs for hollowing out large pseudobulbs, but I have found a lot of woodlice feasting away on pseudobulbs of any size. Where some years I lose the odd pseudobulb, this year the damage is devastating. And sadly it is mostly the largest and most promising specimens that have been eaten. A few pics of the damage:






I am now harvesting all despite the fact that dormancy isn't complete. Tricky pest to control really if you grow your Pleione outdoors until they go dormant. Does anyone have suggestions how to minimise damage?
I also lost my very last Confirmation. Very sad, I had it for years and really loved it. I have lots of Wharfdales in bud if anyone wants to swap some for a Confirmation?

[Tim Harberd]

Hi Bart,
   Sorry to hear of your losses... Woodlice I'm familiar with, but not as a threat to Pleiones. My outdoor Pleione growing space is shaded by a Fig Tree and Woodlice are a  REAL   nuisance gnawing the stalks of developing fruit. So I've definitely had Woodlice in the vicinity of my Pleiones for the past twenty years... and never noticed a problem. Is it possible that the Woodlice are a secondary pest? Could they be 'cleaning up' after the real culprit?? I don't generally find molluscs to be a problem either. I'd suspect some kind of rot as the causal factor.

Tim DH

[Bart]

Hi Tim,
I can eliminate rot, I've seen the critters starting on really nice juicy pseudobulbs. I am not sure if it is the little slugs that take the first bite and the woodlice follow, or if they are equally to blame. Normally a small hole does not kill the bulb, it seems to callus over and if the growing tip hasn't been damaged they will start growing in spring, but with less vigour.
I've also grown them for about 12 years, partially indoors, summer and autumn outdoors, and around now they all come in. Every year there is some damage, but never as much as now. Maybe it is a very good season for woodlice. When I lift pots, like cyclamen, that are not sat in a saucer, often there are masses of woodlice clumped where the drainage holes are and I wonder if they are secretly eating the cyclamen roots. On occasion I find a hole in cyclamen as well, especially the smooth tubered species like mirabile and cyprium.
Anyway, with less and less Pleione to worry about I can increase their individual care and maybe avoid carnage. As my wife keeps saying, 'Less is more'...not sure I agree when it comes to plants though.