Culture of Pleione 'Confirmation'

[mickeymuc]

Hi everyone,

I recently got a bulb of this hybrid which just starts growing leaves, and I wonder how to treat it right - I have it potted in Sphagnum in a cool room (ca. 13 °C), is that acceptable or too cold for this hybrid ? Poting it in Sphagnum was an idea I gut from growing tips on the parent P. maculata, but as the plant has not yet grown leaves I can easily change the compost if that's advisable.

Thanks for any advice !

Kind regards,

Michael

[Hristo]

Hi Michael,
I don't grow this one and I only have success with one of the parents ( too cold in my house for maculata ).
Paul Cumbletons site has useful advice for the parents of 'Confirmation' that should be
of use to you.
http://www.pleione.info/

[karel_t]

Michael, I find, the P. Confirmation very easy incline to rot in compost which is rich with Sphagnum. So I use successfully the compost with double parts of bark and only few sphagnum is contained.
My Confirnation are now in store with other species, where the temperature is around 5 centigrade.
Many success. Karel.

[Eric Locke]

Hi Michael

I grow mine in a mixture containing around 75% moss.
I have tried growing these with slight winter heat, but find this is not necessary and they grow no better for it . I now leave them in the greenhouse all year round which is kept frost-free in winter.
I find these multiply very quickly with most of my bulbs having three flower/growth shoots to each.
Best to re-pot straight after flowering as the roots start to grow very quickly although the leaves will not emerge well into spring.

Eric

[Paul Cumbleton]

Hi Michael,
I agree entirely with Eric's advice. One of the parents, praecox, has a wide geographical distribution and individual plants vary in hardiness depending on the altitude they come from. As a result, hybrids made with them will also vary in hardiness. I think most of the plants of Confirmation that are around came from the plants raised by the late Jan Berg. Judging by the fact that they do well at the same low temperatures as general pleione hybrids, I guess he use a high-altitude form of praecox as his parent.

Cheers

Paul

[mickeymuc]

Hi everyone,

And thanks a lot for the advice ! now I know how to try it, and hope it will do all right - but after all it doesn't seem to be as tricky as I had expected.

Best regards,

Michael

[Eric Locke]

Michael

You will find Confirmation varies quite a lot in flower colour. My earlier photo is much nearer to the wild x Lagenaria than some . I also have clones that are almost white with a slight pink flush and others in between. Many of them darken in colour as the flower ages which is an interesting feature.
I also feed Confirmation the same as other hybrids and you will find they put on much growth towards the end of the season ,so don"t worry if they tend to be slow at first.

Eric