PLEIONE 2011

[Maren]

That's very nice.
Mine are nearly over, but the Barcena bonanza continues.

[Sempervivum]

Hallo Maren,
nice clone of Barcena that you are showing. Mine unfortunately didn't open completely in this season:

[Maren]

Ulrich,

give it time, they may open yet.
Maybe you need some different clones.

[erf]

Happy New Year to all of you.
Very nice clone of P Barcena you got there Maren

[SteveC2]

I also find P. Barcena a little problematical.  My one clone grows well and has bulked up well, but flowering is hit and miss.  In appearance this clone is much like its praecox parent, but the flowers do not open very far and often go brown before opening.  Too cold I suspect (4/5 degrees minimum) .  Next year I think that the bulbs will find themselves in a better class of accommodation when it goes cold, that is in the house!
Any thoughts?

[Maren]

Hi SteveC2,

mine grow in the conditions you describe (4/5 degrees C minimum). I must admit I never paid much attention to them as they didn't flower much. So this year I put them out in the garden during the summer, just a semi shaded place with very little attention. This year they flowered like there's no tomorrow. Do they know something that I don't know?

I have several clones, and some of them just grow bulbs and leaves and more bulbs. Maybe they have to reach a certain age before they are at their best - just like me - oops, that was a lovely glass of wine.

[Maren]

The day after, here are my last pleiones to see out the old year:

Pln Sangay
Pln Tarawera
Pln Tsingtau

Champagne tomorrow.

[jon]

Simple question, what is the best way to store these bulbs ?
All I know is that they should be dry and cold, but how should they be stored individually,
in paper bags or poly, should the bags have holes in and are they then kept in an airtight
tin or plastic container,  which system do you use.

[Graham Catlow]

Hi Jon,
I think you will find there are many ways people store their pleione's during dormancy. In simple terms - dry and cold but above freezing.

Here is a link to a thread in the forum which shows what I mean by many ways.

http://www.srgc.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=6607.0

Hope this helps.
Graham

[Maren]

Hi Jon,

it all depends on where you are (hint - please put your approximate whereabouts on your signature, it helps us help you).

Let me tell you what I do:

1) I take the pleione pseudobulbs out of their pots after all the leaves have dropped off.
2) All compost is removed and the roots trimmed to about 2cm.
3) The bulbs are laid in seedtrays on a bed of newpaper (2 sheets).
4) They get sprayed with spraying oil (neem or similar) until quite wet. This protects them from pest attack during dormancy.
5) Then they go onto shelves in my office, which is heated to 4/5 degrees C. There I shuffle and turn them daily to ensure they are evenly covered and able to dry.
6) The humidity rises quite steeply during this time, especially if it is cold. I keep a de-humidifier on the go in the early stages to remove excess water from the atmosphere.      This is a temporary measure and after Christmas I stop the humidifier so that the bulbs don't dry out too much.
7) I start potting up in the second week of January into compost that is just moist i.e. not powder dry. This is maintained until the plants have flowered and start growing.       Then watering is increased and feeding starts.

[erf]

Hello
Maren, your P Tsingtau is real nice. Any chance you have some to spare.
Kind regards
Erling

[Jan Methorst]

Hello

I have bought several P barcena from Maren and they all flowered brilliantly.
They are now making leaves and some are showing a second flower.
jan

[Maren]

Jan,
I'm glad the P. Barcena are doing well for you, too. I was quite surprised at their performance this year. I haven't done anything special to them but all of the sudden there were so many, and this is the first year I am selling them.

Erling,
sorry no, I love the P. Tsingtau too but I only have about half a dozen bulbs and that's too few to sell them. When I have 20, I'll let you know. I believe Ian Butterfield sells them. I got my original bulb from him.

[enrico]

Pleione tarawera

The photo was taken on December 23rd... I'm a bit late in posting 

[Maren]

Hello Enrico, very nice Pln Tarawera. Such a pleasure to have a pleione in flower in December. I hope we'll hear more from you in the New Year.