Pleione 2012

[ThomasB]

Thank you Erling, Karel and Paul. I think I'll risk buying some young bulbs then and hope I can manage them.


Next question follows. 
A German Pleione grower describes here that he gets larger bulbils by removing all shoots from the bulb in spring. This bulb doesn't have to support the (flowering) shoots so it can grow bulbils earlier which grow way larger till the end of the season. I don't have the heart to do this but had something like that happen accidentally this spring. I broke the young shoot of Eiger 'Snowflake'  but let this bulb sit within the pot. It started with two new shoots on top of the bulb which soon grew roots. I repotted the bulb so the roots could go straight into the substrate and finally got two good sized bulbs in autumn.
Any similar experiences - maybe a way to propagate slow growers a bit quicker (if one has the heart to remove healthy shoots)?

[erf]

Hello ThomasB
If and when I break of a shoots by accident it always break my heart. To do that on purpose I am not sure that I can make me self do. 
Regards Erling

[kuni99]

Hello,

at the beginning of the 80s Dr. Horst Pfennig, at that time Germany's foremost Pleione grower, had a huge damage done to his collection by a mouse. The critter intruded the winter storage and bit off the growing shoots on each and every bulb, but left the rest of the bulb intact. So Dr. Pfennig had to rely on growing bulbils to restore his collection, which took him several years.
In general I don't think removing the growing shoots to grow larger bulbils will speed up the proliferation process of Pleiones. Only for P. humilis and P. chunii which grow lots but tiny bulbils it may be worth trying.

Regards,
Kai

[mark smyth]

where's the best place to buy some Pleione? I really like whites with yellow throats like Snowflake, pale pinks and pinks/peach with yellow/cream like Guenon, Wheatear and Shot Silk. So tempted with Ebay but I'm not paying stoopid money

[Maggi Young]

Any number of pleiones sellers around the forum, Mark.....
Paul Cumbleton, ho isn't selling any at the minute, I don't think....

For instance there's
Maren Talbot   http://www.heritageorchids.co.uk/

Ulrich Bangert   http://www.ulrichbangert.de/orchid/index.php

"Slugkiller" David  Llewelyn        www.koolplants.co.uk/Pleiones.html

 Karel T.  http://www.pleione.cz/...... and those are just the ones that come easily to mind

[mark smyth]

THanks

[Sempervivum]

Hallo Maggi,
as for me this is a mistake. I'm not a Pleione seller. I'm only growing some Pleiones on the windowsill of my kitchen.
Regards - Ulrich Bangert

[Maggi Young]

Hallo Maggi,
as for me this is a mistake. I'm not a Pleione seller. I'm only growing some Pleiones on the windowsill of my kitchen.
Regards - Ulrich Bangert

Oh! Sorry Ulrich, my mistake! 

[Sempervivum]

Another one is Ian Butterfield. Maren Talbot has his list on her homepage:
http://www.heritageorchids.co.uk/Butterfield%20Catalogue%202012-13.pdf

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Rob Potterton also lists some, Mark !

http://www.pottertons.co.uk/pott/browse.php?folder=448

[monocotman]

Hi,

a potful of Wharfedale 'pine warbler' flowering nicely for christmas.
I've found this clone to be very vigorous and easy to grow and it must be about the best of the winter flowerers available.
All the bulbs in this pot, ranging from 'just about flowering size' to 'huge' have two growths and flowers, despite there being at least a four fold difference in bulb weight.
I left the pot in the unheated greenhouse until early December when the buds were visible before bringing it into the kitchen. They must have received at least one light frost during their time in the glasshouse.
The pot will sit in a cool bedroom until spring, with no water,
Regards,
David

[erf]

hello David
Thats a nice Christmas present - beautiful.
Merry Christmas
Erling

[pseudobulb]

hi thomas    and fellow pleione growers  this is my  first posting on this forum，i have been growing pleiones for many years。there was an artical published some years ago in the national pleione report edited by peter bradbury。concerning a method of pleione propogation。the artical was i think  by  a d smith in yorkshire。 it envolved  cuting off  a top section  of the speudobulb leaving all basal growths intact，then treating both cut surfaces with a fungicide。you then replant the cut portion。shoots subsequently eminating produce quite large bulbs，plus you still had bulbs produced by other decapertated bulb。   i havent tried this my self as yet。                                                     

however i   did recieve  pseudobulbs  of pleione formosana snowcap  from a well known supplier  ， all latent buds were missing，i was not worried。 and large bulbs grew from the apex off these bulbs。    i hope this was of some interest to readers of the forum   

[Maggi Young]

So glad you have made a first post, pseudobulb 

It is quite strange just how much damage etc that these plants can suffer and still thrive, isn't it?
Then there are some that seem to fade away for no apparent reason - such mysteries! I suppose it is this that keeps us interested,eh?

[Luc Gilgemyn]

A stunning potful of Wharfedale that is, David ! Sublime !!

Welcome to the forum Pseudobulb ! 
So sad that the pleione report stopped a few years ago isn't it ?.. 

But then, we're having so much more information on our beloved plants from this delightful Forum don't we ? !