Pleione 2013

[Alex]

My saxicola limped along pathetically for a while but this year have done well and flowered since I gave them some heat - they sit on a heated propagator all year round with the maculata etc.

[erf]

And here we are again, my first autum flowering pleione - Pleione Confirmation. I realy love it.


Regards Erling

[gregork]

Thats just stunning Erling !
Good growing

Regards,
Gregor

[Maren]

Very lovely, Erling.

Here is my first P. maculata. The petals and sepals are pure white. Is it a freak or a desirable variation? Who knows. Only next year will show whether this form is permanent, that's if I can get it to flower next year.

[Maggi Young]

Here is my first P. maculata. The petals and sepals are pure white. Is it a freak or a desirable variation? Who knows. Only next year will show whether this form is permanent, that's if I can get it to flower next year.

 I think this pure white form is really superb. Accentuates the lip markings in my eyes. They are all good  but this white form is extra special! 

[erf]

A very lovely maculata Maren, I love the pure white. Interesting to follow it next season.

[gregork]

Wow Maren. Thats gorgeous! thanks for the picture.
Interesting that we discused on the pure white variety isn't it?

Best regards
Gregor

[Maren]

Hi Gregork,
yes, what a coincidence. I certainly didn't expect to see one ever, let alone finding one growing on my kitchen windowsill. By the way, it is the only one, in a bowl of 12, to flower without stripes, another is flowering now with stripes and there are more to come.

[gregork]

I would try and grow that separately and see what happens in the future.
And I would definetely want to have one of those in the future
Good growing

regards Gregor

[Maren]

I put it in a separate pot straight away, with the appropriate label 
Let's hope it survives to next year.

[pseudobulb]

hi  maren  your  pleione  maculata  is very  nice  , but  i  would  consider it  to  be  a  normal form of the  species,most  of the ones  i have grown in the  past  have had white  petals and sepals.the  discription  in "the Genuus Pleione" states "petals and sepals creamy white occasionaly lighty streaked with pink". these streaked forms were at one stage called  pleione  maculata var arthuriana so i believe.          there is aparently  a pure  white  true albino  form somewhere  , pure white  flowers with  just yellow lip markings, i have seen a photograph of  this  smewhere. regards  pleione

[LarsB]

We are reaching the end of the growing season for Pleione and I can begin to see the result of the experiments I’ve done this year with growing media.  I’ve written about the Pleione humilis and Fuego in live sphagnum moss and circulation water before. This has so far been a great success. I had two bulbs of humilis, one I’ve been downsizing fir a couple of years and one large new on. Both have set two new bulbs and both as large, if not larger, than the bulb they originated from.  The Fuego has also set a large and one smaller bulb, the large one being seriously larger than the old on.

I’ve also tried another new compost. It is a mix of sifted half composted beech clippings (leafs and smaller twigs), and perlite.  In the beginning of the season it didn’t hold water that well, but as the decomposing has progressed, it hold more water and some of the Pleiones I’ve planted in it has performed really good. Again Fuego, but also Stromboli ‘Fireball’, Eiger, and Brigadoon has done very well. I was afraid that it would be too compact, but that fear has been put to rest. I sometimes plant out in small pot to bring to plant markets and the beech compost has been really good for this purpose.

More experiments next year.

[pseudobulb]

hi lars  i was  interested in your  compost  experiments,.there  was  an  artical   some  years ago  i think  in "the  national pleione report"about  someone  using  beech tree  masts as a  compost for pleiones,  regards  speudobulb

[Paul Cumbleton]

The picture of the alba form of Pleione maculata is in a little book called "100 Beautiful Himalayan Orchids and How to Grow Them" - see the image below, copied from the book. The book is by Udai Pradhan and Satyam Pradhan, published in 1997, ISBN 81-85423-03-0. Long out of print, second-hand copies can be found fairly readily, but expect to pay £40 to £60 for one.

Maren, I agree with the comment about maculata that forms without streaks on the petals are more "normal" and common. It took me ages to find one that did have streaks when I was looking for one. Whatever, I find all forms of this species to be very attractive!

Paul

Pleione maculata var alba from the book mentioned above:

[David Nicholson]

The picture of the alba form of Pleione maculata is in a little book called "100 Beautiful Himalayan Orchids and How to Grow Them" - see the image below, copied from the book. The book is by Udai Pradhan and Satyam Pradhan, published in 1997, ISBN 81-85423-03-0. Long out of print, second-hand copies can be found fairly readily, but expect to pay £40 to £60 for one.

The Pradhan family are the proprietors  of Himalayan Gardens Ltd who ship from Scotland and are regular advertisers in The Rock Garden. The book is available from their Web Site £22


http://himalayangardens.com/detail/174/100-Beautiful-Himalayan-Orchids-and-How-to-Grow-Them.html