Pleione

[Dorothy]

Awesome! Mike!
Make room in the refrigerator
Keep me posted on these little beauties ..
From Cultivation of Pleiones
(Check out this page for additional growing info)

"Pleione maculata, Pleione praecox and their hybrid P. x lagenaria are autumn flowering. They have a rather shorter rest period and need to be kept warmer during this time - I suggest a minimum of 10 centigrade. They will start to grow new leaves very early - often before the end of the year - and new roots too. Despite this new growth, do not be tempted to give a lot of water - keep them dry but mist them occasionally and perhaps stand the pot in a few millimetres of water for a few minutes to give some moisture at the bottom of the pot for the new roots to go heading for. Don't start regular watering until you are sure the new roots are well down the pot. P. maculata in particular also likes to be kept warmer in the summer with plenty of humidity too."

[Mike O'C]

Originally Posted by Dorothy

Awesome! Mike!
Make room in the refrigerator
Keep me posted on these little beauties ..
From Cultivation of Pleiones
(Check out this page for additional growing info)

"Pleione maculata, Pleione praecox and their hybrid P. x lagenaria are autumn flowering. They have a rather shorter rest period and need to be kept warmer during this time - I suggest a minimum of 10 centigrade. They will start to grow new leaves very early - often before the end of the year - and new roots too. Despite this new growth, do not be tempted to give a lot of water - keep them dry but mist them occasionally and perhaps stand the pot in a few millimetres of water for a few minutes to give some moisture at the bottom of the pot for the new roots to go heading for. Don't start regular watering until you are sure the new roots are well down the pot. P. maculata in particular also likes to be kept warmer in the summer with plenty of humidity too."

Dorothy,
Thanks. I am going to try growing them using my Cymbidium/Paph mix which is 2 parts fine (little finger nail size) pine (probably Pinus radiata) bark, I part medium pine bark (thumb nail size), 1 part peanut husks, I part shredded oak (Quercus quercus) leaves and 1 part perlite. I am going to use clay pots and top the potting media with a layer of sphagnum moss. I will start them off in my greenhouse (more humid) and then move them into my shade house in the spring (September). The temp in the shade house this week was 11/3C (max/min) on the coldest day this year.
Keep well and kind regards
Mike

[stonedragonfarms]

Hey all...a few of you know that I try and stick to the cool/cold growers (cymbidiums...I love cymbidiums...), but anything that I can grow alongside of them eventually gets trialed on my benches--this year some of the newbies are Pleione. I just thought that I would post a couple of pics. The first is a pot of P. limpritchii; this will be my second year with these, and the little devils grow like weeds! These did not flower this spring--probably a bit too much water from me, but I'll neglect them a bit more in the winter this year. The second is a shot of several groups of pleione species that I am toying with. These were late in coming from the nursery, and are about a month behind in growth from the limpritchii, though they are coming along nicely. For the record, I grow either in tree fern fibre or sphagnum, and repot annually, usually in early winter.
I'll post pics if I get my maculatas/praecox to bloom this fall, though I have a feeling that they'll need a season to recover from their ordeal. At any rate, enjoy!
Adam

[Des]

Mike I grow them in a porous clay bowl which i placed into a stryreen tray fiiled with. wet 6 mm stone chips they grow and flower well like this

[Dorothy]

Awesome Adam
I look forward to seeing them in bloom

[Mike O'C]

Originally Posted by Des

Mike I grow them in a porous clay bowl which i placed into a stryreen tray fiiled with. wet 6 mm stone chips they grow and flower well like this

Thanks Des. do you grow them in a shade house or greenhouse. Port Elizabeth may not have as extremes of temperature that we have in Pietermaritzburg. But I am going to give them a try.

[Des]

Mike , I grow them in the coolest part of my greenhouse. It is important to remember that it is mostly the roots that need to be kept cool

[Mike O'C]

Originally Posted by Des

Mike , I grow them in the coolest part of my greenhouse. It is important to remember that it is mostly the roots that need to be kept cool

Thanks Des. I think that I will grow them like I grow my Phragmipediums i.e. in a clay pot standing in a saucer of water in the collest part of my greenhouse. Once I have them established I think I will move them out into the shade house and winter them there.