Thanks guys those are some amazing photos! I always love seeing orchids in their native habitat.

Phillip, I'm also considering to get a pleione formosana since they seem to be more readily available online. Also because the P. maculata is an autumn bloomer, it wouldn't hurt to have one that blooms in the spring.

I have a Pleione maculata but I can't help much on culture... not sure mine survived the dormancy :(

I also have a Pleione Erebus 'Redpoll' which is just coming out of dormancy now.

Anyway, maculata is meant to flower a lot earlier than others (October/November). When I bought one in March last year the flower had already been and gone and it was growing. They are also warmer growers. Some of the advice I have read says to overwinter them above 12C other advice said 15C.

I think mine got too cold as I kept it with the Erebus which likes it colder, although it may still recover :dunno:

The flower on my Erebus lasted maybe a week from memory (I will have to check that). They are quite a short flowered orchid.

What are some of the signs that make you think it's dead?

:crossfing

I'm not too surprised that the flowers would last about a week. I've come to expect that of a good number of orchids.

Being in bloom for 1 week is better than 1 day! :)

It's not grown, or flowered. These are meant to flower in the autum which it didn't do and I would expect some growth by now from what I've read. The bulb still looks green and is firm. There is a very tiny shoot out the side but it's not grown for the last month (I first spotted the shoot about a month ago).

Agreed, and that Erubus had a wonderful pink flower, really striking one that I really enjoyed. :) I'm thinking of getting some more of these. They are quite easy to get in the UK and a nursary I like tends to stock various different ones.

Let's see if it responds if you try a few things...

A little more light and maybe some calcium in it's water; or more light and a limestone foundation on the bottom of the pot, and some of the organic stuff on the top portion of the pot where the roots are.

Maybe even try growing it just a little warmer.

It's worth a try.

Sometimes terrestrial orchids are stubborn.

Other times it's just how unpredictable they sometimes can be, who knows.

I've noticed how most terrestrial orchids don't necessarily beat to the same drum as the epiphytical orchids do. They're just not as predictable at times.

Repotting for many terrestrial orchids are ideally done during dormancy, unlike the epiphytes which people tend to favor repotting during active growth.

Based on what you described (green, firm, and side growth), your bulb seems to be very much alive. I read a horticultural article about the hardiness of the pleione species. Yours should be fine.

I'm a little confused about your reply here. If your purchased it last year in March 2010, did it bloom last fall or not? If it did, how long did the bloom last on yours??
Phillip, you mentioned they last for about a week. I'm used to orchids keeping their flowers for at least 3 weeks... I'll do some research and see if there is a way to keep their flowers longer (like placing them in cool shade)..:crossfing

Since they're from the highlands of southeast Asia, namely Thailand, Yunnan province, Laos, and Vietnam, I would think they would prefer mild winters (their winter = cool dry season, summer = hot rainy season).

Phillip's recommendations make sense to me as well. Mimicking it's native habitat is always best for any plant.

I'm waiting for my p. maculata in the mail, so please keep us posted on its progress!

T

Hmm, interesting about the limestone. It's already in my brightest window (I moved it brighter after someone on another forum suggested that in November).

I didn't get flowers in the fall. That on top of the lack of growth is why I'm not sure if it's going to do anything again.

Anyway, sorry Tanlu I didn't mean to divert your thread :blushing: Good luck with yours.

I would think they're very much alive, but as far as "well" is concerned, idk. Maybe they are "well", maybe they aren't.

Particularly if they've not bloomed at all for Rosie.

Rosie mentioned the flowers on Pleiones last for about a week. I tend to agree.

Most orchid genera I've grown have flowers that last in that timeframe.

It depends on the orchid. Some Phals and quite a few Dendrobiums have flowers that last up to 3 weeks or more.

Some Catts also have flowers that last up to 2 - 3 weeks.

Some orchids have flowers that are ephemeral and last only 1 day or less! Orchids in the genus Flickingeria and most species of orchids in the genus Diplocaulobium are like this.

Keeping the Pleiones cool will keep the flowers longer only by days, not weeks.

I've found this to be particularly useful with terrestrial orchids in general.

A lot of terrestrial orchids in my experience tend to respond much more favorably in conditions and soils that are much closer to what they'd encounter in the wild.

I think one of the issues regarding potting mixes is that they must reflect the pH of the soil the terrestrial orchids originally came from.

For example, Cypripedium acaule is an orchid that was known to be notoriously difficult to grow, not because the species is a problematic species. It's because even if people were able to provide the cool temperatures needed to grow this species of Cypripedium, most people were not aware of the fact that they grow in bogs and like peaty and very acidic soils.

In the case of Pleione maculata, it would seem likely that the pH of the soil needs to be more alkaline because of the limestone.

I also think that one of the nutrients Pleione maculata utilizes to function properly is calcium.

Ok, cool. :)

Wow, Thanks for that reply Phillip, I'm spacing out at work right now since not much going on..

Where can I get limestone to put at the bottom of small flowerpots??

Here's an interested article about growing pleione. It seemed very educational to beginners like myself.

http://www.aosforum.org/pdf/Pleione_2.pdf

information on growing pleiones
 

Just caught this thread, try this website which I found to be very useful

The Pleione Website