Purchase pleione orchids in the USA?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

You have to really search hard for shallow pots. I found some at my local specialty cacti and succulent garden center. Specialty cacti and succulent garden centers or nurseries should have them in great abundance.

Cacti and succulents usually have shallow root systems to capitalize on the seasonal flash floods that occur in the deserts they grow in. That's why these specialty stores will usually carry shallow pots.

Places that sell bonsai are good places to look too.

Then the issue would now be, does your area have a specialty store that carries bonsai, or cacti and succulents?

There are actually a lot of places that sell limestone. It's just a matter of them not labeling it as such.

One place that for certain labels the rocks they sell somewhat properly is OSH. The limestone is pure white in color, unlike the limestone you see in the pics with the Pleiones. But essentially it's close enough and it's providing what's necessary.

Make sure you're getting limestone, not gypsum. Gypsum is too powdery.

The reason that the limestone rocks in the pics are dark grey instead of white, is because of the impurities in the rock. I'm not exactly sure what the impurities are. Perhaps it's magnesium or manganese (I'm leaning more towards magnesium). If iron is involved, it'd have a rust colored appearance.

They don't sound very different in culture from Bletilla striata or certain Cymbidiums.

The link to the article about the culture of Pleiones talks about how sometimes the dormant pseudobulbs will "randomly" have dead roots or living roots. I don't think it's random. I think it has a lot to do with the way the plants are cultured. Essentially, I have a hunch that dormant Pleione pseudobulbs should have living root systems on them if they're cultured correctly.

Perhaps only certain species have dead roots during dormancy.

One clue is when the article you posted talks about bulbils (a form of keiki). I have always believed that keikis are really, for the most part, an orchid's bailout response to adverse conditions or poor health.

The other clue is the loss of vigor over time that is usually associated with root loss (especially if it repeatedly occurs). Essentially I think that Pleiones shouldn't be losing vigor if they've been growing over a long period of time, unless they're about to die from old age, die from being severely weakened, or die from some sort of ailment.

Since I've never grown a Pleione before, I can't tell you how much the information about Pleiones having annual pseudobulbs really holds up. To test this notion out, it's gotta pass the test of excellent culture over time.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Btw, I have a few terrestrial orchids that love limey soils.

This is how I'm gathering cultural info.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Found a blog about Pleione bulbocodioides:

Google Translate

Taiwan is also chock full of limestone cliffs and mountains.

[neb]

I love my Pleiones. They don't mind too much what media they are in. The biggest thing I can think of is that you need to wait untill the roots are well established before you water them or else you will have problems. It is good that I saw this post because it reminded me that I have a box of Formosa in the bottom drawer of the fridge.

[tanlu]

Neb: Do you have any photos of your pleiones in bloom?

Do you have experience growing p. maculata?

This genus of orchids seem very mysterious..

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I was thinking about why a Pleione wouldn't "mind" the media...

I recalled that a lot of potting soils have calcium in them in the form of either powdered dolomite or bone meal, etc. I don't exactly know how much of it is in there, or whether it's a negligible amount or not, but I recall a good number of brands of these potting soils have them listed as ingredients.

For example, some of the ingredients that contain calcium in my brand of potting soil are:

1. Powdered oyster shell
2. Powdered dolomite
3. Powdered gypsum (which is a form of limestone)

I've never measured the pH of potting soil though...

It might have a neutral pH, idk.

[Andrew]

My formosana are grown in a mix of Sphagnum and bark. No added liming agents. The mix has a pH of ~5.

[tanlu]

Andrew, those are very looking blooms!
Is that from this year?? How long have you had them?

I'm considering to purchase a formosana since they're supposedly better for beginners.

T

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by tanlu

Andrew, those are very looking blooms!
Is that from this year?? How long have you had them?

I'm considering to purchase a formosana since they're supposedly better for beginners.

T

Tanlu,
This was in flower in late August/early September (I'm in the southern hemisphere). At a guess I've probably had it for about 7 or 8 years. It's been multiplying well in that time so it's produced a lot more bulbs than are in the pot in the photo. I'll echo Neb's comments and say that, for me, the trick to growing them has been has been getting the watering right and choosing a media that will help you do so.

[neb]

I killed all three maculata that I had by not waiting to water them last year. I may get some more autumn flowering Pleone next season. This year I have had a problem with the bulbs getting too dry in storage then when I tried to keep them from drying out I grew mold and now all I have left is one or two mature bulbs and two immature bulbs. I was wrong in my previous post they are bulbocodioides. I have now idea what happened to the formosana.