Pleione autumn 2009

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Karel, Lars, very fine looking Barcena!
Lars, the photos are great, often the camera doesn't quite capture what the eye sees and also no two cameras are them same etc etc!
At the end of the day this is a Plant Forum, not a photography competition, it is clear your plants are very well grown and flower superbly, Bravo!

Couldn't agree more !!!

[Maggi Young]

Karel, Lars, very fine looking Barcena!
Lars, the photos are great, often the camera doesn't quite capture what the eye sees and also no two cameras are them same etc etc!
At the end of the day this is a Plant Forum, not a photography competition, it is clear your plants are very well grown and flower superbly, Bravo!

Couldn't agree more !!!

Me too!!     The interesting thing is to see what we are growing and how we are getting along......

[LarsB]

I don't think it has anything to do with the clone. It's the culture. I got mine last autumn and  and it Barcena flowered in january/february. I grow my plione outside until the first nght frost, which means that it probably had a colder autumn and subsequestly decided that was cold and now it's time to flower. The rest of my autumn flowering are also significantly earlier than many other i've seen on different fora. 

[karel_t]

P. praecox have started to flower.

[Paul T]

I love the labellum markings on the second one.  Great contrast.

[Slug Killer]

Today. Wharfedale, Barcena, Sangay

[LarsB]

Very good pictures, Dave and indeed a nice pot of Wharfdale you got there. Do you generally grown them in clay pots? What compost are you using?

[Slug Killer]

Hi Lars

These were grown in mainly bark and perlite with a little moss but I'm increasing the amount of moss for next year to around 30%.

David

[Luc Gilgemyn]

They look great Dave !!

[Hristo]

Very appealing pots David,
Interesting that you are increasing the % of moss in your mix. After a couple of poor seasons with my Pleione here in BG I resolved my problems in part by increasing the moss % to around 80%! Summer shade temps here reach 30c and humidity levels can be very low so the increased moss proportion retains the moisture they crave whilst keeping airy conditions, this said they still need watering morning and evening through the late spring, summer and early autumn months!

Great to see the winter flowering Pleiones from other growers too, a great tonic for those of us without!

[Eric Locke]

Very appealing pots David,
Interesting that you are increasing the % of moss in your mix. After a couple of poor seasons with my Pleione here in BG I resolved my problems in part by increasing the moss % to around 80%! Summer shade temps here reach 30c and humidity levels can be very low so the increased moss proportion retains the moisture they crave whilst keeping airy conditions, this said they still need watering morning and evening through the late spring, summer and early autumn months!

Great to see the winter flowering Pleiones from other growers too, a great tonic for those of us without!

Chris -  Not sure what it is about Sphagnum moss, but this really does make a big difference in the growing of Pleione . It is amazing how pleione roots always seem to follow the moss around the pan.
I have been gradually increasing the amount used in my mixes for several years. I find that several species will grow much better in a mix containing near 100% use of it. Forrestii and Aurita seem to benifit the most from a near 100% mix with Grandiflora and Chunii not far behind . Most other species grow much better if a minimum of 50% is included. I find it a good idea to grow in fairly deep pots with a more normal pleione mix in the bottom 1/3 and the higher moss content in the rest of the pan.
I always grow all bulbs placed on a moss layer and also wrap a good layer around the pan perimeter too at the same bulb level.

Eric

[Slug Killer]

Pleione aurita I struggle with and will try a lot more moss this year. Forrestii and Grandiflora I don't find need it and all mine produced good sized bulbs plus good bulbils this year without any moss at all, this could of course be down to the individual watering and the plants getting it when they need it. Moss may just store and supply the water when needed better than bark/perlite mix allowing the plants to take it at critical times. Think I'll take both forrestii and grandiflora and try some in moss and some in bark/perlite next season and monitor the growth and end results.

This year I have loads of very tiny bulbils from both chunii and humilis which so far seem in good condition but I'm not sure of the best way to cultivate them. Last year was the same but I suffered heavy loses with both of them and only a few bulbils survived. Any ideas?

David

[Maxime_P]

Merry Christmas everybody !   (and then a happy new year of course   )



Pleione Sangay

[JPB]

Dave, this year I had, initially, good results in growing P. humilis bulbils on top of very finely cut moss. Uncut moss has too much space for the tiny roots to anchor. I did't see much difference between bulbils grown in Sphagnum and a less water-retaining moss from my garden.

Still they were lost by end of summer...I don't know what happened...they simply vanished 

Next year I'll try again. I have lots of bulbils from different clones. P. humilis is my favorite Pleione..

A nice Christmas to all of you!

Hans

[sjusovare]

   Hello, and Merry Christmas to all. 

  About sphagnum moss, I guess the difference lies in the fact that living sphagnum moss is naturally bactericide and fungicide due to its acidity, plus it tends to ensure ventilation.
  On the other hand, I noticed here that once it was dead (which happens quite often due to its low tolerance to fertilizers), it becomes a risk because of rotting.

  On the chapter of too small bulbils, I know it's not an orthodox method  but I tend to flask them.