Pleione ‘Alishan’

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Phred

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The first of my Pleione to bloom this year. I made a couple hybrids a few years ago but didn’t do well with the seedlings. They were so tiny from the lab I couldn’t figure out how to get them going... I lost them all by the next year. I might try again... we’ll see what else blooms.
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A nice flower. Do all your Pleione flower now? Mine are done and dusted and in full leaf growing away!
 
Depends on when I take them out of storage. What do you dust yours with.

Sorry, 'done and dusted' is a phrase meaning they're finished for the year!

I don't store mine but keep them potted, cold and dry but frost free. That'll explain the earlier flowering!
 
Sorry, 'done and dusted' is a phrase meaning they're finished for the year!

I don't store mine but keep them potted, cold and dry but frost free. That'll explain the earlier flowering!
Lol... here in South Jersey they have leaf problems from the heat and humidity. I thought you had a secret. I could bring them into the air conditioned house for the worst part of the summer. Where are you located if you don’t mind my asking?
I used to let them dry out in the fall then clean them up and store them in the fridge until it got nice out. Then I would pot them up and start all over. Lately I just let the pots go dry and put them in the shed until spring.
 
Lol... here in South Jersey they have leaf problems from the heat and humidity. I thought you had a secret. I could bring them into the air conditioned house for the worst part of the summer. Where are you located if you don’t mind my asking?
I used to let them dry out in the fall then clean them up and store them in the fridge until it got nice out. Then I would pot them up and start all over. Lately I just let the pots go dry and put them in the shed until spring.

I'm in Nottingham in the UK. We can hit -15oC in winter but rarely and increasingly less often. Summers top out at around in an average of 25oC. We don't get much above 30oC even at record temperatures and the springs tend to be mild and wet!

The conservatory they overwinter in is North-west facing and they sit under some shelving until the first signs of growth when they start getting watered.

They get the same water as my Paphs - RO water with 50:50 Akerne's rain mix and Calcium Nitrate with 2 scoops to a 5l sprayer.

If it gets too hot in the conservatory they go outside on my deck in partial shade.

Once they go dormant I check the potting mix and repot then if it has started to break down. They are in standard Orchiata with some added broken up sphagnum.

Maybe if you started yours into growth earlier they might find the conditions more pleasant before you get too hot?
 
eds, thanks for sharing your method for overwintering. I have always wanted to try Pleone, but it's too cold here in Northern Indiana. Do you think a dry winter storage at 55F to 60F in a basement be acceptable? This is where I overwinter my Alstromeria and Gloxinia 'Evita'
 
The plants certainly won't succumb at 55oF (12oC) but I'm not sure that will be cold enough to get flowers the following year. I've found that without good growing period in the summer and a decent length period in mid-single figures (oC) I don't get a good flowering display.

One reason people un-pot the bulbs at the end of the growing season is to put them in bags and overwinter them in a fridge if the usual climate is too hot or cold! This might be worth investigating in your climate? Or try them in a pot in your basement and if they don't flower then try the fridge!
 
eds, thanks for sharing your method for overwintering. I have always wanted to try Pleone, but it's too cold here in Northern Indiana. Do you think a dry winter storage at 55F to 60F in a basement be acceptable? This is where I overwinter my Alstromeria and Gloxinia 'Evita'
At 55°F Pleione will start growing long before they can go outside. You’ll end up growing them in the house unless you have a greenhouse. That was my experience the first year I had Pleione. The next fall I stored them in the fridge. They’ve flowered every year since then. In my shed the temps are 35- 45°F until spring.
 
Nice. Thanks for sharing. I have a few but I grew inside and didn't cool them down. :( Now what?
Are the leafed out? If they are just feed them well for the season... they will reproduce and be ready to flower next year. This fall I’d clean them up and store them in the fridge... I’m going back to that for next year.
 
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