How do you take care of a pleione orchid?
Pleiones require good drainage and a sheltered spot in the garden. For winter protection, a mulch of pine needles or a few fir boughs works well. Pleiones may also be grown in pans or half pots. Any well-drained potting mix is suitable.
How long do pleione flowers last?
IDENTIFY PLEIONE ORCHID PLANT They overwinter as dormant bulbs, flower in spring, grow leaves and roots and new bulbs during summer and shed leaves in autumn. Their pseudobulbs only live for one year, producing 2 or 3 new bulbs before they die.
When should I start pleione watering?
Pleiones are watered from spring through summer to autumn and then kept totally dry while dormant in the winter.
How do you care for pleione Formosana?
Pleione formosana requires at least occasional temperature drop to 0-2 ° C in winter. Watering should be limit to occasional fogs, which will protect against problems with pseudobulb rotting. The plants should not be fertilized during this period.
How do you plant pleione bulbs?
The bulbs should not be buried in the substrate but planted so that a third of their size protrudes from the compost. Once the growth has begun, never depot the plant: Pleiones are unable to reform broken roots. The bulbs therefore should not be disturbed as from the moment when the shoots start to germinate.
When should I repot Pleiones?
Pleiones are best repotted during the dormant season (June-August). Take the newly grown tubers and carefully remove and discard the old, withered, dark tubers that produced their flowers last year. Be careful not to damage the new growths at the base of the new tubers.
What is Pleione formosana?
Pleione ‘Formosana ‘alba’ (pictured right) is the white flowering species. A few cultivars such as Pleione formosana ‘Oriental Splendor’ and Pleione formosana semi-alba ‘Cairngorm’ are said to have improved color.
What are the growing conditions for Pleione orchids?
The main growing conditions relate to moisture, during active growth, spring to summer Pleione Orchids like to be kept moist when in active growth, in dormancy, Fall to Winter they like to be able to dry out a little.
What is the best Pleione cultivar to improve color?
A few cultivars such as Pleione formosana ‘Oriental Splendor’ and Pleione formosana semi-alba ‘Cairngorm’ are said to have improved color.
Is Pleione a pseudobulb?
Unlike most other pseudobulbous orchids, Pleione has annual pseudobulbs. These easy to grow plants are referred to as “windowsill plants” in England, where they are used as houseplants.