{"id":12754,"date":"2006-03-28T20:54:00","date_gmt":"2006-03-29T01:54:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-08-13T19:37:35","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T23:37:35","slug":"pleione-orchids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardern.co.za\/2006\/03\/pleione-orchids\/","title":{"rendered":"Pleione Orchids"},"content":{"rendered":"
Pleione orchids are a precious small orchid from western China that grow from bulbs, like a paperwhite. They are challenging to find, but are completely growable, and are as easy as paperwhites to bloom too, the first season after planting. The real skill will be getting them to bloom again, since they are terribly expensive and you won’t want to throw them out. With careful cultural care and attention, success is achievable and encouraged since they are so unique and no one has them anymore, and they can get better with age and multiply. As for finding bulbs to buy, few if any catalogs in North America sell them, and I only know of one Canadian nursery carrying them at the moment. If you do find some, they are rarely the choice new crosses that one finds in England, such as from Plione expert Ian Butterfield or Pottertons, but more likely they are species forms, and one too must be careful that they were not collected from the wild. In Europe, there are spectacular crosses and grex’s available, as well as many species. The British bulb retailers carry some nice crosses, but you must order them while they are dormant, around late November until January, since by Valentines day many have started to show buds, and they will not ship them. Everything has a season, especially uncommon plants, that is why you don’t see them at American retailers. Short shelf life, and you can’t sell them in bloom. It’s a real problem with American Garden Centers, as a reason why every one’s garden looks the same, in late May, since that is the only time people go to the garden center to buy plants, and they only carry plants that are in full bloom at that season. But we hortiphiles are informed gardeners, and won’t be affected by such things.<\/p>\n
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