Separating and potting Pleione orchid bulbs

This week Plant Lovers, a Pleione orchid update! It's been a four year journey of learning about these bulbs...with some success and some utter failures! I made a video last flowering season with professional grower Jane Tonkin - you can see that here: • Pleione ground orchid ... - so I feel I'm better equipped this season! In this video we'll look at the bulbs I flowered last year; how they multiplied - or didn't it! - where they're at in their life cycle and how I'm re-potting them. Then we'll also look at some new bulbs I bought from Jane and I'll pot those up.
If you want to see my other Pleione videos you can here: • PLEIONE GROUND ORCHIDS
The two nurseries I mention where you can find the bulbs for sale in Australia are: www.whitehousenursery.com.au/ and www.tonkinsbulbs.com.au/ and I recently discovered this seller too: www.trainsforthegarden.com.au/...
The two varieties I'm planting in this video are:
Pleione Shantung 'Canberra'
Pleione 'Tongariro'

[@HolidayGlow]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who misunderstood "keep them dry"! I lost my first ones because they were too dry, the next seasons were too wet and I've yet to try the third attempt! LOL

[@helloplantlovers]

Ha! We're at the same point in our Pleione journey!

[@joyousorchids]

Really good comprehensive video, Matt. Good job! I’ve seen your other vids on these Orchids and you’ve definitely leveled up. I sincerely appreciate that you’re sharing your learnings and experiences. When I get around to taking on these lovelies, I will be well-armed with info. Cheers, Sharon

[@helloplantlovers]

Thanks for watching!

[@EFA512]

Ooooo! I like those! I'll have to ask my orchid dealer at Little Brook Orchids if he has them.

[@helloplantlovers]

Good luck!

[@lucythecat529]

Enjoyed your video. I had one bulb once. I was told to keep it in the fridge when dormant . It produced bulbells but I don’t think I fed them well and eventually lost them

[@helloplantlovers]

Oh dear! They can be tricky!

[@rasaakstinaite]

I had a couple of bulbs last season and they flowered beautifully but didn't produce much in terms of new bulbs. I had no idea about the tiny bulbils so they all went to compost (oh dear), but the two remaining bulbs I have in bark and sphagnum moss haven't budged this spring. They are probably parched though because they haven't been watered since coming out of the mix in autumn. I'll go give them a bit of water 😁

[@helloplantlovers]

Yes! Not too much water though! Good luck!

[@AuchVideo]

"Tongariro" probably refers to the name of a national park here in New Zealand. Hope this solves the mystery behind the name!

[@helloplantlovers]

Aha! Thank you!

[@michaelmccarthy4077]

I've always fancied growing Pleione but having to talked to a number of people, growing them in south Florida isn't possible because our summers a too hot, wet and humid. My understanding is they need more cooling at night than is possible here.

[@helloplantlovers]

Yes, they are definitely a cool climate beast. I've never tried the Autumn flowering ones which are supposed to be more heat tolerant.

[@wendywhitham5357]

Hi Matthew. That was great, thanks. Two queries. First, am I right in thinking you need to do this dividing and repotting every year? (I haven't been doing that.) Second, I live in Canberra where we can get overnight temperatures down to -10 degrees. I've read that pleiones don't like such low temperatures so I'm puzzled as to how to protect them from severe cold but still keep them moist. I don't think I can leave them out like Jane does. Any thoughts? Thanks.

[@helloplantlovers]

Hmm....firstly no, you don't need to repot them every year. But the flowered bulb will always rot away so just removing them would be enough - or just leave them as many growers do! And in Canberra if you had a covered or protected verandah, porch etc to put the pots over winter. But some of the species are very hardy, they are protected by leaf mulch in winter, so its not the cold but rather the wet that's the problem. Try a bit of shelter and an occasional light watering to keep the soil from drying out completely and becoming hydrophobic. I would also trial leaving a pot outside under a tree or a similar protect spot and see what happens! Good luck!

[@wendywhitham5357]

@@helloplantlovers Thanks Matthew, that's very helpful. I'll try what you suggest. Cheers.

[@epicsushi5817]

Wow! I always wanted these orchids but they are not available here :(

[@helloplantlovers]

That's a shame! They are beautiful!

[@justtryandtaste8927]

Hi Matthew, maybe you can watch channel You Tube Howard's Orchid, he has a very good video about how to grow Pleione through the year. Anyway, I always love your videos even though some of the orchids I couldn't grow in my country.

[@daisyflower4105]

Yes..that’s a great video!

[@helloplantlovers]

Thanks for watching! I'll have a look.

[@shananross1673]

Hey where did you buy your Dendrobium Victoria Reginea from?

[@helloplantlovers]

Hi there - I bought it on Ebay.

[@shananross1673]

Can you think of anywhere else you can buy them?

[@helloplantlovers]

@@shananross1673 Nope. Depends where ever you are. Orchid groups, FB marketplace, google. Good luck with the search!