Pleione Whakan and Pleione Tongariro first two of the season
The redder one is P.Whakan, and the pinker one is P.Tongariro. Whakan is quite small, only 2/3rds the size of the other. I have about five bulbs in each pot, and these are the first to get this far ; maybe the others will catch up, if so I'll add a pic' of the potful.
I think most members of this very exclusive "club" will not know Pleiones , which probably need much colder conditions than most can provide. I let the dormant bulbs go down to 2 deg. C. in the winter, to get good colour in the flowers, and I am told that if above 10 for the winter they may not start new growths and hence no flowers either . No risk of that in UK , unless you leave them in the greenhouse. Personally I knock them out of the pots when they lose their leaves in October and then put them in an unheated shed to chill out. The great thing about them is that if well grown, they almost double in size ( number of flowering bulbs) every year. I wish some of the other orchids would do that !
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