Heritage Orchids

Specialising in Pleiones and CypripediumS

Hi, wouldn't you like to grow Pleiones like this awarded bowl of Pleione Tongariro ? Then look no further - my Pleiones will do that for you, given a little care and attention.

Close-up of flowers. Tongariro is my great favourite, tall, elegant and long lasting, flowering mid April to mid May. There are 70 pseudobulbs in this bowl and it took four years from a starter of 5 bulbs to reach this size.

Hi all,

thank you for your custom and interest. I hope your pleiones will do well for you this season and ever after.

Now is the time to pot them up. Be sure to have pots, bowls, compost and labels ready and find a nice place for them to sit and grow.

The cooler you keep them, the longer the flowers will last. Keep the compost just moist until after flowering.

Give your autumn flowering pleiones a little more heat, as described in the Culture section.

All the best from
                  Maren

State of Play: 15th Februrary 2016

My shop is now closed.

It will re-open 1st November 2016.

This year I am selling pleiones in these quantities for the same price:

FS =      flowering size                    Qty   1

FS-1 = 1 year to flowering            Qty   2

Bulbil = 3-4 years to flowering    Qty 10

So for example, if you are interested in
Pleione Tongariro, £3.00 will buy you:

     1 FS bulb or

     2 FS-1 bulbs or

     10 bulbils

Please note that FS-1 bulbs and bulbils will only be sold in multiples of the quantities indicated above.

If you are looking for something that's not in my lists, it's worth sending me an email, as I have small quantities of unlisted pleiones.

 Welcome to Heritage Orchids, my Pleione and Cypripedium Nursery, where you will find a selection of easy to grow near hardy (pleiones) and hardy (cypripedium) orchids. 

The pleiones are offered as flowering size bulbs (FS) and younger bulbs (FS-1). 
FS:         The flowering size bulbs will generally have one or two buds when dispatched. 
FS-1:     The smaller bulbs will need to grow one more year before flowering. 
If you are new to Pleiones, you may not want to take that risk - go for flowering size. 

NB. I use 'pseudobulbs' and 'bulbs' interchangeably; 'bulbs' is shorter and I trust you know what I mean.

What happens after the bulb gets to you is entirely up to your skill, i.e. correct compost, adequate watering, appropriate temperature etc. Full instructions are given, so don't worry, just follow them and you should be rewarded with the most delicate and appealing flowers. There is also extensive growing information on this site.

Cypripediums have been grown from seedlings for several years. They are dispatched “bare root”, i.e. stripped of compost, and need to be planted upon receipt. Full instructions enclosed.

Something to think about

All our plants are from 'cultivated' stock, acquired either as young bulbs or seedlings from reputable growers, mainly in the UK and some from Continental Europe. We do not sell plants taken from the wild.

Depending on the species or hybrid, orchids may take anything between 4 and 8 years to flower from seed. This explains why they aren’t cheap, as they need to be looked after for a long time, during which losses occur from adverse weather conditions, predation by slugs and snails etc. However, it all seems worthwhile as they are such a joy to behold, and they convey a great sense of achievement when they flower and grow into large clumps.

And let us not ignore the conservation benefits, which arise from growing seed-raised orchids. The more there are and the easier they are to obtain, the less pressure there will be on wild populations of these delightful plants. In nature, they suffer from habitat destruction by the advances of loggers and property developers as well as the indiscriminate pilferage of commercial collectors. So let's grow lots of them to ensure their conservation.