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Hi, wouldn't you like to grow Pleiones like this prize winning 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. By the way, 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 five bulbs to get to this size.

Pleione Barcena (formosana x praecox), a welcome winter flowerer, has nearly finished flowering.

State of Play: 10th January 2012

Happy New Year and Successful Orchid Growing !!!

Please note: no more pleione shipments until the autumn.

Pleiones have been treated with spraying oil and fungicide and are now ready to be re-potted. I start mine early to have them in flower for the RHS London Orchid Show in March. For potting compost etc. take a look at my page on Pleione Cultivation.

Winter flowering pleiones are still going strong and are starting to develop roots. If they have outgrown their pots, just drop them on into a bigger one or a bowl (they grow much better in company), without disturbing the roots. You can gently remove the old shrivelled bulbs and any dead old roots, which are dark brown or black in colour. Watch out for new roots, they are white and you don't want to damage those.

Bletillas are developing new shoots; make sure they are well mulched to be prepared for colder weather.

Calanthes (such as sieboldii, tricarinata etc.) are growing strong leaves and new shoots. You can give more light now. Feed & water well.

Cypripedium have formed nice new shoots. Keep off excessive rain by covering with a clear plastic sheet. Watch out for slugs and snails.

Dactylorhizas and Epipactis are hibernating. A good time to re-pot. Some tubers are doubles and can be separated carefully.

Spiranthes have finished flowering and are showing new growth and nice clean foliage.

About Pln Barcena (left): Here are two clones, quite different in appearance, showing that the formosana parent in the upper picture was distinctively different from the one used in the lower picture. The pseudobulbs look the same, large, green and flattish, and both hybrids multiply readily.

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

The pleiones are available as flowering size bulbs (FS) and smaller 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.

Hardy orchids and 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.

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.