My admiration of Pleione orchids has increased over the years as my original plants have increased and one new hybrid came into my life. Given that, I decided to add some new varieties to my collection. I found an excellent seller on eBay (787paulm) who offers different clones of these wonderful orchids. I ordered two new ones and when they arrived, Paul had thrown in a gift bulb for free.

Paul is local here and the bulbs landed very quickly–huge and healthy–bigger than any of my bulbs, and all of them have buds developing. I have no idea if they will actually flower. I potted them in moss gathered from the lawn with potting mix underneath. I’m particularly excited about the yellow hybrid, Golden Gate, as that will be very different from the pinks that I already own.

Pleione bulbs reproduce rapidly when they are happy. My bulbs produce multiple new bulbs and bulblets every year. The bulbs bloom the following year while the bulblets take several years to reach blooming size. There are enough of them for me to try some outside this year; they are hardy here (zone 8, 10 degrees). They would look nice in the woodland garden. Stay tuned for that experiment.