PEACOCK ORCHID Pleione
Pleione is a small genus orchids with common names including peacock orchid, glory of the east, Himalayan crocus, Indian crocus and windowsill orchid.
The big, showy flowers are pink to purplish, white or yellow, while the fringed, tubular lip is often paler or white, with yellow, red or purple dots and stripes. The flowers of the mountain species start blooming in spring, while the new shoots develop. The flowers of the orchids, growing in warmer climates, bloom in autumn, when the leaves have dropped.
The species are well adapted to cold temperatures and even frost. They grow in well-drained habitats and on rocks covered with moss.
They are easily grown by the layman, easy to propagate and are among the most popular orchids. They are much in demand for hybridization. Numerous garden hybrids have been produced, of which many have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Type: Hardy Perennial
Height: 20cm, 8"
Location: Sun or part
Hardiness zones: 6-9, and possibly zone 5
Seeds per pack: 10. The seeds are very tiny like sawdust.
Germination: Sow onto wet sphagnum moss and keep in a cool permanently moist spot. Within 6-12 months germination will begin, and appear as tiny bulbils at first, and then forming plants and flowering.
