Pleione chunii is endemic to southern China. It grows in forests at elevations of 1400-2800 meters above sea level in North Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, West Yunnan.
Pleione chunii also called as Chun's Pleione, Pleione hookeriana var. sinensis, Pleione hookeriana var. milanii, Pleione milanii, is a species of the genus Pleione. This species was described by Ching Lieh Tso in 1933.
IDENTIFY PLEIONE CHUNII ORCHID PLANT
Pleione chunii is endemic to southern China. It grows in forests at elevations of 1400-2800 meters above sea level in North Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, West Yunnan.
It is a small sized, cool to cold growing terrestrial with clustered, green to pale green, pyriform to conic, tapering apically into a conspicuous neck, 2.5-4.5 x 1.2 cm pseudobulb carrying a single, elliptic-lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, acute, 6-20 × 2-3 cm leaf.
Chun's Pleione blooms in the spring on an erect, arising with the new leaf, 5 to7 cm long, 1 to rarely 2 flowered inflorescence enveloped by basal tubular sheaths and a green, narrowly elliptic-oblanceolate floral bract.
The flowers are large, pale pink to rose-purple, often paler toward base, lip white with a longitudinal yellow or orange-yellow stripe at center and brown-red spotted toward apex; pedicel and ovary. Dorsal sepal narrowly elliptic or oblong-elliptic, apex subacute; lateral sepals obliquely elliptic, slightly shorter and wider than dorsal sepal, apex subacute. Petals spreading, oblanceolate or spatulate, apex rounded or obtuse; lip broadly flabellate when flattened, obscurely 3-lobed above middle, lateral margins erect and embracing column, apical margin dentate or irregularly erose, apex emarginate; disk with 6 rows of long papillae extending from base of lip almost to apex of mid-lobe.
PLEIONE CHUNII ORCHID PLANT CARE AND CULTURE
Cultural information should only be used as a guide, and should be to be adapted to suit you. Your physical location; where you grow your plants, how much time you have to devote to their care, and many other factors, will need to be taken into account. Only then can you decide on the cultural methods that best suit you and your plants.
Light:
Pleione chunii needs a light level of 18000-30000 lux. This species prefer about 50%-70% shade and should not be placed in full sun.
Temperature:
The recommended temperature is 25°C in summer and 1-5°C in winter. However they will tolerate higher summer temperatures of 35°C for short periods. They need cool to cold temperatures in winter of between 1 and 5°C.
Humidity:
Chun's Pleione need good air movement. Place them near the bottom of the shade house where it is coolest and humidity highest. Misting is beneficial in very hot weather.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Pleione chunii grow best in squat pots. This plant require a free draining open potting mix. Small sized bark mixed with perlite in a 3:1 ratio is a suitable mix. Some growers use sphagnum moss instead of perlite but this can become soggy and perlite is considered a better option.
The plant should be repotted when they are dormant in winter. Their roots die at the end of the season. When repotting remove all the roots leaving about 3 cm of roots to anchor the pseudobulb in the compost.
Watering:
This orchid should be watered regularly through the warmer months but totally dry in winter. Water in the early morning and not during the heat of the day. Roots start to grow as the flowers die and only a little water should be given from this time on as they have yet to develop roots. Keeping them drier at the start of the growing season also encourages the roots to penetrate. Over watering during the early root growth stage is a major cause of plant loss. Once leaves are well developed they can be watered freely. Stop watering when the leaves go yellow and allow them to become completely dry.
Fertilizer:
You can use regular but weak liquid fertilizer during their growing period but not when they are dormant. Use a lower Nitrogen fertiliser at the end of summer to encourage flower bud development.
Rest period:
Pleione chunii goes to sleep from late autumn to early spring. Watering should be stopped when the leaves begin to fall. Fertilization should be stopped during this period. When new sprouts appears, the rest period end, the amount of water and fertilizer can be back to normal level.
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