Pleione

This has consistently been a head-turner here when it is in flower. A hybrid by Butterfield and registered in 1981, this fine selection is finally becoming available. Rich pink flowers of good size and a large fringed lip or slipper pouch which is decked out in orange-pink spots with the interior all orange ruffles and flourishes. A good increaser and best suited for pot culture where it can be brought in and left to go dormant in a cool spot over winter. Unless of course you garden in a very mild setting and then this is great outdoors where it can be tucked into a partially shaded rotting log or mossy rock outcrop. Pleione orchids require excellent drainage and we've seen them in China and Arunachal Pradesh growing on mossy cliffs or tree trunks.

Beautiful flowers on this selection from the Versailles grex of the cross between P. limprichtii and P. formosana. Large rich pink-lavender flowers with an expressive fringed lip invites you to explore the voluptuous inner hollows colored sensuously in orange and yellow. Why silk pajamas, candles and Bolero just popped into mind is curious........and not a bad idea.

This is a surprisingly hardy terrestrial Orchid that is quite easy to grow given a couple of rules. Loose crumbly organic/gritty well-drained soil and fairly dry in the winter. Oh yeah, real cold is not the best either. We have friends who grow these easily in nearby Port Ludlow in rotting logs, stumps and deep moss on rocks with a tarp thrown over in winter to shed rain but that is in a mild maritime garden. Traditionally this is grown in containers and overwintered in a cool sunroom or coldframe. Were making this sound harder than it is and we don't mean to as it is worth the minimal fuss. Pink and white Cattleya-type flowers on such a little plant. This increases freely by small bulblets which is how we have come to offer these to you.

A tried and true selection that really puts out with classic orchid flowers with rich pink petals backing a white cup that is nicely fringed on the lip with some light spotting on the interior and touched in yellow in the throat. An amalgamation of attributes in one flower. Good increaser needing good drainage like a rotting log and overwinters here in Puget Sound.

Striking hybrid with yellow flowers, nicely fringed lip and interior heavily spotted in red. We have seen one reference to this as being a hybrid between P. albiflora and the lovely yellow P. forrestii. We have seen forrestii in the Cangshan and despite it being fall and thus no leaves or flowers - just dormant pseudobulbs packed into a rock crevice, we still did a botanical St. Vitus dance. This has filled that void magnificently.

While typically grown in pots and overwintered in a cool frost free spot, we've grown these in rotted cedar logs or on mossy boulders and simply protected them during cold snaps and have had excellent success with these outdoors. Excellent drainage is key. These will increase nicely through small offsets and who doesn't love orchids in the garden?

An Ian Butterfield cross between P. pleionoides and P. humilis, this easy orchid has large flowers of pink-lavender with a fringed lip and interior well-spotted in red with a beckoning bee runway of yellow. Typical Pleione culture - the internet is full of great advice for growing in containers and also fantastic in mild gardens where it will thrive in mossy logs and stumps. Great drainage first and foremost.

Part of the Vesuvius series of hybrids by Ian Butterfield, this bulbocodioides crossed with x confusa has it all working. Rich deep pink flowers are a perfect frame for the psychedelic rabbit hole of a fringed floral lip whose base color of yellow-orange is heavily overlaid by carmine conjoined spots. And it's legal.

A very lovely selection of this terrestrial and sometime lithophytic orchid. These are hardy outside in mild winters or given protection. They need great drainage like planted in moss on a rock or in a stump or rotting log and protected during severe cold snaps. Traditionally grown in pots and brought in a cool spot for the winter, these are quite easy.

A new offering for us here at Far Reaches, and a solid addition to any Pleione collection. This has a handsome deep magenta flower with a fringed lip and dark red spotting in the throat. As with all Pleiones, this increases freely by small bulblets, and needs excellent drainage.