I also bought some Pleione from Brent & Becky's Bulbs this year.

I found this website that I have been devouring (don't worry, I didn't use it all up). The guy writing this is in the U.K. but his information is good.

http://www.pleione.info

My bulbs will be here next week.

Thank you Daisy, for the great link...lots of excellent info here ( I need to lift mine up out of the mix a bit!) and I'm going to look at the other mail order companies listed in the US...I did not realize how many varieties there were and looking at the photo files made me drool!

I looked at Pleione growing a couple of years ago and did not buy in because of the temperature constraints. We're much too warm in winter, and too hot for at least 5 months of the year as well. I want orchids I can grow outdoors. Guess you'll be growing them indoors during the summer, and unpot to refrigerate, to supply the winter chill they need?

Lindsey, weren't you the one that didn't like Vandas because they were so demanding??

I don't know anything about the Pleione terrestrial orchids, other than they are apparently warm loving plants, hardy only in zones 8-10. I cannot imagine them needing a chill-down when growing in those zones, though certainly in zone 8 (my zone), we get plenty cold in the winter.

Check out the Cultivation info tab in the site above, Ken. Maximum temps recommended not above 25deg. C which is 77deg. F with an occasional bump to 30deg. C (85F) tolerated. These orchids grow happily in the Pac. Northwest, with winter protection. The guy with the site grows them in a cool greenhouse in England.

The other down side I felt with Pleiones is that the flowers bloom before the leaves come along, for the most part, and don't last very long. They're gorgeous flowers but that's a lot of work for a very fleeting bloom, once a year.

My plan is to pot them up and keep them on the front porch all summer and bring them into the garage next winter.

What you say would eliminate the vast majority of zones 9 and 10, right? Heck, Elaine, we will have two months of LOWS that can be above 77 F. I said, I don't grow them, never have, and know nothing about these little beauties.

I didn't say it, Ken although when I looked them up before, I found similar info. The terrific link above that Daisy posted has all that and a lot more. The pictures alone are worth a visit, but I don't want to live there.

Neither do I, Elaine. I spend enough time and effort growing what I have success with.

Zones 8 and 9 are vastly different on the east and west coast. That is why the American Horticultural Society came up with the heat zone map a number of years ago but it never really caught on. We have a terrible time explaining why a plant that grows in zone 8 or 9 won't make it here in zone 8 or 9. Agghhhh

It isn't even all about the heat. The humidity/rain makes a world of difference too.

for $5.95 I thought it worth a try...especially when I see not only Lowe's and HD offering blooming Hydrangea but also the Botanical Garden at USF in their plant sale. I asked about it and they actually looked it up and said Hydrangea was comfortable this far south..zone 9... I havent seen any in my neighbors yards...so who knows...I'll keep you posted on the progress

I've had a hydrangea growing in a large pot under an oak for years. It is not the most vigorous plant in the garden but it is alive and blooms every year.

Jim

good to know Jim...BTW..the knock out roses are on their way!

I have several large Oak Leaf Hydrangea growing under oaks. These Hydrangea perform very well for me. I wish the beautiful white flower heads would last longer than 4-6 wk., but I enjoy the show while it lasts.

They were one of my favorites in NC...I love how the flowers change colors...I saw those for sale locally as well..but zone 9 seems wrong..and I don't see them in ANY yard..new or established ( which makes me wonder )

The Oak Leaf's do OK here but only OK, the mop heads do better but they still don't have that vigor you see in areas with cooler winters. Hydrangeas are one of those that do well in zone 9 in the Northwest.

they have a zone 9 in the NorthWest?

Maybe in Oregon, or northern California, but most of coastal Oregon, Washington and British Columbis is zone 8. Alice is so right, though, hydrangeas just love that climate! My mother had a hedge of gorgeous blue mop heads.

My friends and family in Vancouver would dispute the zone designation this year - they've had one of the coldest and wettest winters in history this year. Feet of snow, cold rain, high winds, just a terrible winter. The suicide rate rises up there when the winter is especially long and bad, and it's still going on - this weekend is forecast for yet another big wet, cold Pacific storm.

Well phooey, we were just thinking of taking a trip out to Seattle and Vancouver but I don't want to encounter chilly weather. Maybe I'll aim for late June.