Pleione formosana (Windowsill orchid)

Botanical name

Pleione formosana

Other names

Windowsill orchid, Pleioine bulbocodioides, Taiwan pleione

Genus

Pleione Pleione

Species

P. formosana - P. formosana is a deciduous perennial with rounded pseudobulbs, each producing a lilac-pink flower with brown-marked, white lips in spring followed by one folded, elliptic to lance-shaped, mid-green leaf.

Foliage

Deciduous

Habit

Erect, Upright

Awards

RHS AGM (Award of Garden Merit)

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Colour

Flower

Lilac-pink in Spring

Foliage

Mid-green in Spring; Mid-green in Summer

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How to care

Watch out for

Specific pests

Aphids , Glasshouse red spider mite , Mealybugs , Scale insects

Diseases

May suffer from virus.

General care

Propagation

Divide pseudobulbs every year when repotting. Repot before flowering.

Propagation methods

Division

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Monthly care advice

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Where to grow

Pleione formosana (Windowsill orchid) will reach a height of 0.15m and a spread of 0.3m after 5-10 years.

Suggested uses

Indoor, Greenhouse, Containers, Rock

Cultivation

Plant in mid-spring in sharply-drained, moderately fertile, leafy, humus-rich, neutral to acid soil in shelter & partial shade. In cold areas, protect from cold & winter wet with an open cloche. Under glass, grow in shallow pans in orchid compost.

Soil type

Loamy, Sandy

Soil drainage

Well-drained

Soil pH

Acid, Neutral

Light

Partial Shade

Aspect

East, West

Exposure

Sheltered

UK hardiness Note: We are working to update our ratings. Thanks for your patience.

Indoor unheated (H2), Tender in frost (H3)

USDA zones

Zone 11, Zone 10, Zone 9

Defra's Risk register #1

Plant name

Pleione formosana (Windowsill orchid)

Common pest name

Scientific pest name

Orchidophilus spp.

Type

Insect

Current status in UK

Absent

Likelihood to spread to UK (1 is very low - 5 is very high)

3

Impact (1 is very low - 5 is very high)

4

General biosecurity comments

A pest of orchids spreading in trade. Currently absent from the UK and unlikely to establish outdoors. Could cause severe damage to hosts growing in protected cultivation.

Defra's Risk register #2

Plant name

Pleione formosana (Windowsill orchid)

Common pest name

common blossom thrips; cotton bud thrips; tomato thrips

Scientific pest name

Frankliniella schultzei

Type

Insect

Current status in UK

Absent

Likelihood to spread to UK (1 is very low - 5 is very high)

2

Impact (1 is very low - 5 is very high)

3

General biosecurity comments

Polyphagous glasshouse pest; present in many countries; single finding in UK.

Defra's Risk register #3

Plant name

Pleione formosana (Windowsill orchid)

Common pest name

Rice leaf nematode; Strawberry crimp disease nematode; White tip nematode; White tip nematode of rice

Scientific pest name

Aphelenchoides besseyi

Type

Nematode

Current status in UK

Absent

Likelihood to spread to UK (1 is very low - 5 is very high)

2

Impact (1 is very low - 5 is very high)

3

General biosecurity comments

Damaging nematode affecting rice crops and strawberry production in warmer climates; could potentially present a threat to strawberry production and ornamental production in protected environments. But modern production practices seem to reduce likelihood of impacts. Pest is also regulated at EU level; which reduces likelihood of entry.

About this section

Our plants are under greater threat than ever before. There is increasing movement of plants and other material traded from an increasing variety of sources. This increases the chances of exotic pests arriving with imported goods and travellers, as well as by natural means. Shoot is working with Defra to help members to do their part in preventing the introduction and spread of invasive risks.

Traveling or importing plants? Please read "Don't risk it" advice here

Suspected outbreak? Click here for contact details to report to the relevant authority.

Date updated: 7^th March 2019 For more information visit: https://planthealthportal.defra.gov.uk/