A bit of sun and warmth..(17th Feb.)

What a difference a bit of sunshine and warmth is making to the Pleione.

I gave them their first 'damping' of the season last week and we have had a couple of warmer days since, infact today has been 'warm' after a freezing start and the first bees have been visiting the crocus on the lawn, basking in the sunshine.

As predicted, it looks like Pln. humilis 'Myanmar' could be the first into flower this Spring but there are lots of buds appearing which makes for very exciting times. It is interesting talking to other growers and finding out what their earliest plants are and how they compare with me, here in the South Lakes.

I am starting to put plans together for some hybridising this year so its finger crossed for a decent flowering. All plants are now potted and labelled and my stocklist is updated finally - the stocklist is not on the website as I only feature plants on here which I have good numbers of and have flowered. About 70% of my collection is featured on the website and I regularly add to the pages.

I had a really good talk with the Lea Valley Orchid Society last weekend and it is great to see and chat to others, and plenty of questions too.....

In other orchid related news I now have a couple of Paphs budding up nicely on the Study window sill.

Happy growing!

Stu