The latest Aberglasney gardening column from the South Wales Evening Post

The latest gardening column from the South Wales Evening Post by Aberglasney head gardener Joseph Atkin - 
This mild winter weather is fantastic news both inside and outside at Aberglasney Gardens in the Tywi Valley.
The bulbs and other spring flowering plants are really getting going with Crocus early Daffodils and Snowdrops stealing the show.
The plants in the Ninfarium are also doing really well as the indoor garden is partially heated.
What this means is most of the plants growing in there are just the wrong side of hardy. In fact, many will be fine in a very sheltered position.
One of the things I have learnt this winter is many plants such as Rex Begonia and Streptocarpus are much more cold tolerant than I realised.
Another group of plants that are much more cold tolerant than often realised is the Orchids.
One of the important things to remember is the two different types - Epiphytic grow on trees and rocks and Terrestrial grow in soil.
Many terrestrial orchids are very easy to grow and very cold hardy and some that are not.
One type that really deserves a mention is the Pleione from the Himalayas.
This is an Orchid that has been grown outside at Aberglasney but has finally disappeared in the last few cold winters.
As it is not completely hardy, only the mildest and luckiest gardens will be able to grow it outside.
In the Ninfarium, this orchid has done fantastically well, almost doubling in size and is flowering its socks off at the moment.
Each pseudobulb (false bulb) has produced up to five flowers each.
There are 250 records of different types of Pleione available for sale in the UK, so there is plenty of choice.
A great way to grow them is as a conservatory plant or cool greenhouse plant.
They need very little care in the summer as long as they are kept watered and shaded the tick over fine.
In the winter, they can be kept drier while they lose their leaves.
In the spring, flowers will shoot up very quickly before the leaves emerge making them a little more spectacular.
During the spring they can be watered more heavily again. We have never used rain water at Aberglasney and they have done fine.
Not having to use rain water is a real advantage as it really reduces the amount of work involved.
This is certainly not the case for many other species but our experience so far has shown them to be more tolerant than other types of Orchid.
When you considered that a small pot full will last for five or six years and can then be split and started again they can actually be fairly good value for money. They are also less expensive than many other types of Orchid so growing them is a little less nerve racking.
Pleione formosana is probably the most common and maybe the easiest to grow, but many of the hybrids are becoming much more readily available.
These hybrids come in a wide range of colours and are often bigger more robust plants.
Pleione ‘Tongariro’ is a new hybrid that we are trying this year if it goes well then expect to see many more of them in the Ninfarium
 In the future we will also try bedding out as tender perennials in the garden when we have enough stock. The best place to buy Pleione is specialist growers that can be found in the plant finder as they can supply you with the growing advice needed.
Tips for the week
Have a look at Pleione in catalogues or the internet
Sow sweet peas and other summer annuals that need pots
Plant Asparagus and Rhubarb fleece them if the weather turns colder
Carrots, onions and other yearly vegetables can be sown at the moment
Make sure there is fleece or other protection for early crops if needed
Plant Summer Flowering bulbs
Plant Raspberry Canes
Clean out the glasshouse and the glass on both sides
Hard prune summer flowering Clematis
Start forcing Rhubarb
Photos above: Pleione formosana at Aberglasney.