tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55734277130843748672024-02-02T01:26:31.135-08:00ChuckieChuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-68173991361373744072013-05-31T05:04:00.001-07:002013-05-31T18:26:57.336-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<strong>Levan Homestead - 2009</strong></div>
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Like all families, my family contains a fair few mysteries. Fortunately, not all aspects of the history of my family are concealed. The history of the Levan family is actually very well documented! My Great Great Grandmother, Rosetta Levan was the last in my mother's line to hold that name. Rosetta became a Derr when she married Daniel in the 1880's. She gave birth to Clinton who went on to marry Fannie Linn. Then, Clinton and Fannie went on to give birth to Florence Viola Derr who married Charles William Mausteller! Oh, Lois was the result of the pairing of Florence and Charles. Lois is my mother! </div>
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In the 1927, the Reverend Warren Patton Coon compiled a book entitled The Genealogical Record of The Levan Family. It is an amazing book that basically does the whole 'who begat who' thing from 1685 through until 1927! There are lots of good stories included and of course an extensive history of the Huguenots. You see, the Levans or Le Van family were German speaking French folk, who became refugees when they were kicked out of France by the Catholics after the revocation of Edict of Nantes in 1685. They moved/escaped temporarily to Amsterdam, as you do, and then the adult children all hopped on a boat and went to the USA in 1715. By choice, they went to Pennsylvania because they had become aware that they could practice their religion there without persecution. </div>
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The Levans were not the only family of Huguenots to head off to Pennsylvania at the same time. The ship was full of them! It is generally assumed that there were about 16 families that sailed together and settled in the Oley Valley. The Oley Valley is a fertile broad expanse of relatively flat land just east of Reading, Pennsylvania. This area is 'famous' for the 'Pennsylvania Dutch', the Amish and the Mennonites. You know these religious groups, they shun modernity, have fairly strict practices and dress in the clothes styles that were popular in 1715. Maybe we won't talk about religion here. Let's just say that there was a fair amount of religiosity and barn-building happening in Pennsylvania in 1715. </div>
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As the Oley Valley filled up with farms, and churches, the families slowly started to move to the 'hills' north of Reading. Part of the Levan family headed out over the mountains and found an almost replica 'Oley Valley' in a broad valley about 60 miles northwest of Reading in a place that got named Numidia. They just couldn't get away from the religious references! The Numidia branch of the Levan family did very well for themselves as farmers and of course founders of many of the churches in the area. The deep fertile soils and short but very productive growing season, allowed bountiful harvests of a wide range of crops. Winter was a bit of a problem as snow and ice lasted a good 5 months in most years. Barn building was developed to a very fine art during the 1700 and 1800's. The landscape throughout central Pennsylvania is characterised by a range of styles of barns. What prompted this little story is the barn shown in the picture above! Yes, it could be any barn in Pennsylvania but it is not, it is a special barn. This was the barn built for the original Levan Homestead in Numidia. Look at the size of it! A four-storey barn with nearly the whole of the top half being the hayloft! Another remarkable point about this barn is that it is still owned by a Levan! As you come down off Mystic Mountain onto the gentle rolling hills of Numidia this is the first homestead to greet you. On the left of the road opposite the driveway, is the Levan farm stall. Here from late spring through fall you can purchase top quality produce grown in the fields you stand in and survey with your eyes. </div>
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In 2009, on one of my regular trips to my ancestral home in Rupert, my cousin, partner and I stopped to see the 'cousins'. We had a great chat, the traditional glass of ice tea and purchased a basket full of goodies. This trip could not have been timed better! The very next night was the Levan Family reunion. I could meet all the relatives! The story of that adventure will have to wait until another time. We were headed to the Mausteller reunion that day! We spent some time wandering around and getting a few pictures. Pictures, I might add, that have been printed and framed and now grace several 'Levan' family households! One of these photos is also the header of this blog. </div>
Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-72402237330177541102013-05-30T03:40:00.001-07:002013-05-30T05:59:52.857-07:00<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 36pt;">Dr. John Lindley<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 36pt;">A life dedicated to plants<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Introduction</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></b><br />
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A picture may paint a thousand
words but sometimes those words may be misleading or just plain wrong. Every
available picture of John Lindley, probably the most influential botanist the
world has ever seen, shows a slight, bespectacled man with a dour,
introspective expression and decidedly unkempt look. It is hard to imagine the
depth and breadth of the knowledge held in such an unlikely vessel. It is also
hard to understand how this man of letters could come from such an impoverished
and unlikely beginning. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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John Lindley's life is a story
of a highly individualistic man, a restless man, an ambitious man. Endowed with
an unbridled intellect, he was aggressive and outspoken with a capacity to focus
intently on the matter at hand and simultaneously retain a wide variety of
interests. He dedicated his time and prodigious energy to what was the love of
his life, The Plant Kingdom and more specifically to the plant family we now
call the Orchidaceae. </div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Growing up Lindley<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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John Lindley was born in the
small village of Catton, just north of the town of Norwich, England on the 5th
of February 1799. Johns parents, George and Mary Lindley, had a total of four
children, although it is not clear where John occurred in the birth order.
George Lindley ran a nursery and orchard and was variously referred to as a
horticulturalist, pomologist or seedsman. By all accounts, George was a very
skilled nurseryman but a less than successful businessman. He is recorded as
living in 'indebtedness' until he became foreman to Messrs. Miller and Sweet of
Bristol Nursery. Unlike his contemporaries, George could not afford to send his
son John to University or to a commission in the army. </div>
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Very little information exists
concerning the childhood of John Lindley, which in many respects is not
surprising for a nurseryman's son. What we do know is that John attended
Norwich Grammar School, helped his father in his endeavours and collected
wildflowers in the surrounding countryside. All very unremarkable for a young
lad from a family of 'modest' means. Indeed, in a description from The London
Cottage Gardener, John Lindley's childhood is described as. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">'<span style="color: black;">not distinguished
by any remarkable occurrence'</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">. </span></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After grammar
school, John was sent to France to obtain further education but what exactly he
'obtained' whilst in France is not recorded. He never obtained an undergraduate
degree. Upon his return to England and with his father's <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">'reversal of fortunes'</i>, John was given over to his own resources.
Apparently, John's resources were considerable and consisted of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">'a well-stored mind, great self-reliance and
a ready perception of the art of rising'</i>. In other words, young John
Lindley was a smart, independent, ambitious upstart. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The start of a
spectacular career. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Lindley started his adult
professional life at the tender age of 16 when he became an agent for a British
seed merchant and was based in Belgium. It would appear that his career as a seedsman
did not last long. Soon after his return from the continent he befriended
William John Hooker who allowed him to use his library. It was through
Lindley's relationship with Hooker the he caught the notice of Sir Joseph
Banks. Again, it was John's 'considerable resources' that alerted Sir Joseph to
John's worth. Sir Joseph witnessed a 'controversy' between the young John
Lindley and the president of the Linnean Society. So enamoured was Sir Joseph
with the opinions and ability of this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">'young
controversialist'</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that he took him
under his patronage. Sir Joseph employed John Lindley as an assistant in his
herbarium/library, where John started on his first publication, a translation
of <i>Analyse du fruit</i> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._C._M._Richard" title="L. C. M. Richard"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">L. C. M.
Richard</span></a>, published in 1819 (when he was 20 years old). In 1820, the first
original work by Lindley was published, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monographia
Rosarium</i>, which contained descriptions and drawings of Roses by Lindley
himself. This was followed in 1821 by<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Monographia
Digitalium</i>, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Observations on
Pomaceae. </i>By 22 years of age young John Lindley was well on his way to
being a botanist of note. </div>
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Whilst he may have started out
as a herbarium/library assistant and understudy to Sir Joseph Banks, it was
Banks' connections with the Horticultural Society that would forever change the
trajectory of this young would-be botanist. In 1822 it was formally announced
that a Mr. John Lindley would take on the role of an officer of the society,
Assistant Secretary of the Garden. As holder of that office he would maintain
the plant collections, keep all accounts and minutes of reports addressed to
the Society's Council and other business in relation to the Horticultural
Societies garden as Chiswick. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Making his mark<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Lindley's rise and rise was
undoubtedly aided by this connection with the Horticultural society and the
skills he obtained under the patronage of Sir Joseph Banks. By 1826 Lindley had
assumed the role of editor of The Botanical Register. It is his accomplishments
as editor of The Botanical Register, his previous publication record and his
involvement with the Horticultural Society that he was, in 1929 and at just 30
years of age, appointed Chair of Botany at the University of London. Professor
John Lindley gave his 'Introductory Lecture' in April 1829. In keeping with his
controversialist nature Lindley challenged the Linnaean orthodoxy of the time,
labelling it 'Artificial Botany', one based on sexual morphology alone. Lindley
made an impassioned stand for the Natural System of Botany which considered a
full range of plant characteristics. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lindley
vowed to make the Natural System of Botany the basis for his course of
instruction. To emphasise his point, Lindley published the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Introduction to the Natural System of Botany</i>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By all accounts his lecturing style and the
quality of his teachings were 'superior'. A review by a contemporary described his
'style' as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">'Free and conversational in
his manner, his matter was excellent, and methodically arranged. I entered his
class with little knowledge of, and less liking for, Botany, and left it with
the results that I have mentioned, having amongst my competitors Dr. _______</i>".
Lindley attracted large crowds, who would come from far and wide to hear his
wise words and hear of the new plants that he was describing at an ever
increasing rate. Indeed, Lindley himself encouraged public discourse of all
things botanical and initiated 'flower shows' as a means of furthering
knowledge of plants. </div>
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Never one to stand on his
laurels, Professor Lindley obtained a Doctor of Philosophy from a German
University in 1832, despite not having an undergraduate degree, after which he
used the title Dr. Lindley. His title at the Horticultural Society was raised
to Vice Secretary in 1838, a post he held for all but the last three years of
his life. It would appear that he took his writing very seriously after 1833
and became somewhat of an activist for horticultural causes. Always in need of
an outlet for his incredible knowledge, He was appointed as Lecturer in Botany
to the Apothecaries' Company. His now famous Nixus Plantarium was published in
1933 followed in 1938 by the equally ground-breaking Flora Mediea and Sertum
Orchidaceum. Of particular note in 1838 is his report on the shortcomings of
the then fledgling Kew Gardens. Kew Gardens was in such a state, that it was
slated for closure. It was due to one scathing but surprisingly supportive
deposition by Dr. Lindley that a total reorganisation of the gardens was
initiated and the gardens set on the trajectory towards its present day
incarnation. </div>
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Without hardly missing a breath,
Dr. Lindley produced the textbooks, Ladies' Botany and School Botany in 1839
quickly followed by the monumental Theory of Horticulture in 1840. In 1841,
Elements of Botany hit the bookshelves. Not content with just books, Dr.
Lindley, in conjunction with a Mr. Paxton and Mr. Dilcke founded the Gardener's
Chronicle which was edited by Dr. Lindley until his death. The year 1841 was
obviously reaching a crescendo when Dr. Lindley became Professor of Botany at the
Royal Institution and published The Fossil Flora of Great Britain with a Mr.
Hutton. The world had to wait until 1846 for Dr. Lindley's largest and arguably
his most valuable work, entitled The Vegetable Kingdom. This latest book was
barely off the presses when he was appointed as editor of the Journal of the
Horticultural Society. By 1853 he was corresponding member of the Institut de
France. This prodigious output is remarkable even in our day of word processors
and computers! </div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Lindley and his orchids<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
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Just as Lindley was hitting his
straps as a botanist, the great plant expeditions to the far flung regions of
the world were becoming big business. Paid explorers were bringing back an ever
increasing number and diversity of new and unusual plants. The apparently
never-ending influx of unnamed species would prove to be a boon to the young
Lindley. Amongst all the groups of plant that found their way to the rooms of
Lindley, the most interesting were the Orchids. The Orchidacea were especially
prized by the aristocracy due to their curious beauty, strange growth habits
and singular mystique. The men of wealth and influence in Europe made vast collections
of the orchids and needed botanists to assist in the naming of these exotic
beauties. Lindley more than adequately fulfilled the role of botanist. His
position in society, as botanist for one of the most influential and wealthy
patrons of the era and then as assistant secretary of the Horticultural Society
and Professor/Chair of Botany at the University of London, earned him the
respect of, and allowed him contact with, the greatest of the European
collectors. </div>
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The orchid family would become
the lifelong passion of Lindley and indeed, he became the leading authority on
all things orchidaceous. By the time of his death he had named over 120 genera
of Orchids, including many of the most popular genera to this day: Ansellia. Bifrenaria,
Cattleya, Cirrhopetalum, Coelogyne, Laelia, Lycaste and Sophronitis. It boggles
the mind, that just in the Orchidaceae, Lindley put his pen to a staggering
6,479 names. Whist not all of these names have stood the test of time, many
have. Sophronitis Lindl. may have been subsumed into other genera but other
names he proposed, such as Cymbidium haemetodes, have recently been
resurrected. Interestingly, from a Cymbidium lovers point of view, Lindley was
responsible for the naming of 12 Cymbidium species including the Australian C.
madidum. </div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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The majority of Lindley's orchid
work was produced in three books: <em><span style="color: black;">Genera and
Species of Orchidaceous Plants</span></em><span style="color: black;">
(1830-1840), <em>Sertum orchidaceum</em> (1838), and <em>Folia orchidacea</em>
(1852-1855), supplemented by innumerable articles in periodicals and journals.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">A legacy of names<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Lindley left a personal legacy
through his naming of many thousands of plants in hundreds of genera. It is
testimony to the man, that so many genera and species have been named in his
honour. Lindleya, a monotypic genus in the Rose family from Mexico, was named to
honour Lindley by Kunth, shortly after Lindley wrote and illustrated his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monographia Rosarium </i>in 1920.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>In 2004, Carlyle Luer took a small
section of the genus Pleurothallis and renamed it Lindleyalis. This new genus
of just 7 species, is best viewed how Lindley himself viewed most plant
species, through a microscope or hand lens. Some authorities do not recognise
Lindleyalis at the genus level but keep the group at the subgenus level. Unfortunately,
the orchid name Lindleyella proposed by Schlecter is considered illegitimate
and has been replace with the name Rudolfiella. There is one obsolete, artificial,
intergeneric genus called Lindleyara (<i>Euanthe</i> x <i>Renanthera</i> x <i>Vanda</i>
x <i>Vandopsis</i>). There remains a large number of plant species that still
contain the name Lindley! There are in fact 189 plant species that are named
after John Lindley. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMcqqxdH1HKtI19J5nSPRxcBjQ1NbIICjBwxmYtjyd8k81CZ_QG-r_auWBDWRzeyXbO9YySIewXMUHtyuMCoiVy4uXG8kajpCwQqJJp1UEe8ILhSsDrYFVDBukvs1IdxrqdLnkedoJ-EFI/s1600/Lindleya+mespiloides.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPkvEsxR9v9b50D_7ItCslRW0EDOxWdOkStV4xuswPCnrth4NtT1157tbnY9hv8N8Ju5-b2my_I4GBDVVXGipSgHKvhCTZvSt20kLP8LoKQ4XB67xqX2wml_jxdNLszazP0K1sOeh_s9Ey/s1600/Lindleya+mespiloides+habitat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPkvEsxR9v9b50D_7ItCslRW0EDOxWdOkStV4xuswPCnrth4NtT1157tbnY9hv8N8Ju5-b2my_I4GBDVVXGipSgHKvhCTZvSt20kLP8LoKQ4XB67xqX2wml_jxdNLszazP0K1sOeh_s9Ey/s320/Lindleya+mespiloides+habitat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong>Figure 1. Lindleya mespiloides (habitat) </strong></div>
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<img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMcqqxdH1HKtI19J5nSPRxcBjQ1NbIICjBwxmYtjyd8k81CZ_QG-r_auWBDWRzeyXbO9YySIewXMUHtyuMCoiVy4uXG8kajpCwQqJJp1UEe8ILhSsDrYFVDBukvs1IdxrqdLnkedoJ-EFI/s320/Lindleya+mespiloides.jpg" width="320" /></div>
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<strong>Figure 2 <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lindleya mespiloides</i> - Closeup of flowers.</strong> </div>
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* Photos by Carlos Velazco, Taken near Garcia, Nuevo
Leon, Mexico. This plant of the Rose family, named after John Lindley, grows
throughout the rocky hills of the Chihuahua Desert. </div>
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<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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It is not only plant names where
Lindley is remembered. Most famous of all are probably the Lindley Libraries of
the Royal Horticultural Society in England. There are 4 of them in total. These
house some of the works of Lindley. The full collections of Lindley's herbarium
and library were split between various institutions including the RHS,
Cambridge University and Kew Gardens. Kew bought the orchid herbarium
collection whilst Cambridge bought the remainder of the speciments, 58,000 in
all. Interestingly, Lindley's private collection was originally offered to
Baron Ferdinand von Mueller at the Melbourne Botanic Gardens but that
arrangement was never followed through. </div>
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<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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Lindley Hall, the main display
hall of the Royal Horticultural Society, was named in recognition of the
contribution Lindley made to popularising horticulture and encouraging public
displays of plants for educational purposes. Indeed, The Royal Horticultural
Society Great Spring Show (Chelsea Flower Show) can trace its history back to
the original spring shows initiated by John Lindley when he was Assistant
Secretary of the Horticultural Society Garden at Chiswick. The Royal Horticultural
Society, to this day, awards the Lindley Medal to exhibits of '<span class="st1">special
scientific or educational merit'. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="st1"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span class="st1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A living legacy<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span class="st1">Although rarely
mentioned in his biographies or other writings, John Lindley did actually have
a home life after leaving his childhood home. In 1923, shortly after the
publication of his first few books, Lindley married the daughter of Anthony
Freestone of Southelmham, Suffolk and with her had three children. Although his
daughters are never acknowledged in a meaningful way, it is widely recognised
that they contributed significantly to his illustrations, especially in the
later parts of his life. His son Nathaniel, later to become Sir Nathaniel and
Lord Lindley, was a very well known judge. John Lindley either through
necessity or genuine love of his father,</span> took on his father's debts and
no doubt increased the degree of stress in his own life. </div>
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There is a curious ntry in the journal The London Cottage Gardener from the 1850's that may fill out a bit of the history of this man with the meteoric career. It states that: 'Very recently we recorded a living example of a country gardener's son deservedly elevated for his deeds of noble daring and honourable conduct, to be the associate and the admired of our country's nobility. It is noble and animating to see such examples of the gifted son of the poor man elevated upon the pinnacle to which he has buffeted his way - "rough'd to his point against the adven stream;" and we have this day to place before our readers another such example in Dr. John Lindley.'. These comments are indeed high praise and what one would imagine is the very rare if not unprecedented acceptance and elevation of the son of a poor man, a 'gardener's son', into the nobility. It is difficult to imagine how outstanding John Lindley must have been that his contemporaries were bestowing such honours on him, and at a relatively young age. Honours such as this, when they do happen, are usually reserved for someone once they have retired from their career.</div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Lindley's work with plants tends to overshadow every other aspect of his life.
We don't really get much of an idea of what he was actually like. We can assess
from his work that he was probably a genius, restless, meticulous and very
focused. There are undoubtedly various contemporary 'conditions' that could be ascribed
to this type of behaviour but in his time he was seen as a diligent and
hard-working man with a wide range of interest. What is fascinating is that
here is a man that spent the vast majority of his life staring down a
microscope or using a hand lens to identify and name plants yet he only had
vision in one eye! He was blinded in infancy but managed in some way not to let
this fact stop him becoming someone who made a profession out of using his
sight. We also know that despite a long career of desk-based, sedentary work,
he was noted for his upright bearing and good posture. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Lest a picture of a wholly virtuous man be painted by the above writing,
Lindley did have his detractors. In the suitably understated language of the
time he was considered 'hot-tempered and brusque in manner' but that same
description goes on to say, 'he was very kind to young men, and incapable of a
mean action.'. Maybe he just didn't tolerate fools and supported young men as
he had been supported in his youth? The above description belies the photographic
and artistic portraits of the man that show a kindly, studious man with a
someone dreamy/detached/sad look. From the two dimensional portraits, one can
actually imagine him sitting alone, late at night, intently studying the
anatomical features of some exotic orchid. Maybe portraits do not tell the
whole story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">As with all life, John Lindley's life came to an end. From 1863 until his
death, he suffered from what was termed 'gradual softening of the brain'. On
November 1st 1865, John Lindley, arguably the greatest botanist of all time,
suffered a stroke. He passed in his own bed, in the house he had occupied for
much of his adult life at Turnham/Acton Green. He is buried in the nearby Acton
Cemetery. </span><span class="st1"><span style="color: #444444;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">A life lived<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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The story of John Lindley is at
once awe inspiring and on a personal level motivational. The sheer volume and
scope of the work carried out during his lifetime is hard to comprehend. His
observational skills were and remain legendary, this despite the fact that he
was blind in one eye. Lindley was the first Chair of Botany at The University
of London and wrote the first botany textbooks. He classified many thousands of
plants and helped to redefine the present method of plant classification. He
popularised 'plant journals' by publishing lavishly illustrated descriptive
texts. He popularised horticulture by getting out and speaking to the masses
about the wonders of the plant kingdom. He encouraged the exhibition of plants
and indeed initiated a flower show that has morphed into the most famous flower
show of all time, the Chelsea Flower Show. He took a small 'society' garden in
the countryside and turned it into a major society that we now call the Royal
Horticultural Society. Surely, this man deserves to be much better know, not
only amongst present day plant enthusiasts but the general public as well. How
we live our lives in relation to plants, the beauty in our lives as expressed
in our gardens and our very concept of the relationships of plants with each
other can all trace back to how this man 'saw' the world with his one good eye
and interpreted with his brilliant mind. </div>
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Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-9503878694568485542012-08-12T05:32:00.000-07:002012-08-13T23:37:04.815-07:00Salient lessons from history with regard to plant societies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2OQKS1VZUL9dqwr_Z26gwGS5MvWytdjHvi7aB6P87nt9G34SuocEu9znVazah6iwMyQ_oMCghjtQV2HpI23LKufT4qnZ6y4-VHUrHH3FNJmRPvzSYyPtE4Q2goJoKHCU0m_xBTqA4yPhf/s1600/Stewartia+koreana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2OQKS1VZUL9dqwr_Z26gwGS5MvWytdjHvi7aB6P87nt9G34SuocEu9znVazah6iwMyQ_oMCghjtQV2HpI23LKufT4qnZ6y4-VHUrHH3FNJmRPvzSYyPtE4Q2goJoKHCU0m_xBTqA4yPhf/s320/Stewartia+koreana.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<strong><em>Stewartia koreana</em></strong></div>
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(A tree I planted at my mothers house in 1976 and saw in flower for the first time in 2012)</div>
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Shortly before Christmas of 2009 I had the opportunity to spend several weeks with my mother, a special and unusual occurence considering my home is in south-eastern Australia and her home is just outside of Philadelphia in the north-east of the USA. I owe a great deal to my mother, not least of which is my love of plants. From a very early age she taught me an appreciation of the sensual delights of plants; their colour, their form, their feel, their fragrance and in some cases their taste. In essence, she taught me about their beauty and how an appreciation of this beauty can positively affect ones mood and approach to life.<br />
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<strong><em>Monotropa uniflora</em></strong></div>
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(At Aunt Doris's house near Millville, Pennsylvania)</div>
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During my stay a Mom's house we went and visited my Aunt Doris. Doris is remarkably like my mother, they could even pass as twins. Doris is a bit more daring and outgoing than Lois with a naughty streak that has long been replaced by heavy responsibility in my mother. Both share the same strong love of plants. Sitting around after dinner one night, Doris was retelling, for the umpteenth time, the story of how they knew I was going to be a botanist one day. When my mother was going to give birth to my younger sister I was farmed out to Aunt Doris and Uncle Bert for a couple of weeks. The previous autumn, Aunt Doris had purchased a large number of Daffodil bulbs and planted them along the drive to the house. On the third week of April 1961, I arrive at Doris's country house with the boundless energy and inquisitiveness of a two-year-old. On the 28th my mother gave birth to my younger sister. After the news was passed on to me, my Aunt headed off to make dinner, leaving me to play in the yard. To be fair to Doris, it was not a case of child neglect, it was the early 60's and the nearest neighbour was 1/2 mile away. Besides she could see me from the kitchen window. Really, she could. Aunt Doris must have missed seeing me picking all of the daffodils along the driveway. When she called me for dinner I came proudly into the kitchen with a huge bunch of daffodils and announced with great fanfare "Look what I got for Mom". As Doris relates it now, she remembers how she could have killed me, and how devestated she was that all her flowers had been picked. I have been desperately trying to make it up to her for years, taking her flowers and plants for her garden every time I visit. She laughs about the story now but I think I can detect a slight tinge in her voice when she tells it. Does she really need to repeat the story so often? The latest peace-offering to make it into Doris's garden was a particularly fine form of Oak-leaved Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) and a very large Redbud (Cercis canadensis). Doris lives in an isolated property in the middle of the gamelands north of Millville, Pennsylvania. <br />
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<strong>Rupert Bridge</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Over the Little Fishing Creek at Rupert, Pennsylvania)</div>
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Not far from Millville and a little to the south, are the towns of Catawissa and Rupert. Mom and Doris and their sister and brothers were born in Rupert in the little house next the railway tracks. Just south of the railway tracks is where the family eventually lived with Grammy and Grandpop Mausteller in a house built by Great Grandpop Bradley Mausteller. This later house was next to Little Fishing Creek and the Rupert Covered Bridge. Rupert and the surrounding areas are very interesting to me and the family. Most of my mother's side of the family still lives in Rupert and the surrounds. Everywhere you go there is a Mausteller!!! Randy runs the local mechanic and town fair. Buddy works with Randy and does work at the University, Debbie is the local beautician, Uncle John is a general ranconteur, the list goes on. Ronnie is a local identity and present caretaker of Mausteller Mountain, the mountain owned by members of the family. It is covered by forest and overlooks the Susquehana River just outside of Catawissa. It is this mountain and the gamelands around Aunt Doris's house that provided me with my initial experiences of nature. My Grandparents were strongly Germanic and not taken to including children in conversations. My way of dealing with this when I was a tike was to go for walks on Mausteller Mountain! Sometimes, Grandpop would come along to teach me how to walk quietly in the forest, how to avoid certain snakes (they smell like cucumbers) and how to find Ginseng. I really liked Grandpop and of all the kids I think he liked me the best. That was a no-brainer as I was the only one that showed the slightest bit of interest in what he liked. I desperately wanted him to give me one of his racoon pups. I don't have to rely on my own memories of what I used to do when visiting the Grandparents. Everyone in the family knows that I was always off in the woods and actually felt more comfortable wandering around the mountains than sitting around the house listening to boring relatives talk while the kids not so patiently sat there listening. <br />
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<strong>Grammy and Grandpop's House</strong></div>
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(Florence and Charles Mausteller)</div>
These early experiences with the appreciation of plants stand in stark contrast to some of my experiences with plant societies around the world. The dichotomy of my personal formative experiences with my observations of groups of people that professed to love the particular group of plants they were dealing with, could not have been more stark. I have belonged to groups that were basically fronts for social interaction, the plants being an excuse to get together, eat and make new friends. One of the societies dealing with Chrysanthemums never really had meetings at all but was the preserve of the mad-keen collector. "THE LIST" of plants on offer was the be-all-and-end-all of most peoples participation in the Chrysanthemum society. Orders were placed months in advance for what turned out to be rooted cutting wrapped in newspaper. I must admit, this was the first society my mother introduced me to and I took to it like a madman. I even followed the precision growing guide, so that I would get the perfect results. I still have this small book 40 years on! Not sure I have the patience or water supply to do the plants justice now. <br />
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<strong>Japanese Spider Chrysanthemum</strong></div>
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(My favourite was one called 'Chartreuse', slightly more spidery than this and a beautiful green)</div>
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As a teenager, the various plant societies and what people in them did, meant nothing to me apart from being a source of information and of course a place to see new and interesting plants. My membership of these societies was actually attached to my mothers membership, so in reality my status was as an observer. My first serious involvement with a plant society, on my own, came at 16 when I joined a local orchid society. The plants were magnificent. It was unbelievable that people could actually grow such wonderful plants in our climate even if it was in a greenhouse. Some people were really friendly and helpful and others thought, 'who was this impertinent upstart?'. Having grown orchids for several years and having a greenhouse full of them made little difference to some of the crusty members. Phil and Jean, Ron and Enola, and Dr Wilson were wonderful. These fine people took me on their regular trips to orchid nurseries and growers and gave me division of some of their plants. The only plants any of them ever wanted from me were the species Paphiopedilums and a couple of Brassocattleyas. Almost none of these people grew Cymbidiums, my favourite.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>The Azalea House at Longwood in Autumn</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Longwood was a major influence on my interest in plants and plant societies)</div>
What soon became apparent within the orchid society was that there were distinct groups of people within the group. I immediately got on with what I will term the 'dedicated plant lovers', DPL for short. These people were involved in the society to develop a deep understanding of the plants and to learn as much as they could. My affinity with these people was immediate and has lasted a lifetime. They would ohh and ahh at the beauty, try desperately to remember names and fiddle around with growing conditions to get their plants to thrive and bloom. Rarely, if ever, did any of these DPL's show their plants or put them up for awards. They could easily have done so but really had no interest in it. If plants were needed for a group display they were always first to contribute. This group can contain the compulsive collector, who simply 'has to have' a plant at any cost, but is not neccesarily the person who looks after it as well as they could.<br />
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You will all be very familiar with the other types of people involved in orchid societies. These types are the same no matter what group you are involved in, be it orchids, cars, cats, birds, model trains or vintage books. These people are the 'look at me' people. All ego, strongly competitive, controlling and don't miss an opportunity to tell you how good they are and how dumb you are. The collectable, in this case orchids, is a means to achieve status. 'I won this award' or 'I am a judge/committee member/patron of Kafoops Orchid Society' or 'Of course I have that plant' are terms that trip off the tongue very easily for these types. This group contains the gossip-mongers, the people who divide and conquer, split groups and set up splinter groups. This behaviour reminds me of the crucifix scene in the movie 'The Life of Brian'. I can see it now, 100 orchid growers with 10 different groups to service their needs all with slightly different names and dealing with slightly different groups of orchids. It is this type of person that has been causing problems for plant societies for centuries.<br />
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<strong>Royal Horticultural Societies Garden - Wisley</strong></div>
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(Three years of my life were spent at the ultimate plant society and as a steward of the orchid committee)</div>
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One of the books my mother gave me during our time together, really highlighted this problem in plant societies. The book, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Dutch Gardener</span>, was written by Henry van Oosten in 1703 and is a terse little tome. He was talking about the tulip societies of his time and specifically about the rich, status seekers with selfish motives. Hang on to your seat, his words are very strong!<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">'These are the mistaken lovers, that think to deserve the Inclination and Affections of the Ladies, and to enjoy the Treasure of their Beauties without any costs; these are Florists that are not so discreet as Bees, which visit the Flowers without hurting them; but like Swine, they like to scuffle through our Flower-Gardens to cary off their Riches by their Greatness and Impudence; and when they have thus robbed us of these Beauties, without giving thanks to the Profesors, they want to be true Florists. To hear them speak of Tulips is a murdering Noise; the Hearer may wish that they had been Blind or Dumb, or that he himself had no Ears. These Men that sacrifice to unknown Deities, and that adore in the Temple of Flora Gods they know not. These are unskilled Artists that profess Treasures without knowing their Value. </span>'<br />
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Lest one think that this behaviour was limited to one society in one country at one point in time here is an example from a century later than the previous quote. In the book <span style="font-style: italic;">The Tulip</span> by Anna Pavord (Bloomsbury, 2000), there are a couple of paragraphs that reminded me of some of the plant societies that that I have become acquainted with but again, this quote deals with people associated with tulips. <br />
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On page 182 she states:<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">At about the same time that Dr. Hardy was thundering in the Midland Florist over the rules governing the perfect English florist's tulip, Monsieur Tripet was doing the same for the French florist's tulip</span> (Tripet (1846). Traite de la Culture des Tulipes, Paris)<span style="font-style: italic;">. Tripet was a florist and nurseryman in Paris and in 1843, had swept the board at the spring show of the Paris Horticultural Society, winning the gold medal offered for the first time by the Duchess of Orleans. His exhibit included 800 different kinds of tulip massed together in vases in an artificial bed a metre wide and seventeen metres long. That was only a fraction of the varieties growing in Tripet's nursery, where more than 40,000 tulips bloomed in season. The collection was reputed to be worth a cool 100,000 francs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Tripet's Paris triumph did not impress the tulip growers of Lille or Tournai whose worst flowers, they said, were better than anything that Tripet had produced for the Paris Horticultural Society. But the members of the Societe d'Horticulture du Nord del la France were always tough on growers outside their own charmed circle. They were pretty tough even on those inside it. The Society's annual report for 1837 criticised so many florists and their flowers that no one would agree to serve on the Society's committee until the reports were dropped. No florist ever seemed to agree with another's judgement, particularly on the show bench, and at this time, at least a hundred amateur tulip growers were keen members of the Society. </span><br />
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These kind of situations are not limited to tulip societies, they can be seen in all the great plant societies that have existed. There are numerous examples from the great societies dealing with Orchids, Pansies, Roses, Pelargoniums, Primroses, Polyanthus, Auriculas, (these last three technically all members of the genus Primula), Pinks and Carnations (both Dianthus), Dahlias, Chrysanthemums, the list goes on and on.<br />
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<strong>The Orchid Display house at Longwood</strong></div>
Interestingly, a further problem arises when the 'look at me' people take over the balance of power in a plant society. This problem impacts directly on the plant that is the focus of the group. Strictures on the conformity of flowers to the vagaries of human fashion and desire can be found beautifully illustrated in the words of Louise Beebe Wilder in her classic book The Fragrant Path, published by The McMillan Company in 1932. On page 52 is a summary of the temporary downfall of the Carnation due to nit-picking by humans;<br />
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'<span style="font-style: italic;">So far as I can find, the popularity of the Carnation has never seriously waned since those early times. Its history has been a series of triumphs and the gay and fragrant flower never for long lost its hold upon the hearts of flower-loving mankind. There was a period, after 1850, according to Nicholson ("Dictionary of Gardening"), when they were for a time quite neglected and some of the older sorts were lost to cultivation. This temporary slump in their popularity was very likely brought about by the fact that the hair splitting and exactions concerning points became so extreme as finally to be unsupportable to the very men who had instituted them. A flower belonged rigidly in a class. It was a "Flake" or a 'Picotee" or a "Bizarre," and its every fleck and marking must conform to the rules and regulations laid down for these classes. To quote Thomas Hogg, who slender "Treatise on the Growth and Culture of the Carnation," 1820, lies before me, "A flower possessed of all the properties called for by the Rules and Regulation laid down in the Societies, where they are exhibited for prizes, is seldom ever met with. Art is called in to the assistance of nature and the skillful hand of the Florist dexterously extracts the self-coloured and defective and overcrowded leaves, and sometimes even will insert others, and arranges and adjusts the whole with surprising nicety." Such artificiality could no longer hold the interest of the public and it probably revolted. </span>'<br />
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<strong>An old variety of Picotee Carnation</strong></div>
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A contemporary example of strictures interfering with beauty was related to me about a Cymbidium society that would not judge a cross between Cymbidium and Grammatophyllum because it was not a Cymbidium. Hello? Who controls the rule book? So what happens if a taxonomist splits a section of the genus Cymbidium off into a new genus? Alternatively, what if Grammatophyllum is lumped into Cymbidium? Would it be ok then to judge it? What about all the other orchid societies that long ago recognised intergenerics and judge them under alliances. 30 years ago I assisted on the Oncidium Alliance judging committee at an orchid congress. There was no problem having Oncidium, Odontoglossum, Brassia and Miltonia all being judged by the same committee. Have we so lost perspective on what qualities make a good orchid that if the name is wrong we can't judge it?<br />
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I write this post for a number of reasons but most importantly because of the changed nature of plant societies as they are presently configured and the widespread ill health of orchid societies in particular. Over the past couple of years there has been a marked decline in membership of orchid societies. It matters little if it is a general or specific orchid society. The reasons for this I think can be gleaned from what has happened to the great plant societies in history. The above quotes and examples give some indication of what has happened over time. I have visited a fair few groups over my lifetime and have noticed the same features I first noted over 30 years ago. In recent times the strictures, rules and regulations coupled with a high proportion of 'Look at me' types in the membership has changed the face of plant society life. The majority of people that would like to get involved in groups are put off by the lack of focus on the plants. The focus on competitions and judging has blinded many of us to why we got involved in orchids in the first place, <strong>THE LOVE OF THE PLANT.</strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAatajEhLss9JrCo3bHPJKfTBhbGM1FF3bevkwTzyKt3iYhZ-m9eYJBKLZiCKVvFi6NctUjqV-cC31xemCmKlUmdgumPE_9GbKhy5IU6HGdSBszBXfvI5GimDR0LxbxYuGxHThhUUGzqmI/s1600/Grammatophyllum+measuresianum+'Longwood'.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAatajEhLss9JrCo3bHPJKfTBhbGM1FF3bevkwTzyKt3iYhZ-m9eYJBKLZiCKVvFi6NctUjqV-cC31xemCmKlUmdgumPE_9GbKhy5IU6HGdSBszBXfvI5GimDR0LxbxYuGxHThhUUGzqmI/s320/Grammatophyllum+measuresianum+'Longwood'.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong>Grammatophyllum measuresianum</strong></div>
<br />Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-22950965996938347442011-07-10T06:10:00.000-07:002011-07-19T22:24:16.808-07:00Working with elegans<div><div><div><div><div><br />
</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1xh1nurPK8TXS722P_ys6Vl89C4AtlQIDA3NNq_Xazq-KbJca52YgW-1nFar6KRI3z9sMLaNnaQAOwbZrEIuCJmvUpvR0794t2Ggrv9wgVg8yxDgQye2PF4BKO9-GA5R-nu5xtOpLuDhD/s1600/elegans+closeup.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627675942059401490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1xh1nurPK8TXS722P_ys6Vl89C4AtlQIDA3NNq_Xazq-KbJca52YgW-1nFar6KRI3z9sMLaNnaQAOwbZrEIuCJmvUpvR0794t2Ggrv9wgVg8yxDgQye2PF4BKO9-GA5R-nu5xtOpLuDhD/s400/elegans+closeup.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 266px;" /></a></div><div align="center"><strong><em>Cymbidium elegans</em> 'Atlantis' </strong></div><div><br />
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</div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlybbC57XecXTrRpvGIMyfohrhxQOEzOFItO4EES_Ts3z4BwMBjLJnmg5-kxPtkqZA-lzQjpWqFqB-Xze8THUD1hDdB4615IuyFE6y-2a9jIyVZ4q2oyRl43W49E3m_LkQ3zksOGjqgkO0/s1600/elegans+spike.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627675935482137250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlybbC57XecXTrRpvGIMyfohrhxQOEzOFItO4EES_Ts3z4BwMBjLJnmg5-kxPtkqZA-lzQjpWqFqB-Xze8THUD1hDdB4615IuyFE6y-2a9jIyVZ4q2oyRl43W49E3m_LkQ3zksOGjqgkO0/s400/elegans+spike.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 285px;" /></a> <strong><em>Cymbidium elegans </em>'Atlantis'</strong><br />
<div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="justify">Midwinter is a time of conflicted emotions in a <em>Cymbidium </em>collection. The sudden and exciting onslaught of the autumn flowering plants, with their bright colours and fragrances, contrasts with the equally bright and floriferous burst of the spring flowers, now sitting as buds. The mid-winter lull can be quite distressing for some growers. This year has been particularly hard for many. The Autumn rush was particularly abundant. Unfortunately, the winter and spring flowering plants are running very late this year. The midwinter show of one of the local orchid societies a couple of weeks ago had only a handful of <em>Cymbidium </em>in bloom. Normally, there would be dozens of plants in flower for what is typically the start of the 'traditional' <em>Cymbidium</em> season. Nature really is wonderful at keeping us guessing! </div><div align="left"></div><div align="justify">One of the delights of the darkest, coldest months of the year is the lovely, <em>Cymbidium elegans. </em>The beautiful light to dark yellow or even peach-coloured flowers, positively glow in the subdued light of winter. The flowers could not be further from what most people view as a typical <em>Cymbidium. </em>The petals and sepals of this plant part just far enough to expose the lip and column, forming pendulous trumpets more reminiscent of a delicate, nodding lily or a yellow-coloured 'English Bluebell'. The base of the flower spike is upright to arching, the section containing the flowers being pendulous. Each flower spike produces up to 40 or so flowers. It is probably the only <em>Cymbidium </em>that is more noteworthy for the overall flower spike than it is for it's individual flowers. This is definitely a case of the whole equaling more than the sum of it's parts. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="justify">For a plant that is so beautiful, <em>Cymbidium elegans, </em>has been rarely used in hybridizing. All in all, it has been utilised 20 times in the past 110 years; 11 times as a pod parent, 9 times as a pollen parent. None of these plants seem to have gained any popularity despite their unique beauty. There are several new crosses on their way but it will be several years before we see the first flowers on these plants. This lack of popularity may be about to change! </div><div align="left"></div><div align="justify">One of the very early hybrids involving <em>C. elegans </em>is C. Forster Alcock (<em>tracyanum x elegans)</em>raised by J. Forster Alcock in 1909. This is one of those hybrids that would not have taken much thought. Both species flower at the same time and both are beautiful plants in their own right. The hybrid is pretty much what you would expect; a large leafy plant with large upright then arching flower spikes with high flower count. Interestingly, the flowers more closely resemble the <em>elegans</em> parent in colour and overall spike habit and <em>tracyanum </em>in openess of flower and robustness of plant. It has retained the fragrance of the <em>tracyanum </em>parent albeit not as strong. All in all, it is a very pleasant and highly decorative plant. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627694475846493650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiARlnIiD6V_uKiO4wlkn0QzTzN0emDhJTSrdXUj-6X3xLFVMvON8lzmVzb78sg5lcYvZHcS9n7NRNPDVwrg-uSstCGRbu7OUDV-fHIC7CgZsSQYVXas3JkPR8gQZGMb_ZeuP52w9G0jLkh/s400/Forster+Alcock+closeup.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 350px;" /></div><div align="center"><strong><em>Cymbidium </em>Forster Alcock </strong></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="justify">A more interesting and totally delightful hybrid is C. Ides of March (<em>floribundum x elegans) </em>raised by R. Vandyke of Valley Orchids in 1977. The cultivar 'Springtime' has been passed around specialist collections for years but has been, for the most part, dismissed. This is very surprising as it possesses everything you would want in a true miniature. The plant size is small, about 30cm, the spikes have numerous flowers, up to about 30-40 on a well grown plant and it is easy to grow. Even though it has been around for 30-some years it has never been used as a parent in any hybrid. This may be due to the fact that it has never been popular or even known to most growers. Hopefully, this little blog will prove to be the 'coming out' ceremony for this beautiful little debutante. I think it is a totally delightful little plant that deserves to be seen in all its glory! <br />
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</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627698248595381762" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0hxcWsweWwZHuLqEnHtEl2hy6S4Ht9wDeo-61W0qKga031ZiT15CZA2gKdPIn0-VT3EO38ee4orPoFdpbyvRm6D-wPCKlGia0U9advCmvGVHmNwe1-OEaj0m2WnMcO24e2Q2jhQR6xmP/s400/Ides+of+March+Spike.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 229px;" /></div><div align="center"><strong><em>Cymbidium </em>Ides of March 'Springtime' </strong></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627698249844326562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_QMM4CqAEkp7mg3w1fIMBc4-OuCVYYGd4HMMWiGoOG-dVHknne0g6Fv7sLrYzB_C_JwI1BRhz25zFSFCEIYDEKP72j7d5eldMivbVpdaV3scghxZHHeBrhYvUvYfGlih5uoE5i9PfzbcQ/s400/Ides+of+March+closeup.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 349px;" /></div><div align="center"><strong><em>Cymbidium </em>Ides of March 'Springtime' </strong></div><div align="left"><br />
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</div><div align="left"><strong></strong> </div><div align="justify">One of the more spectacular of the <em>C. elegans </em>crosses in flower at the moment is C. April Showers (Rincon x <em>elegans)</em>. This lovely cross was produced in 1985 by that breeder of all things wonderful, Keith Andrew. It has to be one of the most inspired crosses. Who would think to cross a pink-flowered standard <em>Cymbidium </em>with and yellow-flowered arching-pendulous species with relatively small flowers with unconventional shape? Well, the result speaks for itself. I have two clones of this lovely hybrid; 'Elmwood' and 'Apricot Nectar'. 'Elmwood' has smaller, more open flowers on a modest-sized plant. 'Apricot Nectar' has much larger flowers with broader segments and more interesting colour. You pick, they are both very beautiful to me. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627701416050008690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BSpQ82Xnzi4IcPoqI-daMCsSdg5ONyQJUszSlbHwY2FzW7e2CEAK3QrX6taMei-Ucxc5rVuGFDGdfOda8ZK77D2WKtfKwh8EFhRUe4p_-ShxSSp6eAK_bDzfbJxtEh5fhTFfg97KroUI/s400/April+Showers+%2527Elmwood%2527+Full+plant.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 312px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></div><div align="center"><strong><em>Cymbidium </em>April Showers 'Elmwood'</strong></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627701417533541698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipKotNq5rT9sZrbQe7Q3N9lsZLIp8LWbjtCaHtvNrwQmqWnYPVWDaSxQ1j3Oh-giRdoYOi3m3OAN1TU4n_KS8ezLDH4CP0XjniUvD_iIj8ranzleXrkKWUtbp5rKMqKFFp6Tq11DlDA73w/s400/April+Showers+%2527Elmwood%2527+spike.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 197px;" /></div><div align="center"><strong><em>Cymbidium </em>April Showers 'Elmwood' </strong></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627701414378751314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1fognmxcOfaQy9ftDmNS66ryDA3Q75YkphvtZ2iy6iSapbfUiPiLG-_2GdsgFlksnc1k9rf7wHUtxo3yUy90-vUNf7WjiPWrHp-uSeHWnhmACXoiqQyVg-JCzC5UdNem1x1IdNRGdnwlf/s400/April+Showers+%2527Elmwood%2527+Closeup.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 377px;" /></div><div align="center"><strong><em>Cymbidium </em>April Showers 'Elmwood' </strong></div><div align="center">Notice the dark pink edge to the midlobe and sidelobes of the lip. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627701408194998322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqK4RdJ324pLSQ9af7WyJuD_JGhsk7hPhl70A7D9dP16vNDrieQrfFB8b8uCMGFWlqMN1Q6NQfMNE3_DTCeFi15ZCbDW1pBVrhJpUPcDAgoJCw7C4c_6BAF86RIWQZ1By8_IFcyyVgFTOt/s400/April+Showers+%2527Apricot+Nectar%2527+closeup.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 331px;" /></div><div align="center"><strong><em>Cymbidium </em>April Showers 'Apricot Nectar' </strong></div><div align="center">Notice the much wider petals and sepals and blush pink overlay on the sepals. <br />
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</div><div align="left"></div><div align="justify">Another <em>C. elegans </em>hybrid just coming out at the moment is C. Cariad (elegans x devonianum) raised by Keith Andrew in 1976. <em>Cymbidium </em>Cariad 'Plush' is probably the most popular first generation <em>C. elegans </em>hybrid. This fully pendulous little plant has beautiful starry, yellow flowers with a remarkable labellum marked by two large purplish patches on either side. In Melbourne, this plant is appearing in many collections, taking pride of place amongst it's larger and more conventional 'Pendulous' <em>Cymbidiums. </em></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="justify">Overall, <em>C. elegans, </em>strongly influences spike habit and to a reasonable degree flower colour. The drooping, trumpet shaped flower is not a strong characters and seem to be easily compensated for even in first generation hybrids. The arching flower spike is particularly attractive. The general floriferous nature of <em>C. elegans </em>hybrids, two spikes per bulb, make this elegant species a real or at least potential contender for breeding highly productive pot plants. Give these interesting hybrids a try. They are modest in size, floriferous and provide just that bit of contrast to the normal collection of Standard, Intermediate and Miniature hybrids. </div></div></div></div></div></div>Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-44884029898861843292010-11-01T03:27:00.000-07:002010-11-01T18:09:50.172-07:00Pleasant Monday Afternoon<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglUpMIUVozkYMdHn9k6H2eOqP4aPWczN9BGfPpZrzrSWFI1_LvTtWBwIbHleiveRSBYcA07-9ppLKReI4ycVBTv-FFgqaL3nNSYqYVaC-C0f9bnjfJwfFrI0HU789asjJYupEuCq6B6xrr/s1600/Cym+%28Electric+Ladyland+x+Vogelsang%29+X+Last+Tango+full+plant.jpg"><br /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfhbt0N9MhpZuvrqYB0wery7s9YQvpETiZK1qZ_22cbS3FB7N0IyOYa6CI8GOI06e9TQZVjjipYC_hVbBdjN1HaxTzUQ3urgz_DFiSlIcCL9tvGThdXNnrgy_cik65j27zG7NRFXsFBPi/s1600/Cym+Tethys+X+sanderae+closeup+1.jpg"><br /></a><br />Today was my day off. It is Melbourne Cup Day tomorrow. By using only one of my leave days, I can get a four day weekend. This public holiday is based around a horse race The Melbourne Cup. This horse race is not any old horse race but 'The race that stops the Nation!'. Nothing like a bit of hyperbolic language. I grew up with horses. I got a horse for my 7th birthday, a filly named Princess. I think having to shovel horse s__t every day from the age of 7 until I turned 17 has permanently put me off horses. My dislike looking after horses could have been triggered by Princess throwing me off on my first attempted ride and biting me when I tried to feed her strawberries. I did laugh when she used to steal my fathers tobacco pouch out of his back pocket. She was a very clever horse. Don't get me wrong, I like horses but I will never again own one. I prefer orchids. They don't leave 'droppings'.<br /><br />It amuses me that I would be heading to a rural store to pick up some supplies for my greenhouse. My parents used to drive me to the West Chester Rural Store to pick up hay, straw, molasses-soaked oats, chicken feed and laying mash. Today's trip was much different. First of all there was just one person in the car. Secondly, it was well over an hours drive to get to this rural store. This was a special trip and a special rural store. Monbulk Rural Store specialises in greenhouse supplies as well as the normal farm 'stuff'. On the way up I thought about Princess and the sights, sounds and smells of the West Chester store. I remember the smells in particular. Molasses oats held a particular fascination. The horse ate the oats, surely they were good enough for a seven-year-old?<br /><br />My reverie came to a screaming halt upon sighting the CLOSED sign on the front door of the rural store. Dang, an hour and twenty minutes drive and nothing to show. Now it was another hour and twenty home. Hmmmm, what to do in the hills? The Dandenong Ranges is a wonderfully scenic area and very popular with tourists. Nearly every little town has a specialist bakery, deli and plant nursery. Hmmmm, eating and looking at plants. It was a tough assignment but I was up to it. Lets see, savory or sweet? Coffee and pecan pie would have to suffice. Such suffering.<br /><br />Now, what plant nursery to look at? Too late for spring bulbs so how about alpine plants? Gentiana Nursery it is. Those boys certainly know how to grow a plant! Do I really need that blue Corydalis? No, not today. Lilium canadense? Yep, can't do without that. A couple of more Cyclamens for my collection? Why not, you can never have too many forms of C. coum. While many of the plants are beautiful, they are not really the love of my life.<br /><br />The orchid twitch was getting to me. I rarely get over to this area. Why not visit one of the orchid guys. Thank goodness for smart phones. One quick phone call and down the road we go. Lunch first. Forget fancy food, orchids are more important. Quick sandwich and a drink and back in the car. Isn't it amazing when you are anticipating something? You can never get there quick enough.<br /><br />Even though it is supposed to be the end of the Cymbidium season here in Melbourne you wouldn't have known it walking into the sales area of the nursery. What a riot of colour. There were some of the more widely known Cymbidiums there including the hybrids with the Australian native cymbidium species <span style="font-style: italic;">canaliculatum, madidum</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">suave</span>. There were a range of the grex Phar Lap in full flower, notably the clones 'Geyserland', 'Apricot Gem/Glow' and the monstrous deep red 'Red Rider' . Appropriate really that a Grex named after a famous race horse should be in flower for Melbourne Cup Day!<br /><br />The bench on the side of the sales area was strictly a display area, all the plants clearly marked NFS. This small area, next to the cash register, contained all the really interesting plants. Below are a few of the plants that caught my eye. They are not really my taste in Cymbidiums but you just can't walk by a plant that screams out at you. The first two are, to me, are bizarre. To some in the Cymbidium world they would be very precious. As the nurseryman said 'Any plant that produces the 'green stuff' is a good plant'. He wouldn't be getting my green stuff for these plants, even if they where for sale.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfhbt0N9MhpZuvrqYB0wery7s9YQvpETiZK1qZ_22cbS3FB7N0IyOYa6CI8GOI06e9TQZVjjipYC_hVbBdjN1HaxTzUQ3urgz_DFiSlIcCL9tvGThdXNnrgy_cik65j27zG7NRFXsFBPi/s1600/Cym+Tethys+X+sanderae+closeup+1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 314px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfhbt0N9MhpZuvrqYB0wery7s9YQvpETiZK1qZ_22cbS3FB7N0IyOYa6CI8GOI06e9TQZVjjipYC_hVbBdjN1HaxTzUQ3urgz_DFiSlIcCL9tvGThdXNnrgy_cik65j27zG7NRFXsFBPi/s400/Cym+Tethys+X+sanderae+closeup+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534551202476898018" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Tethys x <span style="font-style: italic;">sanderae</span></span><br /></div><br />The plant above caught my eye first and then perplexed me when I saw the label. Tethys 'Black Magic' is a large spotty purplish red. <span style="font-style: italic;">Sanderae</span> is considered by many to be a species, some question this. The flowers of <span style="font-style: italic;">sanderae</span> are white with a pink suffusion and a large heavily red-marked labellum. It would appear that the<span style="font-style: italic;"> sanderae</span> parent has been totally dominated by the Tethys parent in the above cross.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3x1EGBxI__ucFDX7CyWdTYAWBQVqcUH3-oLdAf9E32PLaQe4c6RiVFI8WRouWkvNAQAHEvaxL78XArJPn6HrX_6bs9JND5YTbwD9ABCPYFTdRLHP77bNI4GbrN7ZbiKCVONi9D9Ce_mR/s1600/Cym+Tethys+x+Esk+Claret+closeup+1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3x1EGBxI__ucFDX7CyWdTYAWBQVqcUH3-oLdAf9E32PLaQe4c6RiVFI8WRouWkvNAQAHEvaxL78XArJPn6HrX_6bs9JND5YTbwD9ABCPYFTdRLHP77bNI4GbrN7ZbiKCVONi9D9Ce_mR/s400/Cym+Tethys+x+Esk+Claret+closeup+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534526557604014786" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">George Formby<br />(Tethys X Esk Claret)<br /></span></div><br />Another hybrid nearly totally dominated by the Tethys parent. Esk Claret contributes the red colouration. There was water on the flower, hence the shiny bits on the labellum.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii26Fiy9OV9kKl1E5hv4M-9ScUHwQButGrBpBxvO03Rw16w4WlyaQ1aiSL1-ptXlOVasXjpuJXBgIWdZRPGrUmishkucRfx4tA0Ejr-TQuOt89EqYvdFVY_Fzs16R-oqb9QdlCHquBqACZ/s1600/Cym+%28Electric+Ladyland+x+Vogelsang%29+X+Last+Tango.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 278px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii26Fiy9OV9kKl1E5hv4M-9ScUHwQButGrBpBxvO03Rw16w4WlyaQ1aiSL1-ptXlOVasXjpuJXBgIWdZRPGrUmishkucRfx4tA0Ejr-TQuOt89EqYvdFVY_Fzs16R-oqb9QdlCHquBqACZ/s400/Cym+%28Electric+Ladyland+x+Vogelsang%29+X+Last+Tango.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534526550979947698" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">(Electric Ladyland X Vogelsang) X Last Tango</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglUpMIUVozkYMdHn9k6H2eOqP4aPWczN9BGfPpZrzrSWFI1_LvTtWBwIbHleiveRSBYcA07-9ppLKReI4ycVBTv-FFgqaL3nNSYqYVaC-C0f9bnjfJwfFrI0HU789asjJYupEuCq6B6xrr/s1600/Cym+%28Electric+Ladyland+x+Vogelsang%29+X+Last+Tango+full+plant.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 319px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglUpMIUVozkYMdHn9k6H2eOqP4aPWczN9BGfPpZrzrSWFI1_LvTtWBwIbHleiveRSBYcA07-9ppLKReI4ycVBTv-FFgqaL3nNSYqYVaC-C0f9bnjfJwfFrI0HU789asjJYupEuCq6B6xrr/s400/Cym+%28Electric+Ladyland+x+Vogelsang%29+X+Last+Tango+full+plant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534555485643301778" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">(Electric Ladyland X Vogelsang) X Last Tango</span><br /></div><br /><br />While more conventional looking than the other plants this was a real standout on the display bench. The flower spikes were vertical in their lower half and abruptly arching in the upper half. What a colour and what a beautiful display. The Vogelsang hybrids are particular favourites of mine. I would have bought this one!<br /><br />The visits to the cafe and nurseries were more than ample compensation for not being able to make a purchase from the rural store. I got to think about my childhood, had a good feed, saw some amazing plants and even brought a couple home. A good day really. Maybe it was more than a Pleasant Monday Afternoon. For the first time in my life I have entered a sweep on the Melbourne Cup tomorrow. I am praying that horse #22 does well!Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-88470233132653978752010-09-18T23:47:00.000-07:002010-09-25T03:47:37.047-07:00Not one you see everyday!<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKqDjDnWmqkDG6FASvV9jy0nv7QmXphE_bzWEz-xS6p5aZA6y8bEvP9rPq6aKspbITe2YISHtti1Sq6jcje-CdxRlpELfD9iz39a78MB5b0C_OhstFC1vbdyCGtq7pySi_OCEfa4ciUbtG/s1600/how+about+the+lip.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKqDjDnWmqkDG6FASvV9jy0nv7QmXphE_bzWEz-xS6p5aZA6y8bEvP9rPq6aKspbITe2YISHtti1Sq6jcje-CdxRlpELfD9iz39a78MB5b0C_OhstFC1vbdyCGtq7pySi_OCEfa4ciUbtG/s400/how+about+the+lip.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518512933924656834" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Musita X Vogelsang</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Today was a photography day. It wasn't the best day as far as weather goes. Cold and windy outside with lines of clouds passing by. Actually, I should say the occasional line of sun passing by. I had the camera set up in the studio and would race in when a sunny patch arrived. I was going to work outside today but paperwork kept me in the warm and dry. Each sunny patch lasted about 5 minutes but that was enough to get a dozen plants photographed.<br /><br />It was interesting taking the photos today. Sometimes the flowers look more interesting in the photographs and sometimes the other way around. One of the plants that made it into the studio today was a pendulous hybrid. This plant first started flowering about 2 months ago but decided it was going to flower again now. Many of the Cymbidiums, at least here in Melbourne, have funny flowering times this year. When it was pulled off the bench there was yet another spike just breaking the sheath. This is one prolific little plant. The flowers are not all that large, about 70mm across, but they are a fascinating colour. The colours are actually more eye-catching in real life. If you click on the above photograph it will go to a much larger size.<br /><br />Yesterday, while visiting a nursery I spied a plant that made me think of a friend of mine in California. A picture was duly taken so at least he could see it, even if he couldn't own it immediately. When I got home I downloaded all the pictures from the nursery and pulled up each to name them and file them. When I pulled up the picture of the peloric hybrid for Joe, I had second thoughts about dismissing it as something I would not grow. Thankfully, there was time to go back to the nursery and pick it up for my greenhouse. This was one plant that didn't get really appreciated until it was viewed completely filling a 24" screen<br /><br />Back to our mystery plant! Goodness, it is easy to get sidetracked. I was originally going to post the picture at the start of this blog on my Flickr account. Well, that was the case before the thought came to me that it had sufficient interest that it might qualify for another 'Guess the Hybrid' posting on the International Cymbidium Alliance web forum. This plant is particularly interesting because if you look really closely, you can see both of the parents in this plant. So here we go. Can anyone guess the hybrid?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SPECIAL NOTE</span><br /><br />If you are reading this post you are undoubtedly interested in Cymbidiums. If this is the case, are you a member of the <a href="http://www.cymbidium.org/index.html">CYMBIDIUM SOCIETY OF AMERICA</a>? If you are not a member, can I suggest that you join? It doesn't matter if you are in the USA, Australia, South Africa, Denmark or Azerbaijan. We can all be members! <span style="visibility: visible;" id="main"><span style="visibility: visible;" id="search"><em></em></span></span>Plant societies worldwide, are suffering at the moment and need all the support we can give them. Already declining memberships have been even more severely impacted by the Global Financial Crisis. If you click on the hyperlink <a href="http://www.cymbidium.org/index.html">here</a> or above it will take you to the <a href="http://www.cymbidium.org/index.html">CSA</a> website. At the moment you have to print out a membership form and post it to them. This is a small price to keep an invaluable plant society going. Remember, it is not just the information you get from the Journal, the shows, the meetings and the web forum that is paid for with your membership. It is the long history, documents and photographs accumulated by the society over the years that you are supporting. Let us all help support the present CSA and ensure that it has a future and can maintain its past.<br /><br /></div>Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-37744918701952445162010-07-04T01:19:00.000-07:002010-07-14T04:17:09.492-07:00Cymbidium tracyanum<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT9ISVdhN8vHFVRFAxFgAAu-hUriFF1r3IIynmKqWPEwt8IqOu5TNR5YL-uLXfuRTp92FghCz3h-b_QkcJK1N7bJb4csl38Oh4QPm9B3oOfpKyQ6HKr2n8L028j-OnGT_cmZGkJt7jjYTd/s1600/Cym_tracyanum-Atlantis+1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489965299119093698" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; cursor: pointer; height: 249px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT9ISVdhN8vHFVRFAxFgAAu-hUriFF1r3IIynmKqWPEwt8IqOu5TNR5YL-uLXfuRTp92FghCz3h-b_QkcJK1N7bJb4csl38Oh4QPm9B3oOfpKyQ6HKr2n8L028j-OnGT_cmZGkJt7jjYTd/s400/Cym_tracyanum-Atlantis+1.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Cymbidium tracyanum</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 'Atlantis' </span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I just love Autumn in my shadehouse. The cool dewy mornings. Fogs in the valley. Still air filled with the smell of decomposing vegetation. The smell of <span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium tracyanum</span> wafting through the shadehouse, along the verandah and past the back door. The sweetly spicy smell of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium </span>contrasts with and compliments the other smells of autumn in the Australian forest. This smell signals to me the start of the main early <span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> flowering season. I know in a few weeks the frail looking but incredibly long-lasting <span style="font-style: italic;">C. erythrostylum </span>will be blooming. It is also a reminder that it is time to plan my birthday dinner!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium tracyanum</span> is one of those species that can not fail to impress. It is a large and imposing plant. A well grown plant will bring ooh's and aah's from the uninitiated and the most hardened orchid buff. It's exotic looking flowers and fragrance are sufficiently intoxicating for everyone to be taken totally into it's spell even if only for a few minutes. Reality strikes when the size of the plant is contrasted with the growing space of the collector. Hmm, lets see, one specimen plant of <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span> or ten 8 inch pots of other more restrained species or hybrids?<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Of the larger-flowered <span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> species, <span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium tracyanum</span> is one of the largest plants with the largest flowers. Plants are commonly about a metre tall with large pseudobulbs (up to 15cm tall) and long arching leaves (up to 1m long and 4cm wide). Flower spikes are usually up to a meter or so long and produced at an angle. In my plants, spikes are commonly disposed at a forty-five degree angle and gently arch from about midway. Other forms have flower spikes that are nearly horizontal or point up at a 60-70 degree angle and these spikes may or may not arch. Each spikes produces up to about 20 flowers and the flowers are commonly 10 - 15 cm wide and a little less high.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium tracyanum</span> was one of the early imports to the gardens of the west. It first came to the attention of the gardeners of a Mr. Tracy from Twickenham in England. I say 'first came to the attention of' because it was not an expected part of a shipment of what was meant to be <span style="font-style: italic;">C. lowianum</span>. When it flowered, there was obviously a fair degree of excitement. It was immediately taken to the Royal Horticultural Society Orchid Committee and judged as being worthy of a First Class Certificate. It was named shortly thereafter in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of Horticulture</span>, and surprisingly, named and described a few days later in a competing journal <span style="font-style: italic;">The Gardeners' Chronicle</span>. It was formally illustrated the following year in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Gardeners Chronicle</span>. I can not image what it would have been like for the gardeners at Mr. Tracy's greenhouses when this plant flowered. Below is a picture of the plant that they first 'discovered' and that was awarded on the 9th of December 1890. This plant has been passed down through the generations and is still grown by many people around the globe.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQAgfCgWZebOfOq7HkP-co-Dtc38dK0aXql3T7U2wixoN8lLc08rjICEI50rtmKO26XuCbxMZdBzyl9_0oXR4ftRyjZ4t91HuSlQBMDZHoz4bs1x91VG-H2dDkJu8S6MBGFu9TlkM-HrIx/s1600/tracyanum+"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489965286303546050" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; cursor: pointer; height: 374px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQAgfCgWZebOfOq7HkP-co-Dtc38dK0aXql3T7U2wixoN8lLc08rjICEI50rtmKO26XuCbxMZdBzyl9_0oXR4ftRyjZ4t91HuSlQBMDZHoz4bs1x91VG-H2dDkJu8S6MBGFu9TlkM-HrIx/s400/tracyanum+%27FCC%27+Closeup.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Cymbidium tracyanum</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> FCC/RHS</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It is interesting to note, that at first, it was not clear where plants of <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span> were coming from. Several plants showed up in shipments of C. lowianum and it was one of these shipments, from a known area, that alerted the collectors where to look. The third importation, with the known locality, did not flower until 1896. Upper Burma (now Myanmar) was the place to look. Thankfully, by 1900 plants flowered that were collected by a man named A. F. G. Kerr. He found these plants near Chieng Mai in Northern Thailand. It wasn't until 1940 that the actual habitat of <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span> in the wild (Burma) was described by Francis Kingdon-Ward. His description of the habitat includes the phrases 'wet evergreen hill forests' and 'Growing in the fork of a tree overhanging a stream in a deep gully'. One can only imagine the sight of a fully mature plant of <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span> growing high in a tree.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It always fascinates me that some people and even some botanists have difficulty identifying this plant. Granted, it is hard to decipher the finer details of a flower from a herbarium sheet. When I read that some botanists could easily confuse C. tracyanum and C. hookerianum from the herbarium sheets my immediate thought was how? Have you ever tried to press a cymbidium flower? They all end up looking about the same. Most pressed orchid flowers are a plain dark brown with all the subtleties of shape and colouration lost. There are however some very simple and clear features that separate <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span> from all the other large-flowered species even when they are squashed and dried.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The first and easiest-to-tell feature of <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span> that jumps out at you, even from a herbarium sheet, are the two callus ridges on the labellum that are densely covered in long transparent hairs. The labellum also has long hairs scattered all over it, particularly along the edges of the sidelobes. In all the pictures presented here you can easily see them. Some people refer to these hairy callus ridges as 'Toothbrushes'. An apt analogy. <span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium hookerianum</span> also has hairy callus ridges and hairy sidelobes on the labellum, but the hairs on the callus ridges of <span style="font-style: italic;">C. hookerianum</span> are few and far between. Hardly comparable to a 'toothbrush'. More like the first few hairs on the chin of a teenager!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The petals are a dead give-away. In the terms of the botanist they are 'falcate'. This literally means 'curved like a sickle'. This varies in degree between different forms of the species: some are only lightly curved, more like a scythe, others so tightly curved that they nearly make half circles. The spots and stripes of the flowers, while certainly distinctive, are shared by several other closely related species.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Another feature, not commonly preserved on herbarium sheets, that separates <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum </span>from all of the other larger, cool-growing <span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidiums</span> is the upward-pointing roots. These roots are about 3cm long and form along the sections of the main roots closest to the base of the plant. These types of roots occur in several other <span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidiums </span>but mainly amongst the 'hard-leaved' tropical types. It is commonly thought that this type of root configuration helps the plant to catch falling organic matter or to provide extra air to the roots. Literally the <span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> equivalent of pneumatophores in mangroves or 'knees' in Swamp Cypress.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">For any grower of <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span> you would have to wonder how such a distinctive plant could be confused with any other <span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span>. A couple of advantages a grower has is their sense of smell and the ability to see the plant in growth. Being complex animals that can process multiple stimuli at one time, we humans can easily and readily distinguish between various species with just a little practice. The fragrance of <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span> is very distinctive: sharp, strong and spicy. It is a deep fragrance: very rich, complex and cloying. Once you smell it, it will stick in your brain. Of course, all the shape and colour of the flower is readily visible in a growing plant. A feature not apparent on herbarium sheets and not listed very often in the literature, is how the flower spikes are produced. Unlike almost all of the larger flowered cool-growing Cymbidiums, except for <span style="font-style: italic;">C. erythrostylum, C. tracyanum</span> produces it's flower spike on the maturing new growth, before the pseudobulb is fully formed. The spike doesn't actually arise from the very base of the pseudobulb but from amongst the cataphylls (leaf-like bracts) or basal leaves.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">You would think that a species such as <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span> would have been used extensively in hybridization. Well in many respects it has been, but not as much as you might think. To date is has been figured as a parent exactly 100 times in first generation hybrids. It is more informative to see how and when it has been used. There was a flurry of breeding soon after its 'discovery' but once<span style="font-style: italic;"> Cymbidium insigne</span> came on the scene in 1901, with its tall spikes of white or pink flowers, <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span> lost favour. The hybrids produced with <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span> as a direct parent are generally what are called 'reptilian' in colouration. Lots of browns, yellows and greens with spots and stripes. Present day growers call these colours 'muddy' if they are mixed with white or pink. Oh the fashion of the orchid world, giving way to light colours and tall spikes in preference to interesting colours, fragrance and tons of 'personality'.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">An interesting side note is that <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span> has been used only 29 times as a pod parent (mother) but 71 times as a pollen parent (father). Some have suggested that there are clones that are fully or partially sterile as a pod parent. This may or may not be true. From what I can find out this may be gardening lore. Certainly, the disproportionate number of times it has held a pod compared to contributing the pollen, makes one pause and question.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The influence of <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span> did not fully wain. There were second and third generation hybrids that proved to be spectacular. Some of these early hybrids, some now approaching 100 years of age, are still popular. <span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium Grand</span> Monarch is probably more popular now than it has ever been. The hybrid <span style="font-style: italic;">C</span>. Lustrous, is being re-introduced in to present day breeding programs. Even lowly old <span style="font-style: italic;">C</span>. Doris, the stalwart of every <span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> collection in Melbourne, Australia, has been remade using selected parents. The results are far removed from the original cross and highly desirable in their own right.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Now you would think that many of the more complex hybrids created with <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span> in their background would be spotted. Some are, many are not. The main features of hybrids with a high proportion of <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span> in their ancestry are: early flowering, easy flowering, large flowers and a range of colours except for white. The classic shape of <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum </span>tends to be dominant in first generation hybrids but is quickly lost in the second and third generation. Many of the early hybrids were in the yellow/green range but there are good examples of pinks and orange as well.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately, there is a major fault with the early hybrids and indeed all first and second generation hybrids containing <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span>. Although the flowers are beautiful on the plant, they tend to be a bit shorter-lived than hybrids produced from other species such as <span style="font-style: italic;">C. lowianum</span>. The other fault, from a cut-flower growers point of view, is that the flowers wilt within hours of being cut. For some reason, the stems do not draw water fast enough to keep the flowers turgid. I guess we just have to content ourselves with growing them as potted specimens and enjoying them as is. Let me see, is there a problem with that?<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Orchid growers being orchid growers are not content with just one 'normal' form of the species. Well at least this orchid grower isn't. As mentioned earlier <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span> has been collected many times from the wild and from right across the range of the species. Like all wild-collected plants some are more attractive than others. Flowers vary in size and colour intensity. Some are more free-flowering than others, although all the ones I grow are amongst the easiest of Cymbidiums to flower.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Until recently most people selected the darkest forms they could find. Some of the older clones that were paler or had less spotting were thrown out in preference to the next darkest clone to come down the track. Some of these clones, such as 'Dark Boy' and 'Black Knight' and 'Red Knight' are incredibly dark red/brown with very little of the greenish/yellow base colour showing through. At the other end of the spectrum are clones such as 'Tamborine' and 'Randall' that more closely resemble the colours found in the 'average' wild plant. Interestingly, albanistic and albino forms of the species have found their way into cultivation. These forms go under the names of 'Alba' for the true albino and 'Albanistic' for an extremely pale form. In a recent book called The Genus Cymbidium in China, a species called <span style="font-style: italic;">C. gaoligongense</span> was described. It is now widely recognized that this species is actually an an albino form of <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span>. It is a clear yellow with a white labellum and orange-lined sidelobes.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Over the years interest has turned to procuring better and better forms of the species. Hybrids between selected clones have produced a range of colours and in many cases increased the size and number of flowers on the spike. It is really hard to say which of these intraspecific hybrids is the nicest. Each has a quality all their own. Below is a selection of various clones of <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span>. You be the judge.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhovyOqkbY8ELN3i2xdgTDfzayD5Hvayp1JoBCTDELyW-M4FANVvGol7eIKUYfE9es1OgiB1p_e-VKrvoB_zGEqohKtUiSjzblSa0x6VRrtxRjLs9zp6nIXJauXlOHaxUBfH7EUyTf38OCN/s1600/tracyanum+"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489965278405682146" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; cursor: pointer; height: 299px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhovyOqkbY8ELN3i2xdgTDfzayD5Hvayp1JoBCTDELyW-M4FANVvGol7eIKUYfE9es1OgiB1p_e-VKrvoB_zGEqohKtUiSjzblSa0x6VRrtxRjLs9zp6nIXJauXlOHaxUBfH7EUyTf38OCN/s400/tracyanum+%27Atlantis%27+closeup.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Cymbidium tracyanum</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 'Atlantis'</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">My friend Julian has been growing this plant for many years. It is a very robust grower that commonly produces two spikes from each pseudobulb. Last year his plant had 27 flower spikes on it. The plant was 1.5m across with the flower spikes taking it to well over 2m wide and 1.5 m high He was going to take it to the local show but could not fit it in the van. Mind you, even with help it would have taken 4 men to lift it.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ED2SuqblihBVXdYe2AHpVg5gVDxexJu6BjQTO1UPtn0U-E7_POU_5FaWv9uMgVHIJzjoqCnzkUZKK8gFi0Ydr0NMAEu7AP1egtTIalSF8_3wMTCu9uKIbzSf9F_kIkrEjEbX4ML9i-TK/s1600/tracyanum+"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489965268600721010" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; cursor: pointer; height: 304px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ED2SuqblihBVXdYe2AHpVg5gVDxexJu6BjQTO1UPtn0U-E7_POU_5FaWv9uMgVHIJzjoqCnzkUZKK8gFi0Ydr0NMAEu7AP1egtTIalSF8_3wMTCu9uKIbzSf9F_kIkrEjEbX4ML9i-TK/s400/tracyanum+%27Jay+Pruette%27+Closeup.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium tracyanum</span> 'Jay Pruette'</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This clone was a wild collected plant supposedly imported from Thailand. Unlike many of the other clones of <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span>, the background colour of this form is green but fades to yellow just before the flowers die. I particularly like the reddish patch at the base of the petals and sepals. In real life, especially with the oblique autumn sun hitting it, this red patch just lights up.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgze2TnZuT3J20N-9_6qZFSSO8m4eU7SzdpLPTvlheuBitHEJQF7agklXr9ZCqxcscqNNNbYFipnFB6iXHD3agD6SBE7ObxMGBxlY8VsGlYUjNtL1wQRGhyHzXjBzYnDcBIsDS8zMgR-e6M/s1600/tracyanum+"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489965264358775602" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; cursor: pointer; height: 384px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgze2TnZuT3J20N-9_6qZFSSO8m4eU7SzdpLPTvlheuBitHEJQF7agklXr9ZCqxcscqNNNbYFipnFB6iXHD3agD6SBE7ObxMGBxlY8VsGlYUjNtL1wQRGhyHzXjBzYnDcBIsDS8zMgR-e6M/s400/tracyanum+%27Randall%27+closeup.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium tracyanum</span> 'Randall' </span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This is the clone that I have had for about 25 years. It is the most rampant growing form that I have. Unfortunately, the flower spikes are generally produced at the same level or lower than the leaves. It needs a little bit of encouragement to display its flowers well in a pot. I can imagine that this form would be particularly attractive viewed from below when growing in a tree. The green mass of the leaves providing the perfect foil for the multiple spikes of flowers below. Paler flowered than many other clones but also larger flowered than many. This plant was brought back by a friend from a collecting trip to China.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNiUhCA-5KPhQt06QZ3QFh3nJeEoPERYLyRg_-68LIpc2rKsHi7-49lB6Rr5G79VAe_s-fhCeXgw64nmaGVLdLxMOXI279vvsj_pSqCOJT6zzZ4SHCWbUwHIAYtehP712FmjMom4TZlhEj/s1600/Cym_tracyanum+-+Royale+-+4N+closeup.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489963559773490258" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; cursor: pointer; height: 276px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNiUhCA-5KPhQt06QZ3QFh3nJeEoPERYLyRg_-68LIpc2rKsHi7-49lB6Rr5G79VAe_s-fhCeXgw64nmaGVLdLxMOXI279vvsj_pSqCOJT6zzZ4SHCWbUwHIAYtehP712FmjMom4TZlhEj/s400/Cym_tracyanum+-+Royale+-+4N+closeup.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Cymbidium tracyanum</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 'Royale' 4N</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This is not my plant nor my photo! This plant is the result of a crossing carried out by Kevin Hipkin of Royale Orchids. This was a purposely bred intraspecific hybrid of two particularly nice forms of <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span>. The resulting seedling were treated to convert them to tetraploids. One of the unfortunate things that happens with the 4N versions of <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum </span>is that the typically 'sickle-shaped' petals tend to be a bit less so. On the up side, the intensity of the spotting on the labellum tends to increase.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0dBW8d8wnaYqrgA6VguwG338j9RPlWQ6imp4-uaQrrQVPPpihmTA9n8NyXT7wFTfDD35ciACs7wCk6PMdGp2kSPgrZ_jpFsIj50U88psuIl4fLlZ-pVQx4-5Sjm1x-Cr4ZAEMz3Rl71O/s1600/tracyanum+%27Julian%27+4N+resized.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 327px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0dBW8d8wnaYqrgA6VguwG338j9RPlWQ6imp4-uaQrrQVPPpihmTA9n8NyXT7wFTfDD35ciACs7wCk6PMdGp2kSPgrZ_jpFsIj50U88psuIl4fLlZ-pVQx4-5Sjm1x-Cr4ZAEMz3Rl71O/s400/tracyanum+%27Julian%27+4N+resized.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493718690164693986" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium tracyanum </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">4N (un-named form raised by Julian Coker)</span><br /></div><br /><br />This plant flowered in a group of seedling of the cross <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span> 'F1' X <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span> 'Albanistic' from Andy Easton of New Horizon Orchids. This cross produced some amazing looking plants but for my tastes they lacked some of the charm of the more wild-looking forms. My tastes are obviously my tastes. This plant has a legion of admirers including it's owner. Big fat stems and big fat flowers with amazing colour but alas, only about 12 flowers on a stem.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Other clones from the above cross turned out to be 2n. These varied in colour intensity and configuration. Many of them were beautiful in their own right but were again a step away from the forms found in the wild. It is interesting to see how these intraspecific hybrids accentuate different features found in the wild species.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRvgpGNO1krRyJyX5aQHvE-qtnp_1LtTj-O-y7w5qdbcqUoXBdZ_WFfixKPY7Lmx_Li3jE8GFHWmBBBppjgifOwC_869ugUfD_Hifd6vnuby_g1og5FdD4mAIcx-kF6w93vEn1BppWbnkG/s1600/tracyanum+%28"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489963546318234482" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; cursor: pointer; height: 297px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRvgpGNO1krRyJyX5aQHvE-qtnp_1LtTj-O-y7w5qdbcqUoXBdZ_WFfixKPY7Lmx_Li3jE8GFHWmBBBppjgifOwC_869ugUfD_Hifd6vnuby_g1og5FdD4mAIcx-kF6w93vEn1BppWbnkG/s400/tracyanum+%28%27F1%27+X+%27Albanistic%27%29+clone+1+Closeup.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Cymbidium tracyanum</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 'F1' X </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 'Albanistic' 'clone 1'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_hWD09OvWtWNuuRrmmVD0-rZGEbGMnHE6K8017K5Ocp0V6ME3BlFtAmnDR8mLgwi-wL-BfwAkDbN1v8R01mX3mb5ViCftjOdONzZglBAzPPYVQxs8XbZR1OHfzsPYwDNPn8M_ndMpcv0v/s1600/tracyanum+%28"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489963541843128930" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; cursor: pointer; height: 324px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_hWD09OvWtWNuuRrmmVD0-rZGEbGMnHE6K8017K5Ocp0V6ME3BlFtAmnDR8mLgwi-wL-BfwAkDbN1v8R01mX3mb5ViCftjOdONzZglBAzPPYVQxs8XbZR1OHfzsPYwDNPn8M_ndMpcv0v/s400/tracyanum+%28%27F1%27+X+%27Albanistic%27%29+clone+2+Closeup.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Cymbidium tracyanum</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 'F1' X </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 'Albanistic' 'clone 2'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Y4Thiu7DRmyvnNpw_-0kq4R5tawKctveNjpyJUlc5C6zPGHN9v1I6pJBtpJrkTNIx63MQFXG4FDTD0NN-Ehp8tRVOHmCR5q88QOK3NBMhwFcq3iehWlWpZ7nXeTY8gnkZS7Opnizy8LZ/s1600/tracyanum+%28"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489963536548473170" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; cursor: pointer; height: 247px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Y4Thiu7DRmyvnNpw_-0kq4R5tawKctveNjpyJUlc5C6zPGHN9v1I6pJBtpJrkTNIx63MQFXG4FDTD0NN-Ehp8tRVOHmCR5q88QOK3NBMhwFcq3iehWlWpZ7nXeTY8gnkZS7Opnizy8LZ/s400/tracyanum+%28%27F1%27+X+%27Albanistic%27%29+clone+3+Closeup.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Cymbidium tracyanum</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 'F1' X </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 'Albanistic' 'clone 3'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Now the story doesn't end here! Although interest in using <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span> as a parent declined markedly after WW1, there has been a recent resurgance in its use as a parent and capturing its qualities in second and third generation crosses. Kevin Hipkins in Australia is one of the leaders in this field although there are many others as well. These 'Children of Tracy' will appear in a future blog. Be prepared for some suitably 'dark' names. Some of the names of these hybrids are truely disturbing. Pywacket, Valley of Death, Death Wish, Road Rage and the soon to be named Ethanasia!!! </div>Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-77009932669678567182009-12-16T11:55:00.000-08:002009-12-18T16:49:07.126-08:00Cymbidium Kusuda Shining X Cymbidium erythrostylum<div><div style="text-align: justify;">Wednesday the 9th of December started fine. It was a relatively warm (55 F) and sunny day in Philadelphia considering it was the middle of winter. My flight back to Australia was not meant to take off until 6:15 so had plenty of time to enjoy a few last hours with my family. Got to the airport early and whizzed through security and had a delightful Chicken Curry in one of the concourse restaurants. In retrospect, maybe it was not as delightful as first perceived considering the after-effects! Six o'clock and everything fine according to the screens announcing departures. Unfortunately, there was no plane at the gate! At 6:15 when we should have been departing an announcement came over the loudspeaker that our flight would be departing 40 minutes late. Not a worry, the connecting flight in Los Angeles was to depart two hours after we should have arrived. On the plane and then another 40 minutes sitting on the runway waiting our turn to take off. What caused this delay? Across 2/3rds of the continental USA there was a severe winter storm, we in Philadelphia were sitting in a little pocket of good weather. Pity the poor people of Chicago who were suffering -19 F and high winds or Buffalo, New York who were buried under 2 1/2 feet of lake effect snow. To cut a long story short, instead of the normal straight-line flight from Philadelphia to LA we detoured via Montana adding another 1 1/2 hours to our flight time. When the diversion to Montana was announced it became clear that my flight from LA to Australia was going to leave without me.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />I don't normally praise an airline but United Airlines handled the situation very well. A dozen or so people stood in the service desk line awaiting re-assignment. I was number 6. The less than happy lady before me was the epitome of the customer from hell, lots of screaming and crying and flapping of arms. She left a very unhappy customer. By the time I got to the counter the attendant was frazzled and I was trying my best to act like the most polite customer. The reward for my great acting efforts was a lovely room at the LAX Marriot and a very nice breakfast the next morning! What to do until the next flight at 10:30PM on the 10th? By good luck I had the phone numbers of George Hatfield in my cell phone (mobile phone to the Australians). The very happy voice on the other end of the line and the words 'I'll come down and pick you up and we can play orchids today' changed what could have been a dreary day into one of excitement and camaraderie! Within an hour and a half we were eating the most amazing hamburgers from In-and-Out and heading up the coast highway to Oxnard. </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">George and I spent a wonderful day exploring every plant in his greenhouses, finding the gems and discussing a range of very interesting topics. There were many plants in flower and thanks to George's quick thinking and a staple gun we rigged up a mini-studio so that I could take some pictures. Most of those pictures will be used in future posts but there was one particular cross that particularly took my fancy. Now you would be right in thinking that this cross would be meaningful to me because it is in the process of being named after me (my real name not my <span style="font-style: italic;">nom de plume</span>). Thankfully, I do really like the plant and can't think of another cross that is so befitting of my tastes in Cymbidium! </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">So what is this cross? Cymbidium Kusuda Shining x erythrostylum. This cross was made by George Hatfield of Hatfield Orchids and named in my honour, after I correctly guessed it's parentage from an unlabeled picture taken by another friend Ha Bui. Isn't it wonderful to have such thoughtful friends? It is especially poignant considering that at the time, I only knew the two of them from an online forum and emails. I am not even sure they knew what I looked like. On second thought they may have reconsidered after catching a glimpse of my mug. </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Kusuda Shining is that fabulous early season hybrid, bred by Andy Easton, that is proving to be a wonderful parent and sparking a whole line of breeding. Many of the hybrids directly derived from it are in the yellow/orange/red range but as you will see other colours are certainly possible. Within the grex there are various selections exhibiting a range of colours from deep chestnut to bright yellow, most with heavily marked red labellums. There is reported to be an albino form out there somewhere but I have yet to see this. Maybe someone reading this can post a photo somewhere? </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Cymbidium erythrostylum is the famous early season white species that has been used extensively for breeding high-quality whites, although generally not in the first couple of generations after direct use. Interestingly, C. erythrostylum is not restricted to breeding whites. It is well known for breeding pinks and even turns up in the heritage of reds and browns and even the occasional green. The fault with erythrostylum, according to Rebecca Tyson Northen, is the fact that the petals point forward and enclose the column, a syndrome she calls 'rabbit ears'. While this creates a look much different to what we expect in conventional Cymbidiums this configuration provides a unique look to the flowers that is both elegant and distinctive. This look is inherited in first generation hybrids, although modified to varying degrees. While this look is not appreciated on the show benches of cymbidium societies it is very popular with some sectors of the general public who look for novelty or are from specific cultural backgrounds. </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Just as a reminder, Cymbidium Kusuda Shining and C. erythrostylum are pictured below so that you can see what the parents are. </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvDY3UD9QXh2vsEiqT4su_7T5Mfq1qA8hK7wZeERVv4fQ3NCi3swcX_wBHgyIq4Emn7WjDrTJhCYRGyS9-mCsaGhHPspHXfrwbMvUHDIoYcB5ni6KId91s2IuFggIuVJNu4Gq0TeyySF8/s1600-h/Cym_Kusuda+Shining+-+6.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415943261405121362" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 305px; cursor: pointer; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvDY3UD9QXh2vsEiqT4su_7T5Mfq1qA8hK7wZeERVv4fQ3NCi3swcX_wBHgyIq4Emn7WjDrTJhCYRGyS9-mCsaGhHPspHXfrwbMvUHDIoYcB5ni6KId91s2IuFggIuVJNu4Gq0TeyySF8/s400/Cym_Kusuda+Shining+-+6.jpg" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Kusuda Shining</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhevBB8NdhyphenhyphenOjtDzDxudFicL_ypdmg7nQnsPi1ivwWbxb3b1mT8CMDdrmiqXXtvz6pAprj0nfM7NLRMXKJJq1AhEuHvmSPyLFuM331KrnIjx04fB9AA5uDbg7GI5e-UYSHPp6EtpGF9bYsN/s1600-h/Cym_erythrostylum_Dale_2007.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415943264612117490" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; cursor: pointer; height: 287px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhevBB8NdhyphenhyphenOjtDzDxudFicL_ypdmg7nQnsPi1ivwWbxb3b1mT8CMDdrmiqXXtvz6pAprj0nfM7NLRMXKJJq1AhEuHvmSPyLFuM331KrnIjx04fB9AA5uDbg7GI5e-UYSHPp6EtpGF9bYsN/s400/Cym_erythrostylum_Dale_2007.jpg" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium erythrostylum</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">What is really interesting in this hybrid is the way the characteristics of the parent combine in each different seedling. The most obvious characteristic is the shape of the flower. More like the C. erythrostylum parent, being basically triangular with petals pointing forward, but this varies in the three forms pictured. The red and peachy cream form show this most markedly but it is still obvious in the pink form. the labellum is typical of what you would expect of a C. erythrostylum hybrid, a little on the smaller side, strong diffentiation of the sidelobes from the mid-lob, and sidelobes the embrace the column. The convergent callus ridges are also characteristic of first generation C. erythrostylum hybrids. It is interesting to note that in this case C. erythrostylum strongly influences the position and configuration of the red patterning on the labellum, which is generally arranged in lines and increases in intensity and density toward the edges of the labellum. Of course, the labellums on the paler flowers more closely resemble the C. erythrostylum parent and the red flower more closely resembles the C. Kusuda Shining parent, even to the point of having yellow base colour on the labellum and confluent red patches toward the edges.<br /><br />Most interesting to me is the overall colour of the flowers. How is it possible to get pink, red, peach and light yellow from this cross? It all gets back to the <span style="font-weight: bold;">actual</span> colours in the parents! I emphasize the term actual colour as opposed to perceived colour. Cymbidiums, like many other familiar garden flowers, including Rhododendrons, Oleanders, Roses and Carnations have petals that are made of layers of cells, each layer having the possibility of containing different colours. As is the case with Rhododendrons and Azaleas, the underlying or 'base' colours of Cymbidium are white, yellow and green. Overlying colours are white, yellow, green and red (pink being diluted red). One petal, the dorsal petal in Rhododendron and Azalea and the labellum in Cymbidium, has the potential to have markedly different combinations of colours then the rest of the petals/sepals. Some plant physiologists think and in some cases have proved that colour inheritance in orchid labellums is quite separate to colour inheritance in the other flower parts (think of the Cattleya alliance). <br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">If you look closely at C. Kusuda shining it is evident that the base colour of the flower is yellow overlaid with red spots. Cymbidium erythrostylum is of course sparkling white with a tinge of pink/red at the base of the petals and sometimes a flushing of pink on the backs of the petals and sepals. What we see in C. Kusuda Shining X erythrostylum are white, cream or yellow base colours variously overlaid with red creating the impression of peach/salmon, pink or red. You don't have to look too closely in this hybrid to see either the base colour or the overlay colour. If you click on the individual pictures you can see the photo at a larger size. I hope you enjoy the pictures.<br /><br />George made a very interesting observation regarding the floriferousness of the three plants illustrated here. They were all first flowered seedlings in 6"pots. The pink one, that the majority of orchid society people immediately took to, based on a picture of the flower only, is in fact the least free-flowering of the three. The pink only had one spike on the largest plant of the three. The creamy-peach one had a couple of spikes but the flowers were more numerous on the spike and better spaced. Most fascinating though was the red one. The plant was the smallest of the group but this little powerhouse had 7 flower spikes all fighting for space and attention. It was positively bursting with buds and when it is fully expanded will make a real knockout plant. You can see from the final photo it is certainly the most attractive of the lot and dare I say has the best qualities for commercial development. What about the shape I hear you saying. The general buying public and others seeking novelty and interesting shapes in Cymbidium, care little for the formalized strictures of the judging panels of orchid societies. These non-orchid society orchid consumers look for colour, free-flowering, compact size and of course colour, colour, colour! Perfection of shape of the flowers alone mean little to the general consumer.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp0_TfV6wjxYixlg_muTZGK7iyfA0e-YZsTZLrBohTN93VlQyVqmSzlp8bwrq8E11s2R1eee-8fbtk9GWlm9HIFNcP4zunnNX6qa7amOA57erL2uBRw-t0qyN_0FBsXeiBEoyeHsidZgzp/s1600-h/Cym_Randall+Robinson+-+pink+-+flower+-+1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415926077192991442" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 328px; cursor: pointer; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp0_TfV6wjxYixlg_muTZGK7iyfA0e-YZsTZLrBohTN93VlQyVqmSzlp8bwrq8E11s2R1eee-8fbtk9GWlm9HIFNcP4zunnNX6qa7amOA57erL2uBRw-t0qyN_0FBsXeiBEoyeHsidZgzp/s400/Cym_Randall+Robinson+-+pink+-+flower+-+1.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Kusuda Shining X erythrostylum</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEI_fDTo5vvGzefgbSgHBsoFBqlLtc0-eJnvYqITKm2AkXoeyCnO3g7Xf6gfB6HzBVZ-Nro3MGE_5F0aky9rYVqCiwak0dQokjqGFf4uWy0rqpyUsrA55YeNv_mENsF_NSfuhLhsWjX33W/s1600-h/Cym_Randall+Robinson+-+pink+-+spike+-+1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415925777772492802" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 318px; cursor: pointer; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEI_fDTo5vvGzefgbSgHBsoFBqlLtc0-eJnvYqITKm2AkXoeyCnO3g7Xf6gfB6HzBVZ-Nro3MGE_5F0aky9rYVqCiwak0dQokjqGFf4uWy0rqpyUsrA55YeNv_mENsF_NSfuhLhsWjX33W/s400/Cym_Randall+Robinson+-+pink+-+spike+-+1.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Kusuda Shining X erythrostylum</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwObMcioWHG4-82nWeiS-h9cjag-O37a6BJTDqYWzYUQG2gdNxAu3XQpJEG7MA00cWNX6v1ouCHoDjmqUuk8vCAnBskcY4qz5DZsJVcaBjSmsPeq1yXAE9bfci7-8qF6wPSHwZdj8FpDm/s1600-h/Cym_Randall+Robinson+-+red+-+flower+-+1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415925768889556738" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 246px; cursor: pointer; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwObMcioWHG4-82nWeiS-h9cjag-O37a6BJTDqYWzYUQG2gdNxAu3XQpJEG7MA00cWNX6v1ouCHoDjmqUuk8vCAnBskcY4qz5DZsJVcaBjSmsPeq1yXAE9bfci7-8qF6wPSHwZdj8FpDm/s400/Cym_Randall+Robinson+-+red+-+flower+-+1.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Kusuda Shining X erythrostylum</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0w3dKsJTzECk3EOZVH26IbaU8XgXdTdrjwHYDl364kkfOIDaahx68XxdbmR75RjHXe9pS4qlWF7ApoUpYiiwUaQEW_tXu8wFs3Mpb-_3YCwSVwGJLax4rHx3eQFZg79p5uQzhO802XFk/s1600-h/Cym_Randall+Robinson+-+red+-+spike+-+1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415925761830414322" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 321px; cursor: pointer; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0w3dKsJTzECk3EOZVH26IbaU8XgXdTdrjwHYDl364kkfOIDaahx68XxdbmR75RjHXe9pS4qlWF7ApoUpYiiwUaQEW_tXu8wFs3Mpb-_3YCwSVwGJLax4rHx3eQFZg79p5uQzhO802XFk/s400/Cym_Randall+Robinson+-+red+-+spike+-+1.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Kusuda Shining X erythrostylum</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirCvwMVXq817BOlQ3NcWuhtHRfLv4VhbV3rOJeahviyxyMywpG3m7meUpslcFCkeUJ8LI_I1FPBQDYcwo30iOiecwNXC5SvWd8cQF-akEYXZfjQCB4DqEsPG9Oo0uN1o0oY14bgW5oR7JX/s1600-h/Cym_Randall+Robinson+-+yellow+-+flower-+1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415925757955825170" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 294px; cursor: pointer; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirCvwMVXq817BOlQ3NcWuhtHRfLv4VhbV3rOJeahviyxyMywpG3m7meUpslcFCkeUJ8LI_I1FPBQDYcwo30iOiecwNXC5SvWd8cQF-akEYXZfjQCB4DqEsPG9Oo0uN1o0oY14bgW5oR7JX/s400/Cym_Randall+Robinson+-+yellow+-+flower-+1.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Kusuda Shining X erythrostylum</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6nSZJu82i5vOOL2lT9dWCBZeJkPkvNQ5Iyo1E_HfXC57Id30T5YGvudJ_F8_xmhV_WbF6K_H2UO5AZkpFRu17m3NOC1vCVj5xnSNN0L3ToRHRnBdrpLnq8DdtETpFCoZExdUWd1Z4kdj/s1600-h/Cym_Randall+Robinson+-+yellow+-+spike+-+1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415925749262419474" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 328px; cursor: pointer; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6nSZJu82i5vOOL2lT9dWCBZeJkPkvNQ5Iyo1E_HfXC57Id30T5YGvudJ_F8_xmhV_WbF6K_H2UO5AZkpFRu17m3NOC1vCVj5xnSNN0L3ToRHRnBdrpLnq8DdtETpFCoZExdUWd1Z4kdj/s400/Cym_Randall+Robinson+-+yellow+-+spike+-+1.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Kusuda Shining X erythrostylum</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">As a record of my special day in Oxnard, the timer was set on the camera and a little group shot taken of my friend and I and his wonderul hybrid. You can see by the smiles on our faces that we were having a great time. George is such a generous and great friend. I can't wait until we see each other again at the Santa Barbara Orchid Show. Did I mention that George is the breeder of the wonderful hybrid discussed in this blog?<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Km-QTQl-L_LG2OY4c_MGPIRvEXS_Ja5z3UkaSyxaf_j7YLCETMOZZ0LbEB4tYL6qTW1LsE3gXtDMtPNydKZDCFufEt-Vhg9S1AVmlXtibSlgORgZxfs7Vf5zToiYH9PaWwTgWjI2HpsY/s1600-h/Geoge+and+Randall+and+Randall+-+1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415926081606588002" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; cursor: pointer; height: 266px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Km-QTQl-L_LG2OY4c_MGPIRvEXS_Ja5z3UkaSyxaf_j7YLCETMOZZ0LbEB4tYL6qTW1LsE3gXtDMtPNydKZDCFufEt-Vhg9S1AVmlXtibSlgORgZxfs7Vf5zToiYH9PaWwTgWjI2HpsY/s400/Geoge+and+Randall+and+Randall+-+1.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">George Hatfield (left) and Randall Robinson (right) </span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">with a group of Cymbidium Kusuda Shining X erythrostylum</span></div> </div>Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-16082456095977531212009-09-07T02:26:00.001-07:002009-09-07T05:22:28.058-07:00National Cymbidium Show - Melbourne<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyuUbLlUpta2QwS1DrICK_56hN-c61dn4IOIp2jcmfXpiwgcQITrk2ojQY5i6IK80KXjRDUW2jf49nng6_w-qj94qmXb0uwD30uViH9DWxZpPmWDTg2IKgh1ZYiDaQ-uZnD9DIqOScs-0l/s1600-h/Colin's+Stand.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyuUbLlUpta2QwS1DrICK_56hN-c61dn4IOIp2jcmfXpiwgcQITrk2ojQY5i6IK80KXjRDUW2jf49nng6_w-qj94qmXb0uwD30uViH9DWxZpPmWDTg2IKgh1ZYiDaQ-uZnD9DIqOScs-0l/s400/Colin's+Stand.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378658750720804546" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Colin Gillespie's Stand </span><br />(note all the blue ribbons)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">When a big show comes to town there is always a bit of a buzz in the air. I have fond memories of every February in my childhood because of the biggest show in town for me, The Philadelphia Flower Show. This was the one big outing of the year for me. Imagine, in the middle of winter in the northeast of the United States, being treated to acres of the most exotic plants gathered together in enormous displays, all in the comfort of a heated convention centre. All the great nurseries of the tri-state area would be there. Styer's Nursery, with their beds of forced hardy plants, flowering well out of season. The DuPont family with magnificent displays of massed tropical plants. Several of the local orchid nurseries always had stunning displays. These orchid displays were always my favourite.<br /><br />At 12 years old, my Grandmother accompanied my mother and I to the Philly Flower Show. This was an eye opener for Grammy and even better that her grandson could show her around. This was also the year I was allowed to buy my first orchids. The previous year I had purchased a Pepperomia obtusifolia, but this year I graduated to Maxillaria variabilis, a white Phalaenopsis and a little Oncidium cheirophorum. The delightful thing about the Philadelphia Flower Show is that the sales area is nearly as big as the display area. Probably a hectare or more. What appeared to be hundreds of stalls offered everything from orchids to houseplants to exotic bulbs, seeds, trees and shrubs and an endless array of garden supplies and accoutrements. The greenhouses fascinated me the most. You could spend hours wandering around with the thousands of other people doing exactly the same thing.<br /><br />On the 3rd to the 5th of September, the Cymbidium Orchid Club of Victoria hosted the biggest show in town, The National Cymbidium Show at the Springvale City Hall. While not covering hectares it is certainly large by Australian standards. For me, it held no less 'buzz' than did the Flower Show in Philadelphia. This was the opportunity to see a whole range of plants that I don't grow. It is also a great place to see magnificently grown specimens. My plants will never look like the winning plants in the show, but it is good to know that it is possible! Gives one something to strive for.<br /><br />Have you ever seen the movie 'Best in Show'? It is a behind the scenes look at the workings of a dog show. The experience of the person that comes along to view the show could not be more different to the experience of those involved behind the scenes. The spectator sees beautifully groomed and presented dogs and happy smiling faces on the trainers. Behind the scenes it is all intrigue and skullduggery. I wondered when I walked into the national show if there was any truth in the movie and if it translated to the orchid world. Certainly the plants were all perfectly groomed and the growers all had happy smiling faces. I think there was a difference here, the people were actually talking to each other and milling around in ever-changing group configurations. This group of exhibitors was actually not conforming to the stereotype portrayed in the movie. Then again, these are plant people, the gentler, kinder souls of the world.<br /><br />One can't help but be sucked into the excitement of a show. Even if you would never grow many of the plants you can't help but admire the exquisite beauty of the specimens so lovingly cared for and presented. My original aim of this post was to show a perfectly chronicled account of the show but this did not happen. There is no way that all of the winners could have been listed and photographed. Equally hard for me would have been to list all the winners. Actually, this is a convenient excuse for my lack of record keeping. I spent hours taking pictures of the plants and carefully recording their names but failed to record their awards or their growers! A few names of the growers come to mind but I hope they forgive me if their names are spelled incorrectly or I wrongly attribute a plant to them. I tried to check all of the orchid names for the correct spelling but inevitably some will be wrong. Please let me know. Can I blame the labels on the plants?<br /><br />For me the show was a great place to see what people are growing and showing and to get photos of plants that will never be found in my greenhouse. Above all though, it was a place for me to catch up with my friends from the web forum, old friends and a few new friends that I met over the three days. Well, the plants lived up to expectations and what a social time was had. Shame my wallet is suffering from withdrawal. Nothing went into it all weekend and everything came out.<br /><br />The proviso of not singling out winners, mentioned above, will be put on hold for the most outstanding display at the show. The grower? Colin Gillespie. Wow, can this guy grow orchids. His plants are like my plants but on steroids. Everything about them is huge and absolutely perfectly formed without a blemish to be seen or a leaf or petal out of place. Alright, his plants are nothing like my plants. Colin is right up there with the best growers in the world and deserves every award he gets. The degree of care and dedication this man shows is to be commended. Come to think of it, it would be hard to find a Cymbidium grower anywhere that could surpass him.<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyuUbLlUpta2QwS1DrICK_56hN-c61dn4IOIp2jcmfXpiwgcQITrk2ojQY5i6IK80KXjRDUW2jf49nng6_w-qj94qmXb0uwD30uViH9DWxZpPmWDTg2IKgh1ZYiDaQ-uZnD9DIqOScs-0l/s1600-h/Colin's+Stand.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyuUbLlUpta2QwS1DrICK_56hN-c61dn4IOIp2jcmfXpiwgcQITrk2ojQY5i6IK80KXjRDUW2jf49nng6_w-qj94qmXb0uwD30uViH9DWxZpPmWDTg2IKgh1ZYiDaQ-uZnD9DIqOScs-0l/s400/Colin's+Stand.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378658750720804546" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Colin Gillespie's Stand</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;">(Notice all the blue ribbons)<br /></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOSORF_GL9CRygq311HCfrMAotNB8l-r7eQ0azFifwi1dmYmrVfOFEzWIvzsXuRPs2JGwtqEzLmURRgNRpnJQIcDSdft6S495InYNuDHjO4mSoccVD0GylWC2vy1WbBvj6Zz5WEsPsXRjZ/s1600-h/Cym_Valley+Spash-Awesome.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 255px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOSORF_GL9CRygq311HCfrMAotNB8l-r7eQ0azFifwi1dmYmrVfOFEzWIvzsXuRPs2JGwtqEzLmURRgNRpnJQIcDSdft6S495InYNuDHjO4mSoccVD0GylWC2vy1WbBvj6Zz5WEsPsXRjZ/s400/Cym_Valley+Spash-Awesome.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378658309464396002" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Valley Spash 'Awesome'</span><br />A deserving Grand Champion<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">For the most part, I will let the show and more especially the plants, speak for themselves. The goal of the photography session was not to take pictures of just the winners. While there are winners included in the photos most are just plants that caught my eye or had a special quality about them. They are not even representative of what was at the show. There where so many plants the line had to be drawn somewhere. Basically, I started at one point and just moved through taking pictures at whim until both of my batteries ran out. I couldn't include them all here but will include some in future posts. I hope you like them.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8hO6dcr5XUj-1fhFhy-8YDFKwVvhU9tOXKe4euCXPQ4PXwFzyd0gtg1UV5BwazjNO7oGJadqz2fbt1igGiJfqOVkcoBDVuTiZbhyxeVAWrzAIRFg1-tljIFLlQdsu_DzlXvI-ykSNFKpB/s1600-h/Cym+club+of+South+Australia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8hO6dcr5XUj-1fhFhy-8YDFKwVvhU9tOXKe4euCXPQ4PXwFzyd0gtg1UV5BwazjNO7oGJadqz2fbt1igGiJfqOVkcoBDVuTiZbhyxeVAWrzAIRFg1-tljIFLlQdsu_DzlXvI-ykSNFKpB/s400/Cym+club+of+South+Australia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378658744807258178" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Club of South Australia</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">(A display of a hundred or so cut spikes. Wayne Bayliss wins best cut spike)<br /></div> <br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv9BvVrV7EnNQNGhFpY3T7XkPr5CepOD7eMm9oYEkhjsnOQ8DW_nXl_p4yl0oIyQilZUA9ppbwB0QbV4lFFld6gcFY8uq_OuZ5BbCPDI3rlKdgcNeQUk2y33lro4IgQRaf40ZEE3_Da7UA/s1600-h/Central+display.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 168px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv9BvVrV7EnNQNGhFpY3T7XkPr5CepOD7eMm9oYEkhjsnOQ8DW_nXl_p4yl0oIyQilZUA9ppbwB0QbV4lFFld6gcFY8uq_OuZ5BbCPDI3rlKdgcNeQUk2y33lro4IgQRaf40ZEE3_Da7UA/s400/Central+display.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378658737410430674" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Central Display area</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNltuKjKCyiO4f9iz-OD4eXLCXa2hszD4BdoV0ZgeDwYd4XlITwToOopEqoPbOsXXTszZSM6kzc2taNbPzjmYsOLpVJGmjQZa0PLdBK4gawG8MmLztn441NLS5IoMMnqL5Wf0jf8Tkom92/s1600-h/Tee+Pees+display.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNltuKjKCyiO4f9iz-OD4eXLCXa2hszD4BdoV0ZgeDwYd4XlITwToOopEqoPbOsXXTszZSM6kzc2taNbPzjmYsOLpVJGmjQZa0PLdBK4gawG8MmLztn441NLS5IoMMnqL5Wf0jf8Tkom92/s400/Tee+Pees+display.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378658327661075122" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Terry Poulton's huge tower of flowers. </span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Another great grower.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpygVjzNO3cNS-9bQMvieBrSY5Dh27r6_LnpJWQLAW8_3RPTBTEeiwsikgbi38hLoceluy7ysEMm4f6frxkz7RztyTqPB4Cf3a98grD3CjsR0cBjqeH2GRImDDONfyiBoPMl0D33tP8Us/s1600-h/Cym_Zumma+Spring-Pure+Magic.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpygVjzNO3cNS-9bQMvieBrSY5Dh27r6_LnpJWQLAW8_3RPTBTEeiwsikgbi38hLoceluy7ysEMm4f6frxkz7RztyTqPB4Cf3a98grD3CjsR0cBjqeH2GRImDDONfyiBoPMl0D33tP8Us/s400/Cym_Zumma+Spring-Pure+Magic.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378658324083346514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Zumma Spring 'Pure Magic'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaAfwKNHJyrGSUn8k0ybR9vKKYBICR6rItkQVnbo9prhj-33XOfV3Bm05v9qTG3-0ssCJvF8NKBm9JZay_YCBQkTZiRGhH4RsKWO3NXqetAeYXtzvv5DNBdfFiwcByWRk1vV3O1I1ChQ_a/s1600-h/Cym_Valley+Spash-Touch+of+Pink.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 326px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaAfwKNHJyrGSUn8k0ybR9vKKYBICR6rItkQVnbo9prhj-33XOfV3Bm05v9qTG3-0ssCJvF8NKBm9JZay_YCBQkTZiRGhH4RsKWO3NXqetAeYXtzvv5DNBdfFiwcByWRk1vV3O1I1ChQ_a/s400/Cym_Valley+Spash-Touch+of+Pink.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378658316499020498" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Valley Splash 'Touch of Pink'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfEZXsaZTWph2uSJWAxeThfq4X4nacOFlInaUYIpYczBDKllIul9DZGZhyphenhyphenAIRKgBsUHMHT9ADbB5EPZwBjznZiGBHd9i_yfXo-BmgBIqgvPj6mBPLNaV1qq6jsqbSUyONxrTzoUhDJlwy/s1600-h/Cym_Templestowe+Charm-number+3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 270px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfEZXsaZTWph2uSJWAxeThfq4X4nacOFlInaUYIpYczBDKllIul9DZGZhyphenhyphenAIRKgBsUHMHT9ADbB5EPZwBjznZiGBHd9i_yfXo-BmgBIqgvPj6mBPLNaV1qq6jsqbSUyONxrTzoUhDJlwy/s400/Cym_Templestowe+Charm-number+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378658303113251762" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Templestowe Charm 'number 1'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipgpWBHzbUk9OkQd9cDo-9e0LRlW476VbCqo-6nbb2w_bRG5wE3_IZtAhMG0JFtL6fZlUM3GuIxfOUaUhlqnSnEzNdgrEPeHGttOdHxTNGaTmzj9D1caabJ0a8iMsaN2KQWquq-6tXQ94d/s1600-h/Cym_Templestowe+Charm-number+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 304px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipgpWBHzbUk9OkQd9cDo-9e0LRlW476VbCqo-6nbb2w_bRG5wE3_IZtAhMG0JFtL6fZlUM3GuIxfOUaUhlqnSnEzNdgrEPeHGttOdHxTNGaTmzj9D1caabJ0a8iMsaN2KQWquq-6tXQ94d/s400/Cym_Templestowe+Charm-number+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378657783630570594" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Templestowe Charm 'number 2'</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvEtm7wz_6Cu1__i2pc77ChDDPc4H4vHUI9jgCv6-NRqc0sbpgKxXbDw_bq5gKmHlWcdyx-h_SVdK2dXQFTuhBw4VDZ6LtDRpwxVY5ChVYPv6rNptQlfPrjrx-Eo9-vb9lLGgFrL2zlBZG/s1600-h/Cym_Templestowe+Charm-Matthew.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvEtm7wz_6Cu1__i2pc77ChDDPc4H4vHUI9jgCv6-NRqc0sbpgKxXbDw_bq5gKmHlWcdyx-h_SVdK2dXQFTuhBw4VDZ6LtDRpwxVY5ChVYPv6rNptQlfPrjrx-Eo9-vb9lLGgFrL2zlBZG/s400/Cym_Templestowe+Charm-Matthew.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378657779352597730" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Templestowe Charm 'Matthew'</span><br />(This plant caused a great stir. How much did they want to pay for it?)<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSf1qMUczQi5euwBYBH_xFOPBl4TV5i8itZfdoSi2smiLDdDYSifmgZcAg_tWcgxYEcro9UtveXuabge2XrJUUkDBeoKpdpSRnAlTKZTkNZF1t7EKg0osHn9fx973_NLV-fPdWSJDZaqNR/s1600-h/Cym_Spicy+Khan-Comet.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSf1qMUczQi5euwBYBH_xFOPBl4TV5i8itZfdoSi2smiLDdDYSifmgZcAg_tWcgxYEcro9UtveXuabge2XrJUUkDBeoKpdpSRnAlTKZTkNZF1t7EKg0osHn9fx973_NLV-fPdWSJDZaqNR/s400/Cym_Spicy+Khan-Comet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378657761270138146" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Spicy Kahn 'Comet'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh70QfeD7DexS6qyIoyRmHDKQUQgnrQLX3fgdWme9qinqyID9AdpGoBYKuNwhqOrE0MhteT_dAIyZCqW82AXTjfDsbFLmJq0R_zB1dk2cfu_t7KgWyylXFY5t0ccLJrDrBuu8e9XSsV09HB/s1600-h/Cym_Portuguese+Passion+x+Merv+Dunn.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 292px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh70QfeD7DexS6qyIoyRmHDKQUQgnrQLX3fgdWme9qinqyID9AdpGoBYKuNwhqOrE0MhteT_dAIyZCqW82AXTjfDsbFLmJq0R_zB1dk2cfu_t7KgWyylXFY5t0ccLJrDrBuu8e9XSsV09HB/s400/Cym_Portuguese+Passion+x+Merv+Dunn.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378657751261234066" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium (Portuguese Passion X Memoria Merv Dunn</span>)<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeeXCb-g2tt1kEMs4jejrKZ-cpEU-lzYnNxCFrjOS_she7mBlbP4RsavpmweGrPbKeJkXQo0tEp_AJJRLaVga3mpz_nOVRTf8NlHRz9e7-Ln0Q5Ev9Jzfx6tpb_5FVEARwHve_ddog2u12/s1600-h/Cym_Paradisean+Bullseye+x+devonianum.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 188px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeeXCb-g2tt1kEMs4jejrKZ-cpEU-lzYnNxCFrjOS_she7mBlbP4RsavpmweGrPbKeJkXQo0tEp_AJJRLaVga3mpz_nOVRTf8NlHRz9e7-Ln0Q5Ev9Jzfx6tpb_5FVEARwHve_ddog2u12/s400/Cym_Paradisean+Bullseye+x+devonianum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378657221054285314" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium (Paradisean Bullseye X devonianum)</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiS_aRfwk6VyUZXjk92Zwp6GhJDju82eFWVKYB4jzqBPJ3jH8sU1pkr-aUyk4jGdtryccyP2VkWk-etSrxo2iVYyE0-rvh6dnPebDmfuE2NMYynO-aCe9xoyoX8KnbgYNY0nfEit0Arc-H/s1600-h/Cym_O'Beaston.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiS_aRfwk6VyUZXjk92Zwp6GhJDju82eFWVKYB4jzqBPJ3jH8sU1pkr-aUyk4jGdtryccyP2VkWk-etSrxo2iVYyE0-rvh6dnPebDmfuE2NMYynO-aCe9xoyoX8KnbgYNY0nfEit0Arc-H/s400/Cym_O'Beaston.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378657212016122962" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium O'Beaston</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbwzTH3PZbCEdS1JrPS7Jy8UfBbTG15pXENvlgSbt1_l1iV7sEIQzj5s45KCGO4J8kSnFlcsYmFJlBrDWBlMm9J8ODoJMcej0_URtzKTRK61as4BIRpGwkoe3JMmO6vj_F3abu7T5sSQyA/s1600-h/Cym_Ned+kelly-Cabernet.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 339px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbwzTH3PZbCEdS1JrPS7Jy8UfBbTG15pXENvlgSbt1_l1iV7sEIQzj5s45KCGO4J8kSnFlcsYmFJlBrDWBlMm9J8ODoJMcej0_URtzKTRK61as4BIRpGwkoe3JMmO6vj_F3abu7T5sSQyA/s400/Cym_Ned+kelly-Cabernet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378657201152994930" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Ned Kelly 'Cabernet'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxT-gRXnKGB7hC22atRdFN7siGUrUs9I2ouCaOctiHjoNJFfrcEMwetXBZbtu63pZ-rHajROj9KiGg4AfwKWUko6SW_O2SoWJMfoF-GU1xHiEfNs37F3UZCZaSvvocG3IFskTE52BZAqAZ/s1600-h/Cym_Midnight+Muffet-Vivid.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxT-gRXnKGB7hC22atRdFN7siGUrUs9I2ouCaOctiHjoNJFfrcEMwetXBZbtu63pZ-rHajROj9KiGg4AfwKWUko6SW_O2SoWJMfoF-GU1xHiEfNs37F3UZCZaSvvocG3IFskTE52BZAqAZ/s400/Cym_Midnight+Muffet-Vivid.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378657197501119410" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Midnight Muffet 'Vivid'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuXbrQ-7a9fUbcLAEVOWcFzEuNbaWFsbAHTbI50X_b8fMkzZKze9-1xmdnZKKRjTEIeA4DoVBiZRoWmrABVzr75Ew2uGi8oScAZDpbAuM7olws18jQX1wwerpyB9r69dBZR7uVP9s2zfTC/s1600-h/Cym_Mem+Vernell+Jenson+X+Alexandra+Beauty-Zach.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 389px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuXbrQ-7a9fUbcLAEVOWcFzEuNbaWFsbAHTbI50X_b8fMkzZKze9-1xmdnZKKRjTEIeA4DoVBiZRoWmrABVzr75Ew2uGi8oScAZDpbAuM7olws18jQX1wwerpyB9r69dBZR7uVP9s2zfTC/s400/Cym_Mem+Vernell+Jenson+X+Alexandra+Beauty-Zach.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378657188049555970" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium (Memoria Vernell Jenson X Alexandra Beauty) 'Zach'</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Grown by Terry Poulton<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHReBTycvyOIwrGxN35jjNrVVSmrKnmBrQ4NDZ2Xav_7SvcLrWiXoezHdaRYRdz-MLawxezITIv4onrRpzConomNcrKpFC-SZ2tQELwaPfZ3Hw3JUtGdLil9D3mPZCWP46jwjvQztFqEES/s1600-h/Cym_Lunakira+x+allumination.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 277px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHReBTycvyOIwrGxN35jjNrVVSmrKnmBrQ4NDZ2Xav_7SvcLrWiXoezHdaRYRdz-MLawxezITIv4onrRpzConomNcrKpFC-SZ2tQELwaPfZ3Hw3JUtGdLil9D3mPZCWP46jwjvQztFqEES/s400/Cym_Lunakira+x+allumination.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378656547109779394" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium (Lunikera X Allumination</span>)<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7w11ku9CGPqY0gL-jZrEzZbiXc9e4JNq6otHruFU-1PaIT3hW7uUCrpXQZRUQSlF1HKGU9JICjAOeTGGEn2J7N3UiqFz9rf53SpCkxhGBjQ9-gxfwLJ2AcX3PS3mkNR5jiUhcLip47zRV/s1600-h/Cym_Lumines.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 293px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7w11ku9CGPqY0gL-jZrEzZbiXc9e4JNq6otHruFU-1PaIT3hW7uUCrpXQZRUQSlF1HKGU9JICjAOeTGGEn2J7N3UiqFz9rf53SpCkxhGBjQ9-gxfwLJ2AcX3PS3mkNR5jiUhcLip47zRV/s400/Cym_Lumines.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378656536248004434" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Lumines</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNxxjB2OJpa4cLbbCXU95k4DkUQT0xi5Cdz3XbhVfhwGU1HP47_Qupd3NZYOOSfplvhMPA_IqKLOEIfXMCPo7SuKl58UsSawzYO823p149ePXFOnO6gISSWqYZLEgAroXe_NBPYKOw7m3L/s1600-h/Cym_Kiwi+Devonport-Touch+of+Class.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 224px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNxxjB2OJpa4cLbbCXU95k4DkUQT0xi5Cdz3XbhVfhwGU1HP47_Qupd3NZYOOSfplvhMPA_IqKLOEIfXMCPo7SuKl58UsSawzYO823p149ePXFOnO6gISSWqYZLEgAroXe_NBPYKOw7m3L/s400/Cym_Kiwi+Devonport-Touch+of+Class.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378656530560000034" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Kiwi Devonport 'Touch of Class'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiej0mPB6ZASlwrEJ2xdrw8jrkfXyvACap2zaVxwOJp2OBsfD8zeF0zszD8WXSjNCeHDpjzJFmgCad9UoPzH0E4qRGD1fm4vKf5Eu6qhpDqERMmaMLEiciXvGvbnZ8vM-QZwaadNGxaY19Y/s1600-h/Cym_Kimberly+Splash-Tee+Pee.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 395px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiej0mPB6ZASlwrEJ2xdrw8jrkfXyvACap2zaVxwOJp2OBsfD8zeF0zszD8WXSjNCeHDpjzJFmgCad9UoPzH0E4qRGD1fm4vKf5Eu6qhpDqERMmaMLEiciXvGvbnZ8vM-QZwaadNGxaY19Y/s400/Cym_Kimberly+Splash-Tee+Pee.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378656525024483090" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Kimberly Splash 'Tee Pee'</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Grown by Terry Poulton<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8qbB8jnp0TaNKBQSGmNx_GS2uEcpawaMwXO9J_cIwGXzGtU7TMM3GTbOX3ykdFPbymGo56PzltCgDXK5_e7iStt1qre61rt7TrMAdgvLEH7t__AM-WAjVNX23D0d3c0SEBuy45N5hJZ71/s1600-h/Cym_Kelly's+Winter-Golden+Sovereign.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 288px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8qbB8jnp0TaNKBQSGmNx_GS2uEcpawaMwXO9J_cIwGXzGtU7TMM3GTbOX3ykdFPbymGo56PzltCgDXK5_e7iStt1qre61rt7TrMAdgvLEH7t__AM-WAjVNX23D0d3c0SEBuy45N5hJZ71/s400/Cym_Kelly's+Winter-Golden+Sovereign.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378656516759365090" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Kelly's Winter 'Golden Sovereign'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6RwwO7lO3m0YDpCIoeuKDN5W2Gzfc5G39-VB8xNtcGOfdwRXVlIzuAuldlg1sfiqXdgt3txP59giJD5kshUkkXOURO6t1fjsw6KgqP_H8P7XI1tf0Odonr6sav_af2y78dKa-1q4LyEX1/s1600-h/Cym_Kalihari+Pepper-Karen.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6RwwO7lO3m0YDpCIoeuKDN5W2Gzfc5G39-VB8xNtcGOfdwRXVlIzuAuldlg1sfiqXdgt3txP59giJD5kshUkkXOURO6t1fjsw6KgqP_H8P7XI1tf0Odonr6sav_af2y78dKa-1q4LyEX1/s400/Cym_Kalihari+Pepper-Karen.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378655886542630418" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Kalahari Pepper 'Karen'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaL1YqnL5alcS4L2nGeFWAOlVErDUw6wpz4cPgCurnEPBC8hglViu9vm__tzd0kzZvgmaHeCI444MQfOmZz6phjP3HM3pqgT0J1doqN1vSdHl2ORg6N2HW1L3VUKr1Cwb3iCiVZDK7Xrf3/s1600-h/Cym_Janis+Lin+X+Anna+Szabo-number+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaL1YqnL5alcS4L2nGeFWAOlVErDUw6wpz4cPgCurnEPBC8hglViu9vm__tzd0kzZvgmaHeCI444MQfOmZz6phjP3HM3pqgT0J1doqN1vSdHl2ORg6N2HW1L3VUKr1Cwb3iCiVZDK7Xrf3/s400/Cym_Janis+Lin+X+Anna+Szabo-number+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378655884806877474" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium (Janis Lin X Anna Szabo</span>) 'Number 2'<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2yF6i4V8D2a6n_UMAAgv9GzOBq_Biu3pXT6J-BcVEGmmpT9ZRDDrs_WrBkQrSeKXRY_fErsN1IvunnSeNyiEpQBbZ6TPMO917VyAAAvKCQ5w7IL1PPVzjlov6j9lTpg03JhiKqmOSVPVo/s1600-h/Cym_Hazel+Fay+X+Wallacia-Bengal.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 329px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2yF6i4V8D2a6n_UMAAgv9GzOBq_Biu3pXT6J-BcVEGmmpT9ZRDDrs_WrBkQrSeKXRY_fErsN1IvunnSeNyiEpQBbZ6TPMO917VyAAAvKCQ5w7IL1PPVzjlov6j9lTpg03JhiKqmOSVPVo/s400/Cym_Hazel+Fay+X+Wallacia-Bengal.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378655874584184626" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium (Hazel Fay X Wallacia) 'Bengal'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFCynBDVw3oDvMAMfypV2TkC535I7MOF0FKOfR8LmWBbA9Zkr-sFQO2k2zScUnD4aOKMUT_zVTnjNQsUE-ihPc8sANIxe04GR1w5W3eFRaNyT8N2XGNgKAu5bZLvsPUhHYLpdWr_0NgBJ/s1600-h/Cym_Havre+Des+Pas-Trinity.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 323px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFCynBDVw3oDvMAMfypV2TkC535I7MOF0FKOfR8LmWBbA9Zkr-sFQO2k2zScUnD4aOKMUT_zVTnjNQsUE-ihPc8sANIxe04GR1w5W3eFRaNyT8N2XGNgKAu5bZLvsPUhHYLpdWr_0NgBJ/s400/Cym_Havre+Des+Pas-Trinity.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378655872511221266" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Havre Des Pas 'Trinity'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBfnfptGhpP4Qtb-k7KnVWHYfCPo2E-wwCwjiCOk8vhQq2damzor3MtSNtl3WelJAK8gHY4f-qAEzEyZ_cKSekV-wcKficEFPFDYiVjkNgnviJV-NjEczb8qRVA8WX3k0uhjzbiMP4lZm5/s1600-h/Cym_floribundum+x+Ngaire-orange.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBfnfptGhpP4Qtb-k7KnVWHYfCPo2E-wwCwjiCOk8vhQq2damzor3MtSNtl3WelJAK8gHY4f-qAEzEyZ_cKSekV-wcKficEFPFDYiVjkNgnviJV-NjEczb8qRVA8WX3k0uhjzbiMP4lZm5/s400/Cym_floribundum+x+Ngaire-orange.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378655863867014946" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium (floribundum x Ngaire) 'Orange' </span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMM-J0cCPZQyd_F0b-McejRGwpGZTAHb8LeCJzryA6QmyhWdUOT01UVud_UQ5VJrISihTU7o3pExd44_cmWQM-hbcIYj8z_QtWgSQNmBZol6UENuAPS8iLBlF55geAbJdVDXtBru8vHTXc/s1600-h/Cym_Flaming+Pepper-Tee+Pee.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMM-J0cCPZQyd_F0b-McejRGwpGZTAHb8LeCJzryA6QmyhWdUOT01UVud_UQ5VJrISihTU7o3pExd44_cmWQM-hbcIYj8z_QtWgSQNmBZol6UENuAPS8iLBlF55geAbJdVDXtBru8vHTXc/s400/Cym_Flaming+Pepper-Tee+Pee.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378655307149403954" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Flaming Pepper 'Tee Pee'</span><br />Another Terry Poulton plant. Magnificent colour!<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe98hyphenhyphensr88fkLgtPWROH0LHN96H9aRcJ28xz0Fn2bogLBh3nwn8zd7ig34JxqKSZ_p85Nl5z8JhWkS3TDoqMnMLuIe7NpY6bGTP6-kKVx_X0Dtg8tk_Fn9M5pWA5NMoG4QJTSOlTKb3SxQ/s1600-h/Cym_Drouin+Masterpiece-Renae+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 259px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe98hyphenhyphensr88fkLgtPWROH0LHN96H9aRcJ28xz0Fn2bogLBh3nwn8zd7ig34JxqKSZ_p85Nl5z8JhWkS3TDoqMnMLuIe7NpY6bGTP6-kKVx_X0Dtg8tk_Fn9M5pWA5NMoG4QJTSOlTKb3SxQ/s400/Cym_Drouin+Masterpiece-Renae+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378655304767098946" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Drouin Masterpiece 'Renae'</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">For me the most interesting intermediate in the show.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmNkRED67AWftvI1FbNXpDrHxukcm9-WWN_2PIFYKD5DJCU66Ay1svtZSwlLFGFl5DbftKhlfacXFFfoSNbipP4ym1omaY2HP1TI421USOA_ljZezD0hDekNrVmepayti2qW00PZeZJ-Nw/s1600-h/Cym_Coraki+Advent+x+Lunar+Glades-A+Stounding.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmNkRED67AWftvI1FbNXpDrHxukcm9-WWN_2PIFYKD5DJCU66Ay1svtZSwlLFGFl5DbftKhlfacXFFfoSNbipP4ym1omaY2HP1TI421USOA_ljZezD0hDekNrVmepayti2qW00PZeZJ-Nw/s400/Cym_Coraki+Advent+x+Lunar+Glades-A+Stounding.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378655296112983970" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium (Coraki Advent X Lunar Glades) 'A-Stounding'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33f7in1scKIc0fd8Hzv3ooGcwSodwWFRikqHS9CRILGzIv60oKm-g06MHskNVMuECoV5PFqPkVyDb_-PTGptXLAs53CQLae6vgM1r5n7btdGi63ulWhtvBp41nrE4bGtlEJg5dXhoxHvM/s1600-h/Cym_Bulbarrow-Tepus.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33f7in1scKIc0fd8Hzv3ooGcwSodwWFRikqHS9CRILGzIv60oKm-g06MHskNVMuECoV5PFqPkVyDb_-PTGptXLAs53CQLae6vgM1r5n7btdGi63ulWhtvBp41nrE4bGtlEJg5dXhoxHvM/s400/Cym_Bulbarrow-Tepus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378655292698107826" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Bulbarrow 'Tepus'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRvHYWACX4rRIjls2Y0emevxv2ZN2VlSFEIpzaUOvB9VvRQ2qftfCWKOEE4GnATSe-jaZ97P7aFiq5JXW_9AJx4UTrTneC7KJFRxhGLbiswyG-Hc0NOPdzUWWkQdg2FUmpXVNimiNaFWIS/s1600-h/Cym_Alexanderi-Fine+Closeup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 285px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRvHYWACX4rRIjls2Y0emevxv2ZN2VlSFEIpzaUOvB9VvRQ2qftfCWKOEE4GnATSe-jaZ97P7aFiq5JXW_9AJx4UTrTneC7KJFRxhGLbiswyG-Hc0NOPdzUWWkQdg2FUmpXVNimiNaFWIS/s400/Cym_Alexanderi-Fine+Closeup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378655283838574082" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Alexanderi 'Fine'</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">This one caught my eye from across the room.<br /></div>Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-40692888458378803112009-07-06T03:47:00.000-07:002012-11-19T02:15:22.926-08:00The mystery of the Grand Monarch<div align="center">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT7KXfp6CAuMd-fZu4gICDiKxa6eurLtuXdc6QN4tZAq7RbeTwWiaygx104zZLmjRk61_5Zvc7u1PGyFBytOy2oubZyClwtQb5VQg3lOr_gCCgFwQU0Vk4IUL285gDE1GMaANrOXV69-Ul/s1600-h/Cym_Grand+Monarch-Exquisitum.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355623281614103202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT7KXfp6CAuMd-fZu4gICDiKxa6eurLtuXdc6QN4tZAq7RbeTwWiaygx104zZLmjRk61_5Zvc7u1PGyFBytOy2oubZyClwtQb5VQg3lOr_gCCgFwQU0Vk4IUL285gDE1GMaANrOXV69-Ul/s400/Cym_Grand+Monarch-Exquisitum.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 317px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 372px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Grand Monarch 'Exquisitum'</span>
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(RHS image)
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnVV4fzfyT-f0isjv-ptmm94LyX_SU04RYJPpPgrTsKsM-Le75RvYzKfHdbh0e2YEK0Z0jxdmqqQaGFNpW-Kr5fCL3KC9lP6a2Czfr44XMWJv8nhzGyXEPXeZUlnn2t4U31HThZo9hvCrQ/s1600-h/Cym_Grand+Monarch-closeup.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360152288838691362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnVV4fzfyT-f0isjv-ptmm94LyX_SU04RYJPpPgrTsKsM-Le75RvYzKfHdbh0e2YEK0Z0jxdmqqQaGFNpW-Kr5fCL3KC9lP6a2Czfr44XMWJv8nhzGyXEPXeZUlnn2t4U31HThZo9hvCrQ/s400/Cym_Grand+Monarch-closeup.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 276px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Grand Monarch 'Exquisitum'</span>
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In real life.
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In the early years of orchid registration by the Royal Horticultural Society all new crosses were treated as horses are today; all crosses had their birthday as the 1rst of January of the year of their registration. One other little quirk of these early years of registration was the order in which the parents were listed. Unfortunately, in the early years species used in a cross were put in alphabetical order, regardless of their contribution. In recent times the Pod Parent (Mother) is listed first and the Pollen Parent (Father) is listed second.
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Cymbidium Grand Monarch was registered in the same year it received an award, 1931. On the 24th of November 1931, McBean's exhibited a plant of C. Grand Monarch 'Exquisitum'. At this November meeting, the judges decided to give it an Award of Merit. Interestingly, the plant was a first-flowered seedling and had one spike of 10 flowers. One wonders what award this plant would have received if the grower had waited a year or two. The flower count on an individual spike would not have increased, due to the influence of the 1-flowered grandparent C. eburneum, but it may have had several spikes that would have made an impressive display.
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It always amazes me what qualities make a plant worthy of keeping in cultivation. Many apparently fine plants are seen for a couple of years and then disappear from showbenches and collections. Cymbidium Grand Monarch has been in continuous cultivation since its introduction and has actually increased in popularity as the years have gone by. From 1931 until 1956 C. Grand Monarch was completely ignored by the hybridizers but gained popularity in its own right. Why? Here was a large flower on a compact plant that had interesting colour and fragrance. Why did it take 25 years for the first hybrids to be made using this fascinating plant?
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Between 1956 and 1989 a total of 25 hybrids were made using C. Grand Monarch; 11 times as a pod parent and 14 times as a pollen parent. Surprisingly, not many of these hybrids have gained any recognition. Where they bad? Did they come in a period when clear, bright colours were the flavour of the day? Probably the most famous of the progeny of Grand Monarch is the beautiful green C. Sicily (C. Baldur x Grand Monarch). Other potentially interesting hybrids that I would love to see are Grand Azi (C. Alexanderi x Grand Monarch) and Grand Vizier (C. goeringii x Grand Monarch). Some of the hybrids, judging only by the parents, where obviously very speculative crosses and were probably not well thought out (read ugly).
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The origianl plant of C. Grand Monarch 'Exquisitum' proved very popular with particular groups of people. The English and Scottish treasured the plant because of its hardiness, compact growth, free flowering nature, large flowers and fragrance. A powerful combination. The Californians liked it equally well, for the same reasons the English and Scots liked it. Australia, being part of the Commonwealth came under the spell of C. Grand Monarch after plants found their way here in the 1950's.
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Although plants of C. Grand Monarch were introduced before the 1950's by the 'Brits', it was actually plants introduced by the Italians that most strongly influenced the popularity of C. Grand Monarch here in Australia. Mass migration of Italians to Australia in the 1950's brought many cultural changes to Australia, particularly the finer things in life like food, wine, plants and a well developed sense of fun and continuity of culture. Many of the migrants brought reminders of the 'Home Country'. One of these reminders was the plant under discussion here. This strong emotional tie ensured that not only was the plant treasured by the original owners but passed on to others in the same community as an attempt to re-establish a the old country in a new homeland. Amongst the general public, C. Grand Monarch has gained the rare honour of being one of those plants that has actually retained its cultivar name in the common name. It is called The Grand Monarch Orchid, just as Rosa 'Peace' is called The Peace Rose or Acer platanoides 'Crimson King' is called Crimson King Maple. For an orchid to be identified by the wider community by it actual cultivar name is a very rare and special occurrance.
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My first encounter with C. Grand Monarch was while studying at the Royal Horticultural Societies Garden at Wisley in England. The collection of plants in that orchid collection had some very fine plants, many of them old hybrids and species. Three of the plants that I fell totally in love with were C. <span style="font-style: italic;">elegans</span>, C. Grand Monarch 'Exquisitum' and Cymbidium Caroll (C. Alexanderi x <span style="font-style: italic;">eburneum</span>). It was such a disappointment to have to leave the orchid collection at the RHS. Thankfully, my move to Australia meant that a ready supply of C. Grand Monarch was available. But was it? Many of the plants I came across in Australia were not the same as the plants seen in England. Occasionally, a plant would appear that matched the English plants. At one local orchid show there were three distinct plants all exhibited under the name C. Grand Monarch 'Exquisitum'. Being a botanist, this situation was intolerable and bothered me to the core. Never one to shirk a challenge, I set about working out what was what.
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Lets start with what goes in to making C. Grand Monarch. The parentage of C. Grand Monarch is <span style="font-style: italic;">C. hookerianum</span> x C. Wiganianum. Now, C. Wiganianum is a primary hybrid between <span style="font-style: italic;">C. eburneum</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span>. This is good, there are only three species involved; <span style="font-style: italic;">hookerianum</span> contributing 50% of the genes, <span style="font-style: italic;">eburneum</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">tracyanum</span> 25% each. Problem 1, there are various forms of each of these species, with one of the forms of<span style="font-style: italic;"> hookerianum </span>being particularly spotty (var. <span style="font-style: italic;">punctatum</span>). The variety <span style="font-style: italic;">punctatum</span> of C. <span style="font-style: italic;">hookerianum</span> is not recognised as a true variety but is still recognised as a cultivated variety or CV. This would mean that it is written as <span style="font-style: italic;">C. hookerianum</span> 'Punctatum'. First challenge? Get a plant of <span style="font-style: italic;">C. hookerianum</span> 'Punctatum'. Thankfully, this was relatively easy. There are some fine correctly labelled plants in choice collections around the world. My plant was sourced from a very reputable grower in Tasmania. When the plant flowered I realized that one of the spotty green plants I saw around the traps was C. <span style="font-style: italic;">hookerianum</span> 'Punctatum. One spotty green Cymbidium down several more to go.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_rpZamjzNFDSMzfGywychDXFv7_dqoz5JDnxpOZ_CU1zKmEI39zdKysjunHhYCvMtLJwCUmx9SNnsb6BjEle24Zya8-IYOBzvEQNhJiX51kbkwlHRdFU92Xj9lSZcxaNnenf4ESSkh0-j/s1600-h/Cym_hookerianum-punctatum.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355299610503935522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_rpZamjzNFDSMzfGywychDXFv7_dqoz5JDnxpOZ_CU1zKmEI39zdKysjunHhYCvMtLJwCUmx9SNnsb6BjEle24Zya8-IYOBzvEQNhJiX51kbkwlHRdFU92Xj9lSZcxaNnenf4ESSkh0-j/s400/Cym_hookerianum-punctatum.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 265px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium hookerianum</span> 'Punctatum'</span> </div>
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Photo by Dr. Susan Bevan
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Two more hookerianum things turned up at different shows at opposite ends of the state of Victoria. The first one was exhibited by Lois Barber at the Ararat Show. It had a Blue Ribbon on it by the time I saw it. It was the centerpiece of her display. The plant was large and well grown, half a dozen spikes each with about 20 flowers. I was in love. It was green and a little spotty at the base of the petals but a bit more wavy than what I knew as Grand Monarch. Not being one who is shy, the question 'have you got a division you are willing to sell, came out of my mouth right after she served me tea and scones in the cafeteria. She sent her husband home to get one. A few dollars later and two plants heavier, I was the proud owner of C. Erica Sander (<span style="font-style: italic;">hookerianum</span> x Pauwelsii). Oh well, not Grand Monarch but a stunning plant none-the-less.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3THY9k_XmEmGxRPZIuZm2h4DFUWmm0FqgiClPB0vbms3NW4ovUq756wGVMPGNR1TNxBMOGehV9rCdTZDy2Cil9BQ9864a4svs_JDjLZUujdUfIiNE13u-z7AT4A4gPD2uOIoxD4SbxO2/s1600-h/Cym_Erica+Sander.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355671232566503682" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3THY9k_XmEmGxRPZIuZm2h4DFUWmm0FqgiClPB0vbms3NW4ovUq756wGVMPGNR1TNxBMOGehV9rCdTZDy2Cil9BQ9864a4svs_JDjLZUujdUfIiNE13u-z7AT4A4gPD2uOIoxD4SbxO2/s400/Cym_Erica+Sander.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 276px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> Erica Sander</span>
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N.B. The identity of this plant has been questioned by an international authority. Proceed with caution!
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The next<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span> plant to turn up was not a Grand Monarch either. It was the very common C. Lowio-grandiflorum (C. <span style="font-style: italic;">hookerianum</span> x <span style="font-style: italic;">lowianum</span>). Again, a very beautiful plant but not the green I was after. It was sold to me out of flower as C. Grand Monarch 'Equisetum'. Now the true name should be 'Exquisitum'. The name Equisetum is the generic name of the Horsetail plant. An easy mistake to make. Putting the wrong name on the wrong plant, unfortunately, is also an easy mistake to make.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGtme_GIh5RF7IXsECNFZlqOYRxw4YVFjk4oFN4L9mPtiRv_xyPiJ2Tw4E1Xqaf9CM2cOpYYGlAVxugZcrfMkj1ugLQNcDYgWM3cnUJLyshN6YpXua_S8O9ZQh3ImOISB5Cw-63JhSUh0/s1600-h/Cym_Lowio-grandiflorum_Clearview_closeup.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355672495054954002" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGtme_GIh5RF7IXsECNFZlqOYRxw4YVFjk4oFN4L9mPtiRv_xyPiJ2Tw4E1Xqaf9CM2cOpYYGlAVxugZcrfMkj1ugLQNcDYgWM3cnUJLyshN6YpXua_S8O9ZQh3ImOISB5Cw-63JhSUh0/s400/Cym_Lowio-grandiflorum_Clearview_closeup.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 365px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> Lowio-grandiflorum 'Clearview'</span>
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Ok, lets get back to the spotty C. hookerianum hybrids. Now that we have C. hookerianum 'Punctatum' out of the way and a couple of unspotted green hybrids, that leaves us two potential candidates. The first is easily disposed of as a potential candidate for Grand Monarch status. Then again maybe not so easily disposed of. Cymbidium Rosefieldense is a primary hybrid between <span style="font-style: italic;">C. hookerianum</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">C. tracyanum</span>. This plant is by far the plant most commonly sold as C. Grand Monarch. Rosefieldense regularly appears on ebay and at many orchid shows as Grand Monarch. Nice as it is it is not the genuine article. Rosefieldense was registered and awarded an AM by the RHS in 1912. More recently, improved forms have been made. I have way too many plants in my collection of Rosefieldense, all but three purchased as C. Grand Monarch. Thankfully, the plant is extremely popular, a rampant grower and flowerer and is easy to sell.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibCWB9aMYc7OeiDBhvfxs16whma5popFq93Jy-LgG8KJfVAopZPUgtRX0GUUt09j-dYjPxGlIQwGUaiGIs-BxEUddmQ8xRmp6kwEI-7XHWuJ7OGwSPLTZAyhcz9z3T2IM4Z9G7rrgCd2EL/s1600-h/Cym_Rosefieldense_1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355323519315948210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibCWB9aMYc7OeiDBhvfxs16whma5popFq93Jy-LgG8KJfVAopZPUgtRX0GUUt09j-dYjPxGlIQwGUaiGIs-BxEUddmQ8xRmp6kwEI-7XHWuJ7OGwSPLTZAyhcz9z3T2IM4Z9G7rrgCd2EL/s400/Cym_Rosefieldense_1.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 336px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Rosefieldense</span> </div>
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We finally get to the genuine article, C. Grand Monarch 'Exquisitum'. As mentioned before this is a hybrid between hookerianum and Wiganianum. Let us finaly look at the species that make up this hybrid. Cymbidium hookerianum we have already seen. Cymbidium Wiganianum is a rarely seen but beautiful plant in its own right. The one parent of Wiganianum, C<span style="font-style: italic;">. eburneum</span>, is the well known Lilac-scented Cymbidium. This refined species usually produces but one flower on a stem but that one flower is a stunner. Mostly white, or with a blush of pink, and the most intoxicating fragrance. <span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium tracyanum</span> on the other hand is the real 'Masculine' member of the<span style="font-style: italic;"> Cymbidium</span> genus. Robust, chunky leaves and spikes with big, bold, dark flowers and a deep rich fragrance. Cross these two divergent species together and you get a delicate green with some spotting and three-day growth on the lip and reeking of cheap aftershave. I have to thank Ed Merkle for supplying me with the wonderful pictures of C. Wiganianum and the description of him having to drive for hours with the car air-conditioning on refresh to keep the smell of C. Wiganianum at bay. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6e-HdwIaTES-BO9L36NzmHip84s3Ul5IqsYvoi-SSj0_4QeOSklDY5Lam3Y9rwT90oiLXyArIRWrREKkBmI0Y0nQNlN1uV_YLDea4lL9hYw_JWoNyKK6qLNI0UGsSyUGABYD4MZd7AGt/s1600-h/Cym_eburneum_Randy" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355312793175919858" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6e-HdwIaTES-BO9L36NzmHip84s3Ul5IqsYvoi-SSj0_4QeOSklDY5Lam3Y9rwT90oiLXyArIRWrREKkBmI0Y0nQNlN1uV_YLDea4lL9hYw_JWoNyKK6qLNI0UGsSyUGABYD4MZd7AGt/s400/Cym_eburneum_Randy's_White.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 314px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium eburneum
</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">crossed with </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIjwQaX68i5Rss6aVAknT8un_XUCbcFHu2pd9vNKxPP7osepBH6VXXE0e6GYQfvJfld5mI4LUMLVYZVmueg499rBgDEsqJvdOtNKUj9BcFCc6Nira02holKCUYKDwR7w_C4EgWUqtdovPI/s1600-h/Cym_tracynum-Atlantis+2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355299619037758658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIjwQaX68i5Rss6aVAknT8un_XUCbcFHu2pd9vNKxPP7osepBH6VXXE0e6GYQfvJfld5mI4LUMLVYZVmueg499rBgDEsqJvdOtNKUj9BcFCc6Nira02holKCUYKDwR7w_C4EgWUqtdovPI/s400/Cym_tracynum-Atlantis+2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 321px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium tracyanum</span> 'Atlantis'</span>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Produces</span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8jhtb21qsYwzfWQaOwOrFQQ7n_GNqsIYo5TSpVDfH8xrLgM19Q6d7DJJUEk6lbLgo67XFliyj0oQpdDbrAkgLhAPcS5mfEp-C-iupXfObVsVhImrTCnsZTH12KkxQSDneAGDL_USRgh_n/s1600-h/cym_wiganianum1A.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355302852211108866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8jhtb21qsYwzfWQaOwOrFQQ7n_GNqsIYo5TSpVDfH8xrLgM19Q6d7DJJUEk6lbLgo67XFliyj0oQpdDbrAkgLhAPcS5mfEp-C-iupXfObVsVhImrTCnsZTH12KkxQSDneAGDL_USRgh_n/s400/cym_wiganianum1A.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 299px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> Wiganianum</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Photo Courtesy of Ed Merkle</span>
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Now you would think that the story would end here. This all makes sense and it is all very straightforward. When you deal with humans nothing ever goes to plan. You can argue until you are blue in the face and some people will just keep coming back and saying 'no you're wrong, my plant is a Grand Monarch'. Well for those who do not believe there is only one thing to do; put the plants next to each other and take a photo. So here they are, Rosefieldiense and Grand Monarch, cheek to jowl.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNtPpCVTnzrcBW2LFmujFwjT8RTyQpbBbQlnu4GBv37m0duw7Vl2tKSyrG-NWpsaSukpHv7jfWmmTfkuorlUDvptGru3KWzZo7X2iP4hXi4vqAjDMdDCOasOiIqOm8QfkDyXUNhkAUObGd/s1600-h/Cym_+Rosefieldense+and+Grand+Monarch.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355297921988833122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNtPpCVTnzrcBW2LFmujFwjT8RTyQpbBbQlnu4GBv37m0duw7Vl2tKSyrG-NWpsaSukpHv7jfWmmTfkuorlUDvptGru3KWzZo7X2iP4hXi4vqAjDMdDCOasOiIqOm8QfkDyXUNhkAUObGd/s400/Cym_+Rosefieldense+and+Grand+Monarch.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 302px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> Rosefieldense (top flower)</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> Grand Monarch 'Exquisitum' (lower flower)</span> </div>
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There are some real and clearly visible differences between Rosefieldense and Grand Monarch. The main differences are:
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<strong>Rosefieldense</strong>
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Darker Green
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denser/smaller spots
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all segments narrower/shorter
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flower about as wide as tall
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Calli white with long hairs
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<strong>Grand Monarch</strong></div>
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Whitish Green</div>
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Fewer/larger spots</div>
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All segments broader/longer</div>
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Flower wider than tall</div>
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Calli yellow with short dense hairs.
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Just so you can see for yourself, there are a series of photos of the labellums and calli of all the species and hybrids involved in the hybrids Rosefieldense and Grand Monarch. The key here is to look at the calli on the labellum. There is no way to get yellow calli from a direct cross of <span style="font-style: italic;">hookerianum</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">tracyanum</span> (Rosefieldense). Alternatively, you can only get a yellow callus with short hairs by introducing eburneum into the mix.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMRuBH_mv2BGy4Pok3Wehe6u6IeMq_ezKmPm7i6o3A614R2r3FM2zWy0CPkihXsKC3DJ0nKHA7ggs0mnklFNWeinTqmIyTCay23IGAskW02Oq4DDC8EdNOISCAiLfEuOtrOKS20VxImlvk/s1600-h/Cym_hookerianum-punctatum+labellum.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355299612528647714" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMRuBH_mv2BGy4Pok3Wehe6u6IeMq_ezKmPm7i6o3A614R2r3FM2zWy0CPkihXsKC3DJ0nKHA7ggs0mnklFNWeinTqmIyTCay23IGAskW02Oq4DDC8EdNOISCAiLfEuOtrOKS20VxImlvk/s400/Cym_hookerianum-punctatum+labellum.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 384px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium hookerianum</span>
<br />crossed with</span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh88DmnuDhs7yUm0i858uvHhvdtad9pEFTaFOHDFw9BKWFL_Wxt8Hs-dHlgI88WfiGQRf0eTk8oL9lFHM4Sd0yjuEoy_EYmtPPC5hrwGrbClmMuZhPJ5Xr1wCCcuOyoKQ5OFvLyztKHAsO3/s1600-h/Cym_tracynum-labellum.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355302851841312866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh88DmnuDhs7yUm0i858uvHhvdtad9pEFTaFOHDFw9BKWFL_Wxt8Hs-dHlgI88WfiGQRf0eTk8oL9lFHM4Sd0yjuEoy_EYmtPPC5hrwGrbClmMuZhPJ5Xr1wCCcuOyoKQ5OFvLyztKHAsO3/s400/Cym_tracynum-labellum.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 367px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium tracyanum</span>
<br />produces</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiymKFISy2Pmy4qrHQ3VFiK_y15UPY1XWrSXCBPMJkRlIBXPqWD9l6e9FcPE7thdj53CgFtLsHWKn810PWQGNZAp8QXKEQ2lO5TzLHc7cBZ9T1TXSg9qQbVD4IsZ6drPSZNQCCiv_Q2uReC/s1600-h/Cym_+Rosefieldense-labellum.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355297928609981330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiymKFISy2Pmy4qrHQ3VFiK_y15UPY1XWrSXCBPMJkRlIBXPqWD9l6e9FcPE7thdj53CgFtLsHWKn810PWQGNZAp8QXKEQ2lO5TzLHc7cBZ9T1TXSg9qQbVD4IsZ6drPSZNQCCiv_Q2uReC/s400/Cym_+Rosefieldense-labellum.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 349px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> Rosefieldense</span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg186qFUINhS9VMkPH_M4Q1jNzZd6p3BfnT7BWAxshcjyDfQySLD2j1er7Dx8GxiYGLdW-ATV9LsdOFQ-_bHPLrPAcS_MuNjMY9rR8Gvz8xBDFQra5px2DyH_rZnLaSg2CzgMQwEmwDcng/s1600-h/Cym_eburneum-labellum.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355297940552038546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg186qFUINhS9VMkPH_M4Q1jNzZd6p3BfnT7BWAxshcjyDfQySLD2j1er7Dx8GxiYGLdW-ATV9LsdOFQ-_bHPLrPAcS_MuNjMY9rR8Gvz8xBDFQra5px2DyH_rZnLaSg2CzgMQwEmwDcng/s400/Cym_eburneum-labellum.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 264px;" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium eburneum </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br />crossed with</span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh88DmnuDhs7yUm0i858uvHhvdtad9pEFTaFOHDFw9BKWFL_Wxt8Hs-dHlgI88WfiGQRf0eTk8oL9lFHM4Sd0yjuEoy_EYmtPPC5hrwGrbClmMuZhPJ5Xr1wCCcuOyoKQ5OFvLyztKHAsO3/s1600-h/Cym_tracynum-labellum.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355302851841312866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh88DmnuDhs7yUm0i858uvHhvdtad9pEFTaFOHDFw9BKWFL_Wxt8Hs-dHlgI88WfiGQRf0eTk8oL9lFHM4Sd0yjuEoy_EYmtPPC5hrwGrbClmMuZhPJ5Xr1wCCcuOyoKQ5OFvLyztKHAsO3/s400/Cym_tracynum-labellum.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 367px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium tracyanum</span>
<br />produces</span>
</div>
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<div align="center">
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<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpnCJN0AZbfSwoCSUG-fbGYwee2Ku6hkEIoUVD6PztbQyaBgGp2WSeC7f_31eJAnqg2mM_OkYcs4DZ3OSckrXynbYCmLXxrWGsZsv0Eiopsmbq3kdFp4Pl-qW9WFLsGRkEsFeL9nfh4R6/s1600-h/cym_wiganianum1C.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355302856491207570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpnCJN0AZbfSwoCSUG-fbGYwee2Ku6hkEIoUVD6PztbQyaBgGp2WSeC7f_31eJAnqg2mM_OkYcs4DZ3OSckrXynbYCmLXxrWGsZsv0Eiopsmbq3kdFp4Pl-qW9WFLsGRkEsFeL9nfh4R6/s400/cym_wiganianum1C.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 338px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> Wiganianum
</span>Then crossed onto
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<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMRuBH_mv2BGy4Pok3Wehe6u6IeMq_ezKmPm7i6o3A614R2r3FM2zWy0CPkihXsKC3DJ0nKHA7ggs0mnklFNWeinTqmIyTCay23IGAskW02Oq4DDC8EdNOISCAiLfEuOtrOKS20VxImlvk/s1600-h/Cym_hookerianum-punctatum+labellum.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355299612528647714" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMRuBH_mv2BGy4Pok3Wehe6u6IeMq_ezKmPm7i6o3A614R2r3FM2zWy0CPkihXsKC3DJ0nKHA7ggs0mnklFNWeinTqmIyTCay23IGAskW02Oq4DDC8EdNOISCAiLfEuOtrOKS20VxImlvk/s400/Cym_hookerianum-punctatum+labellum.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 384px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium hookerianum</span> produces</span> </div>
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<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJRCoJzTRtdU6EPAyuJ5gM_3fonKNs9KMj3t-fZBP26yZoJjhSQDlnv-mHTZg6geptxjhB6ETvBermAixHhPbC-d3JwUG4EIdqyk6oAlKZ4jKDyioB6M1yaF2Ilot2MPfMSzS2OIjru8F/s1600-h/Cym_Grand+Monarch-labellum.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355299603023585330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJRCoJzTRtdU6EPAyuJ5gM_3fonKNs9KMj3t-fZBP26yZoJjhSQDlnv-mHTZg6geptxjhB6ETvBermAixHhPbC-d3JwUG4EIdqyk6oAlKZ4jKDyioB6M1yaF2Ilot2MPfMSzS2OIjru8F/s400/Cym_Grand+Monarch-labellum.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 350px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Grand Monarch 'Exquisitum' </span>
</div>
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<div align="center">
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<br />
<div align="center" style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">
The definite genuine article.
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<em></em><strong><em>Cymbidium</em> Grand Monarch 'Exquisitum'</strong></div>
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For years I have been trying to find genuine, disease-free plants of C. Grand Monarch. There are plenty of the genuine article around but not many of them are disease-free. Thats what happens when Stella gives a plant to Rose, who gives a plant to Mariska. I did manage to get a sprouted backbulb from a local grower after pestering him for 5 years. It lived exactly 5 months in my collection before being taken out by 47 degrees Celsius on the 7th of February. I resigned myself to another 5 year search. When I was wandering around my friends greenhouse on the weekend a plant caught my eye. He said, "what is that flowering, another Rosefieldiense?"I took one look at it and knew what it was. Cymbidium Grand Monarch 'Exquisitum'. It was in his son's section of the greenhouse. Not only was it the genuine article it was correctly labelled. After testing, it proved to be virus-free. When we talked to his son he mentioned that he probably had a few of them. Wow, going from desperation to winner in a matter of seconds! Now there is a small plant of C. Grand Monarch 'Exquisitum' sitting alongside some of my other 'Vintage' beauties. What a lucky man I am. </div>
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Update!</div>
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Since writing this blog, I have taken a couple of more photos that clearly illustrate the difference between Grand Monarch and Rosefieldense. Hope you like them! <br />
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<strong>Cymbidium Grand Monarch</strong></div>
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<strong>Cymbidium Rosefieldense</strong></div>
Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-83374303047353774812009-06-27T01:59:00.000-07:002009-07-07T00:44:27.115-07:00Guess the Hybrid 2 - Parents Found!I can finally announce that the parents of my Guess the Hybrid blog have been found! The parents are C. Sue and C. Summer Pearl. A quick look at the lineage shows that this cross is a bit incestuous! On the Sue side, C. Peter Pan is the father and C. Showgirl the mother. Peter Pan and a Showgirl? Sounds saucy enough. On the Summer Pearl side, C. Peter Pan is the mother and C. Trigo Royale is the Father. So here we have a hybrid that is half C. Peter Pan just like it's parents! Plants are so indiscriminant with who they mate and in what role. <br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPxgnv75HxRU5z2XXvlaiECyyk1K8ibRPKxMq8iTonFj5wnMQydm1RVcBEFgAn2BC_8Y6rqIjqWaLN8crYRajh7iuz0jeEPABQoeSOq5NIOL293fSD5rxw7MppH5XWXYP5etnZhYnAWUKU/s1600-h/Cym_Summer+Pearl.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPxgnv75HxRU5z2XXvlaiECyyk1K8ibRPKxMq8iTonFj5wnMQydm1RVcBEFgAn2BC_8Y6rqIjqWaLN8crYRajh7iuz0jeEPABQoeSOq5NIOL293fSD5rxw7MppH5XWXYP5etnZhYnAWUKU/s400/Cym_Summer+Pearl.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355616248818918258" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Summer Pearl</span><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXmki18cOb8BqHUtS1HVFrhVLGrIdCWarv80AZv7RZcjora-fQmlsEOmy-U28QBs-r6snOhDiTCY6KgMpZLkToHCiya65oXkmxtER6kkleo5B16fOhwKe44NbO1jV1-h2dvpayzT1EIp2/s1600-h/Cym_Sue-Maidstone+closeup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 389px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXmki18cOb8BqHUtS1HVFrhVLGrIdCWarv80AZv7RZcjora-fQmlsEOmy-U28QBs-r6snOhDiTCY6KgMpZLkToHCiya65oXkmxtER6kkleo5B16fOhwKe44NbO1jV1-h2dvpayzT1EIp2/s400/Cym_Sue-Maidstone+closeup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355616240912905330" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Sue 'Maidstone'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4KdIpwqGyX_UCfK1Cr0OSCpYGjJVKI9ycHvB6Rq4aO4-Er-99IcJ09rNhE1pApR0-hkuz3ET1udZKBkDLO-4TTo7lyi08azThSLbjq5IQH2jmRmDNnjKHCU92xljypAsd36iK-j-N9kIm/s1600-h/Cymbidium_Sue-Maidstone+full+spike.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4KdIpwqGyX_UCfK1Cr0OSCpYGjJVKI9ycHvB6Rq4aO4-Er-99IcJ09rNhE1pApR0-hkuz3ET1udZKBkDLO-4TTo7lyi08azThSLbjq5IQH2jmRmDNnjKHCU92xljypAsd36iK-j-N9kIm/s400/Cymbidium_Sue-Maidstone+full+spike.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355616237270488962" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Sue 'Maidstone'</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span> <div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2znCDm14Ll8ldXXnoT4NffssO_l8VgmXlnk-w5fVHKG4dNiGlKCi5mT1LySwC9ki4h6JoR61QrCjEzhuYNL9G5zfNwyjAwlGvKFw0yZvgEFnhZHqQtP73jtb0uinTplH5-JusJLZQbFP/s1600-h/Cym_guess+the+hybrid+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 243px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2znCDm14Ll8ldXXnoT4NffssO_l8VgmXlnk-w5fVHKG4dNiGlKCi5mT1LySwC9ki4h6JoR61QrCjEzhuYNL9G5zfNwyjAwlGvKFw0yZvgEFnhZHqQtP73jtb0uinTplH5-JusJLZQbFP/s400/Cym_guess+the+hybrid+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351929715590566114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Sue X Summer Pearl<br /></span></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFkw93Y890lQBiXFpWxmQP88Dmzn8NwSIPdpG3fSJs4kEBjaM_n9E7AbpaRwkv-96sTAD2wRoNUO4Jq_BC1T6PDaahLeefTZTNi2NiGcACMwiT5nAMVgdKC38soRhCq3QOaRZqzrxgcAb9/s1600-h/quess+the+hybrid+2+full+spike.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 322px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFkw93Y890lQBiXFpWxmQP88Dmzn8NwSIPdpG3fSJs4kEBjaM_n9E7AbpaRwkv-96sTAD2wRoNUO4Jq_BC1T6PDaahLeefTZTNi2NiGcACMwiT5nAMVgdKC38soRhCq3QOaRZqzrxgcAb9/s400/quess+the+hybrid+2+full+spike.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351962871414278770" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The smaller of two spikes produced<br />on this first-flowered seedling. </span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">At the moment in the northern hemisphere, Cymbidium flowers are rare. There are a few hybrids and species that flower at this time of year but the main season is well and truly over. Time is at a premium as growers busily repot and spend the majority of their time feeding, watering and keeping critters off their plants. Of course summer is also the time to catch up with family, take holidays and enjoy the weather. Well from what I hear about the east coast of the USA at the moment there is not too much weather to be enjoying!<br /><br />We here in the southern hemisphere are right in the middle of our Cymbidium season. The ultra-earlies and many of the earlies are finished or finishing and the midseason plants are exerting their influence. We are in Cymbidium Heaven at the moment. Our biggest challenge is keeping up with the staking and grooming. Oh, and taking photographs!<br /><br />There is a bit of a down-side to the differences in seasons between north and south, especially on the activity on our web-based Cymbidium forum. Most of the members of this web group are from the northern hemisphere. A strong contingent of us are however from the southern hemisphere. At this time of year, we southern hemisphere members are a bit lonely as most of our friends are off doing other, perhaps more interesting pursuits. We l'eft-behind' members try to do all sorts of things to try to encourage our northern friends to pay us web visits.<br /><br />As I have mentioned in previous posts, one of the little 'games' that we play on the web forum is guess-the-hybrid. George is particularly good at coming up with plants that stump most of the members. Many of these plants are first-flowered seedlings. It is always fascinating to see what the result of a cross is and then work out what the parents are. As with most breeding programs, not all the progeny behave as they should, there are throwbacks, freaks, novel combinations that produce unusual results and sometimes just the odd strange occurrence.<br /><br />The plant pictured above is my latest contribution to the guess the hybrid game. The clues are:<br /><br /></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The plant is flowering now, June in the southern hemisphere.</li><li>Both parents have been mentioned in previous posts of mine in 2009. </li><li>The plant has bolt upright spikes with about 8-12 flowers (8 on the spike pictured).</li><li>The plant would be classed as an intermediate.</li><li>The parentage would suggest a modicum of warmth tolerance. </li><li>The colour is not what you would expect from crossing the two parents.<br /></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;">I hope all of you in the northern hemisphere enjoy this little beauty. When it first came out its full beauty was not appreciated. The true qualities of this plant emerged only after it was brought inside, photographed and then left on the kitchen table. Five weeks later it is still going strong. The smell is almost to the point of overpowering. The morning sun makes the colours sparkle. The subtlety of the colour combinations coupled with the fragrance reminds me of a beautiful Frangipani I recently saw in Adelaide. I am so glad that the advice given to me by a friend, to throw this plant on the compost bin, was not followed. Rightfully so! He now wants a piece of the plant. I think he will be waiting a long time.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-45424313896488878102009-06-17T01:19:00.000-07:002009-06-17T05:51:23.119-07:00Orchid in an unguilded cage<div style="text-align: justify;">June in this part of the world is one of the most magical of times of the year. Days are short but spectacular. The sun, being at a low angle in the sky, casts the most amazing light over the landscape. The air is filled with humidity. On still, clear nights, heavy dews form and rivers of fog flow down the valleys from the mountains. If the night is lit by a full moon you can see the roiling of the currents in these rivers of white. Actually, you can only see them from the hilltops. Those in the valley are shrouded in the fog. On various nights the depth of the fog rivers vary. On average they fill half the valley leaving the hilltops exposed like islands. You can tell the average fog level by the vegetation that occurs above and below the midpoint. The species composition of these two vegetation types is radically different. Different trees, different shrubs and different wildflowers.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The vegetation of the region is partially dictated by the rivers of fog. The temperature in these fog rivers can be several degrees Celsius cooler than the exposed hilltops. My friends who lives in the flow of one of these fog rivers commonly experiences temperatures up to 10 degrees C. cooler than my place. Frost is common at their house and almost non-existent at mine. Last year they had 40 frosts, we had one. Burt and Sue only live a couple of hundred metres away! You can see their house in the picture below. The ridgeline of their roof is that little bright bit on the left of the photo.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDxOmshpPyHplFzDnhVLC5Av6pXmAkD38ia-7ld7M1nDqhNg_-6ZMxJswnK9tfb4LM3i1mQyqCxFXDk2GINcGTLyoL3B4le8gR7JlLyDA9sRLD7F7fEuYEzVRdZeObBILoc8_iYocs0uGT/s1600-h/Misty+Morning+at+Dunmoochin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 337px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDxOmshpPyHplFzDnhVLC5Av6pXmAkD38ia-7ld7M1nDqhNg_-6ZMxJswnK9tfb4LM3i1mQyqCxFXDk2GINcGTLyoL3B4le8gR7JlLyDA9sRLD7F7fEuYEzVRdZeObBILoc8_iYocs0uGT/s400/Misty+Morning+at+Dunmoochin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348209093082277490" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fog River </span><br />(just after sunrise)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">On the high dry hills above the fog rivers an abundance of plants thrive. Plants that would die in the frost and humidity of the valleys. Even though these hilltops are crispy-dry in the summer, they have reasonable rainfall in the winter. The Geophytic plants thrive here using their strategy of having underground storage-organs to collect the goodies when they are available and retreat back underground when the times get tough. Several totally unrelated plant families use the geophyte strategy on our little hilltops. Orchids, Lilies and Sundews are the main participants in the seasonal ritual of hide and seek. Pre-eminent of these three groups is the Orchids. Over 55 species occur in just 160 hectares of what most people would think was pretty scrappy dry forest. One of the first species to flower in Autumn is the Tiny Greenhood (<span style="font-style: italic;">Pterostylis parviflora</span>). With flowers less than 1 cm long and the tiniest of leaves it is really hard to see these little devils amongst the jumble of dead leaves and twigs that blanket most of the ground.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiscwfwsJchen0gkydsO2sFYXVv3LsmDNOChVvKh2iFdp9aNCAR6RUB55rbXS_4jTq7zWfnvo9vqX1S_zSf1WGGHigJ3AG1EjUrbPXcSKxgBghp1mcxSOYWCFb8fTYNEtap_4FAZm3hjoIz/s1600-h/Pterostylis+parviflora.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 219px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiscwfwsJchen0gkydsO2sFYXVv3LsmDNOChVvKh2iFdp9aNCAR6RUB55rbXS_4jTq7zWfnvo9vqX1S_zSf1WGGHigJ3AG1EjUrbPXcSKxgBghp1mcxSOYWCFb8fTYNEtap_4FAZm3hjoIz/s400/Pterostylis+parviflora.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348209102743623666" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tiny Greenhood (</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Pterostylis parviflora</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">)</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">On winter mornings when the fog rivers are flowing, the animals, ever sensible beings, head for the warmer hilltops to bask in the morning sun. Kangaroos graze until the sun is well up and then snooze away the morning sunning themselves. The groups of little twittery birds come up for their morning baths and a bit of breakfast. I should be correct here, these feathered flocks are guilds of unrelated passerine (perching) birds. The groups contain upward of 30-40 individuals of about 10-12 different species. The Tree Creepers hunt bugs under the bark of the trees, starting from the base and working upward. The Sitellas eat the same food but start at the tops of the trees and work down. The Wagtails and Fantails, being flycatchers, do acrobatics as they catch their food in-flight. Buff-rumped, Yellow-rumped, Brown and Striated Thornbills pick invertebrates from the branches and leaves. The melodious tones of the Grey Shrike-thrush ring out after each morsel is consumed from amongst the leaf litter on the ground. The mad twittering mass arrives suddenly, hangs around until everyone has had their bath and in a flash are off to depopulate another area of its critters.<br /><br />The late arrival, usually by mid-morning, are the White-winged Choughs. They really do deserve their nickname of Larrikins of the Bush. These highly social birds can not do anything on their own and appear to take nothing seriously, except when they launch raiding parties to steal another groups fledglings. Choughs, both young and old, play with their food, are messy eaters and are real gluttons. A Chough will eat just about anything including mouldy bread, compost, any animal matter they can get their beaks into and just about any part of any plant. The birds are real survivors. Oh, I forgot to mention, they show little fear of humans.<br /><br />Some of the favourite foods of these comical Choughs are the tubers of our beloved geophytes the Orchids Lilies and Sundews. The strategy used by the plants to store carbohydrates provide convenient little packages of concentrated nutrient, ripe for the picking if you can find them. The life strategy of the Choughs is similar to the familiar domestic Chicken; scratch, peck, scratch, peck, dig with beak, peck, scratch. The normal group size of this bird is about 8-12 individuals. A group of this size methodically working through the bush can pretty much collect almost all of the tubers of the orchids in an area that attracts their attention. After they have intensively worked an area they move on.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRb1HGlbnz2VvGz_cqMVbZVcuU3SiJfS93ztZ7NryIMUybgcP-wN6AaKEPgO5BuoTpw_afVyIl7uXbvNiS7_FJ4b4xzeUZSxn9OT8dmoYuGwd4WlgapB-tGfK97xWIdh4TH1gzs_ZAGW4/s1600-h/Choughs.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRb1HGlbnz2VvGz_cqMVbZVcuU3SiJfS93ztZ7NryIMUybgcP-wN6AaKEPgO5BuoTpw_afVyIl7uXbvNiS7_FJ4b4xzeUZSxn9OT8dmoYuGwd4WlgapB-tGfK97xWIdh4TH1gzs_ZAGW4/s400/Choughs.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348209087563359842" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">White-wingd Choughs (</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Corcorax melanophamphos</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">)</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Now a population of 8-12 birds working 50 hectares would be about normal for our area. At this density the plants and invertebrates of the area would have time to recover between despoilings. Many of the geophytes in the area are clonal in nature and form huge colonies by sending out numbers of daughter plants from the the mother, similar to the growth habit of a strawberry but with the runners under the ground. Beth Gott, a famous ethnobotanist, studied recovery rates of greenhood orchids after human harvesting. People find the tubers of orchids yummy as well. Beth found that she could remove half of the tubers of a colony each year without effecting population numbers. The numbers of tubers one year later would be back to where they were before harvest! This didn't allow for expansion of the colony but did not send it toward extinction.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Humans and Choughs go together really well. Choughs are opportunists and humans are wasteful and like to have wildlife around them. When this area was developed, humans moved into the habitat of the Chough. Now with many species, mixing with humans disadvantages the animal. Choughs exploited the opportunity and their numbers increased. Group sizes reached 30 or more members and groups could be supported half the area of the original 8-12 birds. How is this? What is going on here? In short, compost bins and purposeful feeding. Everyone had an open compost bin. This provided a nice daily supply of kitchen scraps and a big dump of stale bread and refrigerator cleanings once a week after the shopping. A few supposed nature lovers enjoyed the humanlike behavour of the Choughs that involved lots of displaying, grooming, napping, squabbling and playing. How to keep them around? A daily feed of bread, wheat or oats.<br /><br />Problem. What happens when you quadruple the population of an omnivore and then stop their supplemental food supply? They revert to their natural food. The minimal impact they used to have on the orchid population on our little hill turned into a full-on assault and pillaging. When one of the neighbours who daily fed sacks of bread to the Choughs moved out, the orchid population plummeted.<br /><br />Being an endangered species it was not possible to control the Choughs through direct methods. How to you re-balance an out-of-balance species? We used the multipronged approach. Put simply, covered compost bins, no feeding of Choughs and protect the Geophytes from predation. Unfortunately, this was going to be a long process and there would be further losses of the orchids. Fifteen years later and the populations of Choughs are getting back to their original numbers. This may have been helped by the ten years of drought we have been experiencing. Another negative side effect is the bushland is littered with wire cages, not to keep the Choughs in but to keep them out. The orchids are the ones in the cages.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfENOFCWdeFqDHTjStjfZchV8AvfhsGBlBpdGf1VGUPMBB8sq4VbTZu7BL_xGlOd7OFUMgfLnsv0c444KlLbV2A4pLrWp0txTC1uEgETcpQUAlvRh5e4tWryBWytEOcCcolfZScMngC5fq/s1600-h/Pterostylis+cages.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfENOFCWdeFqDHTjStjfZchV8AvfhsGBlBpdGf1VGUPMBB8sq4VbTZu7BL_xGlOd7OFUMgfLnsv0c444KlLbV2A4pLrWp0txTC1uEgETcpQUAlvRh5e4tWryBWytEOcCcolfZScMngC5fq/s400/Pterostylis+cages.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348209097960893074" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wire exclosures protecting colonies of orchids</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Within the cages, away from the digging beaks of the Choughs, the orchids thrive and bloom. These delicate little plants, many of them only centimeters tall, carpet the ground inside, but are scattered in ones and two outside the cage, usually with their tubers firmly buried in a crack in a rock or beneath a dense tuft of grass. The fact that they are starting to show up outside of the cages is an encouraging sign. The 'escapees' are a new phenomenon, only appearing in the past few years and corresponding to the drop in Chough numbers.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocgg4l9bpzqW1-7tgYqgXJJMmBpEft1QXVVL8ZTYyoQ7U9cZBUEyTJCh9P-DOnkbMZfgyBSe7GE_fTNac7kcRpAwY3C9W6oQgyj1IpOmeeAbAvETPc6QnPuqtJUfqzsySSIdpnYSaaS-3/s1600-h/Pterostylis+sp+aff+striata+in-out+cages.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocgg4l9bpzqW1-7tgYqgXJJMmBpEft1QXVVL8ZTYyoQ7U9cZBUEyTJCh9P-DOnkbMZfgyBSe7GE_fTNac7kcRpAwY3C9W6oQgyj1IpOmeeAbAvETPc6QnPuqtJUfqzsySSIdpnYSaaS-3/s400/Pterostylis+sp+aff+striata+in-out+cages.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348209743443650242" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nicholls Greenhood (</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Pterostylis</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> sp. aff. </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">striata</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">)<br />Inside the cage they thrive.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the orchids that occurs in these cages is an undescribed species of Greenhood Orchid that flowers in Autumn. It has gone under various names in the past in an attempt to shoehorn it into an existing described species. It has been called <span style="font-style: italic;">Pterostylis alata</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">P. striata</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">P</span>. sp. aff. <span style="font-style: italic;">alat</span>a and <span style="font-style: italic;">P</span>. sp. aff. <span style="font-style: italic;">striata</span>, usually with an area description afterwards (e.g. Northeast Melbourne Foothills) . It is presently being formally described and named after a famous orchidologist who wrote the seminal book on The Orchids of Australia.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-b-M0P57vjPtZ7Tk-ZDJJ87x-fI5n_N1hLuGIdY_g_QZC3HpW86PEGirv8ujtTCqRY4gTos57xB1WJLi-6_gZuCivB9hQ2kAL8O06joga0GlDaDziXhdoDDa1_QHhg2h-SZ0UxxwIJvI9/s1600-h/Pterostylis+sp+aff+striata+caged.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-b-M0P57vjPtZ7Tk-ZDJJ87x-fI5n_N1hLuGIdY_g_QZC3HpW86PEGirv8ujtTCqRY4gTos57xB1WJLi-6_gZuCivB9hQ2kAL8O06joga0GlDaDziXhdoDDa1_QHhg2h-SZ0UxxwIJvI9/s400/Pterostylis+sp+aff+striata+caged.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348209103803879890" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Flowering well under the cage</span>.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-y5C1tj5OmTRiSpm9plZQRS8g4e-lwtSNk4WWcG3bR5WZVZmGhg7bhB8APFzJsH-zdpYrQlczqL28vz53h5P20IyzdxgKt0mw3WcL-_upAeViT9s8SCjTHLEraBfHDNX2Fs-ktO4rTGVs/s1600-h/Pterostylis+sp+aff+striata+rosettes.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-y5C1tj5OmTRiSpm9plZQRS8g4e-lwtSNk4WWcG3bR5WZVZmGhg7bhB8APFzJsH-zdpYrQlczqL28vz53h5P20IyzdxgKt0mw3WcL-_upAeViT9s8SCjTHLEraBfHDNX2Fs-ktO4rTGVs/s400/Pterostylis+sp+aff+striata+rosettes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348209748029835442" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rosettes growing densely in moss under the cage.</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCJj45S2Xf6ixmrm4s3aHAIqJ7sah7xmvWFf7SevG7RUTEi2iXEE6gQIiIt9M10VgW-16OFdVRnwxFAarARf5CayakYhWNj2jTuWoOVJDTyWoemgL_iUbJh-BOUyc44o6zRzV0_Shzldhf/s1600-h/Pterostylis+sp+aff+striata+rosette+closeup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCJj45S2Xf6ixmrm4s3aHAIqJ7sah7xmvWFf7SevG7RUTEi2iXEE6gQIiIt9M10VgW-16OFdVRnwxFAarARf5CayakYhWNj2jTuWoOVJDTyWoemgL_iUbJh-BOUyc44o6zRzV0_Shzldhf/s400/Pterostylis+sp+aff+striata+rosette+closeup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348209747644037234" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rosettes are barely 2 cm across but the leaves are<br />beautifully reticulated with wavy edges. </span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Several years ago a small colony of Nicholls Greenhood re-appeared after many years of absence. Instead of racing home and grabbing one of the normal wire cages to protect the plants I decided to try something different. This time I took an old dead shrub and placed it over colony. Just enough protection that it would make it difficult for the Choughs to want to bother moving a dead shrub. Leaves are easy to move when you have a beak but not branches. There were three plants when the colony was found four years ago. Three years ago there were 11, two years ago 35, last year 62 and this year I stopped counting at 100. I reckon there are nearly 200 now. Finally an example of expansion not just holding ground. The plants are not as densely packed as the plants in the cages but the individual plants are nearly twice as large. The leaf little builds up faster outside the cages and may alter the distribution of the species within a given population.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZIB_JhN5UDvURZoxSdIfq_hSs7f-TTEi0_IW1ajoYhQ_PzEPT84S8aJnfI07xHuY_eq2i0Buw6UoJlXaOi-cUHXMgt9SnCgd7Yot_rxenrqrmb4zj5OMaQT96uQalinbEcXZhmsR83t38/s1600-h/Pterostylis+sp+aff+striata+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZIB_JhN5UDvURZoxSdIfq_hSs7f-TTEi0_IW1ajoYhQ_PzEPT84S8aJnfI07xHuY_eq2i0Buw6UoJlXaOi-cUHXMgt9SnCgd7Yot_rxenrqrmb4zj5OMaQT96uQalinbEcXZhmsR83t38/s400/Pterostylis+sp+aff+striata+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348209733797744818" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Free at last!</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Outside the cages.</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6NTbsLr6FGna1OdeL5h86d53fxOSOdnq5TLGC3sQBv9C0mtl1ZqhbuXfAK5RiwuOgNQjN7mjbaXMSDACtH48plIqhwSwWLto_gWaIqb_f_naQUoxHvyV8VUfmZiq1_5UVA9gnXG88qzNp/s1600-h/Pterostylis+sp+aff+striata+closeup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6NTbsLr6FGna1OdeL5h86d53fxOSOdnq5TLGC3sQBv9C0mtl1ZqhbuXfAK5RiwuOgNQjN7mjbaXMSDACtH48plIqhwSwWLto_gWaIqb_f_naQUoxHvyV8VUfmZiq1_5UVA9gnXG88qzNp/s400/Pterostylis+sp+aff+striata+closeup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348209738897796450" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Looking all happy and perky, </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">obviously enjoying freedom. </span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">While it is encouraging to see plants escaping from the cages it would be premature to rejoice too much and free the prisoners from their jail. These cages will for the foreseable future be necessary until the plant numbers recover sufficiently to allow natural predation by the Choughs. In the meantime we celebrate little victories.<br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-77034139517985509982009-06-08T00:31:00.000-07:002009-06-11T03:58:43.894-07:00Ushering in Winter with a blush of pink!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1hPPglZLyy0cB7liqHkDjdEa5vZ-mhS0ecpbdAZa1aEu4N9X9GA8kEXatofstQFxr3zeKhzN4LEyjK43PP5dF0T3eIlJP-3QsDV8LIJS8XoSk3fMhuk4SOyeBnuC0vrN3LVJ9DnoZ5eg/s1600-h/Cym_Sylvania+x+Palaker+X+Musita.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 276px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1hPPglZLyy0cB7liqHkDjdEa5vZ-mhS0ecpbdAZa1aEu4N9X9GA8kEXatofstQFxr3zeKhzN4LEyjK43PP5dF0T3eIlJP-3QsDV8LIJS8XoSk3fMhuk4SOyeBnuC0vrN3LVJ9DnoZ5eg/s400/Cym_Sylvania+x+Palaker+X+Musita.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345280875949512770" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">You know winter is approaching when the main flush of early-season pink Cymbidiums start to bloom in May. There are pink Cymbidiums that bloom earlier, a few of which are noteworthy. In April the very beautiful Cymbidium Aunty Mary Kovich 'April Pink' sends up tall thin stems with up to a dozen smallish dark pinkish flowers with a most amazing fragrance. To 'guild-the-lily', so to speak, the floral display is set above a tuft of narrow leaves. I literally mean that the flowers are set above the leaves. Aunty Mary has Cymbidium insigne and C. sinense as its parents, having inherited the 1 m long or longer flower spikes with the flowers in the upper third from each parent. If Aunty Mary flowered in the cooler months instead of the unpredictable and sometimes hot early autumn weather here in Melbourne, it would last longer in flower. Unfortunately, this is not the case. I must say, it is hard to hold this apparent downfall against the plant. When you flower so early, have such an attractive flower and plant and a magnificent fragrance, how could you hold a grudge. If I lived in the mountains instead of the foothills I am sure the flowers would last much longer.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGnVht1UWUFE8Rg9p3yWHEKTni0bJ7ORBJhpwhE_D3FC7GEaT9_Qg7kikxSgXCVhGdzTmn-cH5YRvdUiLlUtr_qmAgVLftkfyvnzXp2zfnBUC7dw9pBZ_TPI7fPpKcZ2qL9bjHHTJ31j4/s1600-h/Cym_Aunty+Mary+Kovich-April+Pink.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 392px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGnVht1UWUFE8Rg9p3yWHEKTni0bJ7ORBJhpwhE_D3FC7GEaT9_Qg7kikxSgXCVhGdzTmn-cH5YRvdUiLlUtr_qmAgVLftkfyvnzXp2zfnBUC7dw9pBZ_TPI7fPpKcZ2qL9bjHHTJ31j4/s400/Cym_Aunty+Mary+Kovich-April+Pink.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344889666566915570" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Aunty Mary Kovich 'April Pink' </span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The breeding of Cymbidium Peter Pan assisted greatly in ushering in a whole series of early-flowered Cymbidiums including the pinks. One might say 'especially the pinks'. Actually, C. Peter Pan was breed in 1957 but was not used sucessfully as a parent until Dr. Donald Wimber converted it to a tetraploid many years later. Progeny before this time were all triploid and unable to carry the breeding any further. The converted form was named C. Peter Pan 'Greensleeves'. Like C. Aunty Mary Kovich, C. Peter Pan has a great Asian summer-flowering species as a parent, namely C. ensifolium. Both C. sinense and C. ensifolium introduce heat tolerance and early flowering to hybrids as well as strong perfume. C. Peter Pan, although a hybrid between C. ensifolium and a standard, cold tolerant Cymbidium, retains autumn flowering with some flowering at other times of the year. The best qualities about C. Peter Pan from a breeders point of view are that: 1.) it is an easy grower 2.) heat/cold tolerant 3.) has upright flower spikes 4.) accepts other colours 5.) is fragrant and 6.) is highly fertile.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuw_d0srlDpWmeRGfQtlElGRybRkUQqnTNsERo-R-Y-Y5UWGLC02bZHpMCd_Qb0ifBH6rkoWyhMuLn6u7Cs2Z4PWN-ms13gdIw4bjfr5doP7j2WDiJ32CnTQDAaHfKRrhGm4HjSI-vDNd2/s1600-h/Cym-Peter-Pan-Greensleeves-4N-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 345px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuw_d0srlDpWmeRGfQtlElGRybRkUQqnTNsERo-R-Y-Y5UWGLC02bZHpMCd_Qb0ifBH6rkoWyhMuLn6u7Cs2Z4PWN-ms13gdIw4bjfr5doP7j2WDiJ32CnTQDAaHfKRrhGm4HjSI-vDNd2/s400/Cym-Peter-Pan-Greensleeves-4N-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344909421073944802" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Peter Pan 'Greensleeves' 4N</span> </div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Cymbidium Wendy, bred in 1987, was one of the attempts to introduce pink into the C. Peter Pan line. Get it, Peter Pan and Wendy? Who says orchid breeders don't have a sense of humour. Unfortunately, the other parent used to create Wendy was the pink diploid C. Wondah. Wendy, the progeny of this unfortunate crossing of Peter Pan and Wondah was a triploid and was effectively sterile or at least it failed to produce offspring. It is a great shame that his unfortunate fate would befall such a beautiful plant. Cymbidium Wendy 'Copabella' is an absolutely beautiful pink with a stunning lip. It is a freeflowering, easy to grow plant. In many repects it is like a pink version of C. Peter Pan with flowers that last for 2 months. Cymbidium Peter Pan flowers last barely a month.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJervC5nGrfV44IrflBO21eYTdJbqEyLwo5y9SQjuc_m9N-3zfNHb3iycIiKIVz3FoyIb5WaXbPMIk37QlhYkJEJUUkkNhF-QaSw8sX5koSEBbQU5joo4WtedyaQ3Hm7O3VqvU3IM5VSs/s1600-h/Cym_Wendy-Copabella+-+full+spike.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJervC5nGrfV44IrflBO21eYTdJbqEyLwo5y9SQjuc_m9N-3zfNHb3iycIiKIVz3FoyIb5WaXbPMIk37QlhYkJEJUUkkNhF-QaSw8sX5koSEBbQU5joo4WtedyaQ3Hm7O3VqvU3IM5VSs/s400/Cym_Wendy-Copabella+-+full+spike.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344889663535512178" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Wendy 'Copabella' 3N</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">A much later pairing of Peter Pan, this time with the dusky pinkish-red C. Winter Fire did produce fertile offspring, the surprisingly popular C. Peter Fire. Now for me this pairing is not an obvious first choice. The colour of many C. Winter Fire is, well, less than clear or bright. The interesting thing about some forms of C. Winter Fire is that they have feathered petals and sepals. This feathering comes in several shades including: white, greyish-white, cream and greyish-pink. C. Peter Pan has an interesting colouring as well. Even though C. Peter Pan is generally green, if flowered in high light it gets slight reddish/brownish shading on the petals and sepals and reddish speckles at the base of the petals. You can imagine the tears from the breeder upon seeing the results of this cross between to 'interestingly' coloured Cymbidiums. Well, the colours did not come out quite as expected but they are 'interesting'. These are normally the words of the breeder putting an optimistic spin on a less than successful cross.<br /><br />Some of the C. Peter Fire however did turn out passable to the breeder and wildly popular with the buying public. Turns out that womens' tastes in colours are radically different from we menfolk. Dusky pinks and mulberrys predominate with some individual clones with colour that fades as it extends out the petals and sepals. Colour also varies wildly when flowers are opened in high light or low light. A dusky mulberry in high light can fade to a light dusky pink with mulberry spots in low-light conditions. I have a set of C. Peter Fire 'Cutie' exhibiting just this syndrome this year. Last year I purchased a flowering plant of C. Peter Fire 'Fabulous' based on its bright pinkish flowers and red lip, as clearly illustrated on the Valley Orchids website and in their nursery. What a suprise when it flowered this year, obviously under different light conditions. I actually like it better under my light conditions! How's that for a strange turn of events? Breeding with 'interesting' colours can lead to a successful cross.<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieNFHQs5JeShpf3oUfy6vG185EQU_cuE2YzHHi-BJ5qcNVR38JS8A4eR244vSXM-0t0wzZ4hzi0i3E89Kl0VbRiBa3hGez6dKNiRkrho3JhsqOeTDD7r90sk1X9y0BA0GOW6zLY73_ekZz/s1600-h/Cym+Peterfire+Fabulous+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 288px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieNFHQs5JeShpf3oUfy6vG185EQU_cuE2YzHHi-BJ5qcNVR38JS8A4eR244vSXM-0t0wzZ4hzi0i3E89Kl0VbRiBa3hGez6dKNiRkrho3JhsqOeTDD7r90sk1X9y0BA0GOW6zLY73_ekZz/s400/Cym+Peterfire+Fabulous+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344889659115927890" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Peter Fire 'Fabulous' </span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the most successful of the early Cymbidiums and certainly one of the best breeders of high quality early pinks is C. Summer Pearl. This wonderful hybrid is another hybrid of C. Peter Pan, this time using the highly useful C. Trigo Royale. The later of these two hybrids is especially valued by the cut-flower industry because of its lasting qualities of the flowers, especially when cut. One of the issues when using some of the early season species and hybrids, especially those using C. ensifolium, C. erythrostylum, C. sinense and C. tracyanum, are that they do not draw water when cut and barely last a day after removal from the plant. Even though C. Trigo Royale has a high proportion of C. erythrostylum in its heritage the poor keeping qualities have been not only diluted but completely eliminated. There is now a long list of 'earlies' that contain C. Summer Pearl as a parent. One of my favourites at the moment is an un-named hybrid between Summer Pearl and Valley Glory.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdi4ptaYWhHm6v7Ri7nx2TtfJ_2XngcaEpYoJ_7f2dYUmtIu-DBxjER6eG8et3bczFUur4KDKbedAqEk4kDsbH0mROi9P1J6EVnjdg7ig5HnV5PgsDCHkcFOVV5m76PQDZNrYbxe0Qntgi/s1600-h/Cym_Summer+Pearl.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdi4ptaYWhHm6v7Ri7nx2TtfJ_2XngcaEpYoJ_7f2dYUmtIu-DBxjER6eG8et3bczFUur4KDKbedAqEk4kDsbH0mROi9P1J6EVnjdg7ig5HnV5PgsDCHkcFOVV5m76PQDZNrYbxe0Qntgi/s400/Cym_Summer+Pearl.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345237505674095922" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Summer Pearl</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQuX88XFRKjHWK1ADQabWU2QLCucdzEtEByMJ35j71ActbSmW_7ykL8nm8Dv4bDx6vMPjcqKEqPN1PEDTy04DSTLefQq2smG5S7pFLkP1IwgCdIqYlVI-1tpAxWy0ejgUqd0lg3_5Eamg/s1600-h/Cym_Summer+Pearl+X+Valley+Glory_Closeup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 359px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQuX88XFRKjHWK1ADQabWU2QLCucdzEtEByMJ35j71ActbSmW_7ykL8nm8Dv4bDx6vMPjcqKEqPN1PEDTy04DSTLefQq2smG5S7pFLkP1IwgCdIqYlVI-1tpAxWy0ejgUqd0lg3_5Eamg/s400/Cym_Summer+Pearl+X+Valley+Glory_Closeup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344938227092625858" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Summer Pearl X Valley Glory</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Before there was Cymbidium Peter Pan to assist in the breeding of early season pinks there was the absolutely beautiful species C. erythrostylum. While C. erythrostylum provided the early flowering characteristic it was C. insigne that provided the lovely pink colour. Cymbidium Albanense, the hybrid between C. erythrostylum and C. insigne provided the key link to a long line of pink hybrids, mainly in the early to mid season. While many of the first forms of C. Albanense were white with red spotted lips, several were a delicate pink. Recent remakes of C. Albanense are a good strong pink and provide exciting opportunities for further improvements of early flowering pinks, especially for miniatures and intermediate types. The characteristic triangular shape of C. erythrostylum and the smaller lip are passed on for several generations. The petals of C. erythrostylum close in over the column but when crossed with species or hybrids with more open form these broad petals open out in the progeny and give after a few generations what are classed as the 'rounded shape' that we have come to accept as the standard.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_bnuWbDgAq_cwnNb_e0uIg2eM1577QVUAdTBZBbwXLa8h8EYH1TmSpdmkCuoApHPmWVxfr9aL44s8Ozs6uX30Z_QxSn1U1pANo3AKKQwJoDsevPCkHqDFOB3AzDLYuc48jeC7O8FY-c-H/s1600-h/Cym_erythrostylum_Dale_2007.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 287px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_bnuWbDgAq_cwnNb_e0uIg2eM1577QVUAdTBZBbwXLa8h8EYH1TmSpdmkCuoApHPmWVxfr9aL44s8Ozs6uX30Z_QxSn1U1pANo3AKKQwJoDsevPCkHqDFOB3AzDLYuc48jeC7O8FY-c-H/s400/Cym_erythrostylum_Dale_2007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345248508038425362" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium erythrostylum 'Dale'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the most recent hybrids to come out of Andy Easton's breeding stable is the very lovely C. Plum Village X C. Flying Colors. This is a very interesting little plant. Little is apt as the whole plant in full flower is only about 35 cm tall with about a dozen smallish, perky but well formed flowers. What is fascinating about this plant is the strong influence of C. erythrostylum. You can just look at it and see the original species in it. The parentage is actually very complex with C. erythrostylum, C. Alexanderi, C. floribundum (pumilum) and a range of other large-growing species and hybrids in its ancentry. The repeated use of pure white and pink petaled species and hybrids has lead to an unbelievably clear pink in the petals and sepals of this little cutie.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCMMUu2YqbM1UPPXOklP7pDjbYsNLvKbLWdOYvOfQ3tZGO4fUqmkRZ8mv6fgPCcpuE0ETk37cOwqIEPcpd6hCbCuznr5ZZPNNLmHckQekrrwSBQbv6TlCyI8GqSKczUpW_RnzohZILK_kr/s1600-h/Cym+Plum+Villiage+X+Flying+Colours+_full+Spike.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 319px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCMMUu2YqbM1UPPXOklP7pDjbYsNLvKbLWdOYvOfQ3tZGO4fUqmkRZ8mv6fgPCcpuE0ETk37cOwqIEPcpd6hCbCuznr5ZZPNNLmHckQekrrwSBQbv6TlCyI8GqSKczUpW_RnzohZILK_kr/s400/Cym+Plum+Villiage+X+Flying+Colours+_full+Spike.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345248504813520626" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Plum Village X C. Flying Colors</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Recently, I went to Adelaide to give a talk to the local Cymbidium Club. I was to give a talk on the influence of the old awarded plants, those species and hybrids awarded by the RHS between the 1880's to 1930. One of the reasons I wanted to talk about such an obscure topic was to highlight how these plants could still play a role in modern hybridizing. When looking through the collection of hybrid seedlings in the greenhouse at the moment, there were many of these 'Vintage' plants used as parents even though the crosses using them were made in the past couple of years.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">While in Adelaide a wonderful man named Peter Hall and his Cymbidium club friend Wayne Baylis where my tour guides. I showed up at Peters house for a good day out looking at other peoples collections. He was a bit disparaging of his own collection and assumed that there would be nothing that I would be interested in. It could not have been further from the truth! Sitting there right outside of his back door was a plant I had been looking for for years, the serenely beautiful Cymbidium Osborn (C. erythrostylum X C. dayanum). By chance one of the people we were going to visit was the breeder of C. Osborn, the very individualistic Malcolm Osborn. This man has taken the brave and forward-thinking step and moved solely into the growing and breeding of miniature Cymbidiums. His collection was stunning and immaculately maintained. He was kind enough to provide me with a very healthy division of the plant of my desire.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd9JICqHmPbay4MOTU_dn1jfyfgk8Rpl5KUoap5bCycWZIJ945XFUyrDFMr3e0OvhTcUAV-Mwu49jRjojuVf_d92Rxd9j04wpxCnCvHkQ8bZpR6xKmBlPFDRDxwUXYS_hyphenhyphenP6YKIacjxuL1/s1600-h/Cym_Osbourn+closeup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 274px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd9JICqHmPbay4MOTU_dn1jfyfgk8Rpl5KUoap5bCycWZIJ945XFUyrDFMr3e0OvhTcUAV-Mwu49jRjojuVf_d92Rxd9j04wpxCnCvHkQ8bZpR6xKmBlPFDRDxwUXYS_hyphenhyphenP6YKIacjxuL1/s400/Cym_Osbourn+closeup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345276168110820978" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Osborn 'Pink Mist'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYDO0mcrQb6GFYvdz71-5x4lR1AGL2Pb1DA9ygQljR_DFYcY-GDbeRZLd94L8ECFPxJmzfheklxSycHo1DiKMKuMM97xq59nc5NckTb0-fjD5F8m6kRKYon1bx_Mhk_ip4ywdyrf-n76jA/s1600-h/Cym_Osbourn+full+spike.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 208px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYDO0mcrQb6GFYvdz71-5x4lR1AGL2Pb1DA9ygQljR_DFYcY-GDbeRZLd94L8ECFPxJmzfheklxSycHo1DiKMKuMM97xq59nc5NckTb0-fjD5F8m6kRKYon1bx_Mhk_ip4ywdyrf-n76jA/s400/Cym_Osbourn+full+spike.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345276163954520514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Osborn 'Pink Mist'</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the older hybrids that shows the C. erythrostylum influence and the beautiful pink colour is appropriately named 'Rosie'. Now 'Rosie' is not an officially recognised name but this stunning plant has been doing the rounds for many years. It comes out of the now defunct stable of Cecil Park Orchids. Although never named, the parentage of this hybrid is well known, namely, Earlyana X Henry Davis. The influence of C. erythrostylum is clearly evident in the broad, upward swept petals and triangular shape of the overall flower. This shape influence is not surprising as 'Rosie' is only three steps away from erythrostylum through the C. Earlyana parent. Cymbidium Earlyana is a hybrid between C. Early Bird and C. Louisiana. Cymbidium Early Bird is half C. erythrostylum. The other major influence in 'Rosie' is the wonderfully bizarre and highly fragrant C. tracyanum, itself a very early bloomer.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">A couple of the nicest aspects of C. 'Rosie' are the vibrant colours and strong fragrance. The size of the flower and plant is well within the range of the normal standard types. the flower spike is over a metre tall and the flowers a good 10 cm across. Can you smell it by just looking at the picture? I can. The french have a name for that syndrome but for the life of me can't think of the word at the moment.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz0nVeNhZQGbsjmLn5akseeemk5EVjS-SyC27JWZJs3EX7Mk2BOrtw74n_bBrmzqdtsdQlU8Nz1est1kYtA8eAfsWGvfMsFK_NSHC_7Vht3Nv-rg7WYeQTT6dk6t9KfqYLpxfRP_P6lLbZ/s1600-h/Cym_Rosie-closeup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 333px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz0nVeNhZQGbsjmLn5akseeemk5EVjS-SyC27JWZJs3EX7Mk2BOrtw74n_bBrmzqdtsdQlU8Nz1est1kYtA8eAfsWGvfMsFK_NSHC_7Vht3Nv-rg7WYeQTT6dk6t9KfqYLpxfRP_P6lLbZ/s400/Cym_Rosie-closeup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345248513222827986" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium 'Rosie' (Earlyana X Henry Davis)</span> </div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Sometimes an un-named plant comes into my posession that I know one of the parents but do not have a clue about the others that are listed. Going on trust you have to assume that the breeder knew what they were doing when they made the cross. Suspicion can be raised in the mind when one of the parents is itself un-named. One such plant recently came to live with me. The name on the label was (Sylvania X Palaker) X Musita. In this case the plant was not chosen because of the parentage but because when I walked into the sales shed of a local breeder and grower the plant jumped out at me. Not literally, but the colour was so clear and intense and the habit of the plant so attractive that I had to purchase it. The breeder was not originally going to sell it because he wanted it for himself. I love his wife for talking him out of keeping it. I have yet to work out its full heritage but it is clear from the little research that I have done that there is not a trace of C. Peter Pan in there anywhere. Interestingly, the parents were originally bred in 1970, 1976 and 1961 respectively. Here we go with the old hybrids playing a role in modern breeding! Needless to say, C. erythrostylum plays a large part in this hybrid through its grandparents parents C. Stanley Fouraker and C. Early Bird.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1hPPglZLyy0cB7liqHkDjdEa5vZ-mhS0ecpbdAZa1aEu4N9X9GA8kEXatofstQFxr3zeKhzN4LEyjK43PP5dF0T3eIlJP-3QsDV8LIJS8XoSk3fMhuk4SOyeBnuC0vrN3LVJ9DnoZ5eg/s1600-h/Cym_Sylvania+x+Palaker+X+Musita.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 276px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1hPPglZLyy0cB7liqHkDjdEa5vZ-mhS0ecpbdAZa1aEu4N9X9GA8kEXatofstQFxr3zeKhzN4LEyjK43PP5dF0T3eIlJP-3QsDV8LIJS8XoSk3fMhuk4SOyeBnuC0vrN3LVJ9DnoZ5eg/s400/Cym_Sylvania+x+Palaker+X+Musita.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345280875949512770" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">cymbidium (Sylvania X Palaker) X Musita</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLvgXK8QIV7DhuLvBN3pEXHFEw_hq9wPxREKDfcJWqYgzLaq5nJ8LnN8N4DuYqv9W_0FowkTvC-qQNoL3rIXuvkSuPpDvx5niopeb_W-w-b9W0WFBSQaaG3I1pISs3kxxVoWpREqpp-0Z/s1600-h/Cym_Sylvania+x+Palaker+X+Musita+full+spike.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 352px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLvgXK8QIV7DhuLvBN3pEXHFEw_hq9wPxREKDfcJWqYgzLaq5nJ8LnN8N4DuYqv9W_0FowkTvC-qQNoL3rIXuvkSuPpDvx5niopeb_W-w-b9W0WFBSQaaG3I1pISs3kxxVoWpREqpp-0Z/s400/Cym_Sylvania+x+Palaker+X+Musita+full+spike.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345280870413616994" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium (Sylvania X Palaker) X Musita</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHAl_-rmorrvsIj9JHdd2jLEzmO7YYRfosm1AesFgVpY4fnM1xbhKhM6lE9kCm-m8x6mXuMgEu-WV4HzdK40gaa8VzLRFiExOOv4yuoJXtsoy0pWpK04zSqFZMLjuUZYpNQesJGUEPSrFH/s1600-h/Cherry+Blush.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 264px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHAl_-rmorrvsIj9JHdd2jLEzmO7YYRfosm1AesFgVpY4fnM1xbhKhM6lE9kCm-m8x6mXuMgEu-WV4HzdK40gaa8VzLRFiExOOv4yuoJXtsoy0pWpK04zSqFZMLjuUZYpNQesJGUEPSrFH/s400/Cherry+Blush.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345248503913843314" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium (Cherry something. I can't read my own writing!)</span><br /></div><br /><br />My friend Julians plant is also a real stunner. A standard by classification but far from standard in looks. I wrote down the name incorrectly, which is something that happens when overly excited. This plant is pretty stunning in real life! Looks like this hybrid is probably a cross between the C. Peter Pan and C. erythrostylum lines of breeding. It is certainly a fragrant early season pink with broad upward swept petals! I am only guessing though. Will have to follow up on this one.<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-79831058746373246302009-05-03T05:25:00.001-07:002009-07-11T23:03:18.738-07:00Seeing Red - Cymbidium Ruby Eyes and friends<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ8s1-vJhpnN8NXbVlS_Uh5gRLdp5cMEbiau73HayQZS3rDrRhozA3qkqaY4FC5w8nJl2k6yJWL6U9-5qqeaQZ894TeAcrYmsz9rmnziBfZYqo7F3BYZ-vwLXt2LVbe0q5p7PMV7JnQjGk/s1600-h/Cym+Ravishing+Beauty+-+Black+Silk.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331573490882003330" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 266px; cursor: pointer; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ8s1-vJhpnN8NXbVlS_Uh5gRLdp5cMEbiau73HayQZS3rDrRhozA3qkqaY4FC5w8nJl2k6yJWL6U9-5qqeaQZ894TeAcrYmsz9rmnziBfZYqo7F3BYZ-vwLXt2LVbe0q5p7PMV7JnQjGk/s400/Cym+Ravishing+Beauty+-+Black+Silk.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> Ravishing Beauty 'Black Silk'</span> </div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The breeding of true red in Cymbidiums has been a goal of many growers since the inception of hybridization in the genus. One of the first 'Red' Cymbidiums was C. Ceres 'F. C Hanbury'. There is considerable doubt over the true identity of good old 'F. C. Hanbury' but it remains one of the true studs of red breeding. Remakes of C. Ceres, as you can see from the pictures below, are not even close to red, more a pink overlay on yellow or a slightly reddish brown. It is hard to imagine the dark rich colours of today's complex hybrids coming from such lowly beginnings.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93pc4A23aucU8w2lSqveQQEW7ABsS8s8-my8xFSEXg_i7Orzgo66PbawC2imBCC2bHjgeRp1k8aADs2cLjNgdJU8O4iKeRaQEE2mjPeb4PQs6j2PIaN7xPFflJuG65iMfFbDZNp_i6VGi/s1600-h/Cym_Ceres-portrait-1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331578104094674530" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; cursor: pointer; height: 347px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93pc4A23aucU8w2lSqveQQEW7ABsS8s8-my8xFSEXg_i7Orzgo66PbawC2imBCC2bHjgeRp1k8aADs2cLjNgdJU8O4iKeRaQEE2mjPeb4PQs6j2PIaN7xPFflJuG65iMfFbDZNp_i6VGi/s400/Cym_Ceres-portrait-1.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> Ceres 2N</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlGSK0EtKSR5KLW3zktYE4xrEK_B3ocqFgkggRNKrKBsYi0qSKL31Cu8bthhU6Ug6ZliALzIB9m1WJ_C0O63sMGpMTJMW_haZpEOISYzraFC7M0FGejPqekqdpnXGsX9FbQtX6afmi7dlz/s1600-h/Cym_ceres_Florence+Mausteller-portrait-1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331578097359796674" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; cursor: pointer; height: 273px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlGSK0EtKSR5KLW3zktYE4xrEK_B3ocqFgkggRNKrKBsYi0qSKL31Cu8bthhU6Ug6ZliALzIB9m1WJ_C0O63sMGpMTJMW_haZpEOISYzraFC7M0FGejPqekqdpnXGsX9FbQtX6afmi7dlz/s400/Cym_ceres_Florence+Mausteller-portrait-1.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> Ceres 'Florence Mausteller' 4N</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A very productive line of breeding in reds was kicked off by the production of Cymbidium Ruby Eyes. In 1978, the year C. Ruby Eyes was registered, and the period shortly thereafter, Australia had a bit of a reputation for the production of red hybrids. I remember visiting several orchid nurseries in the early 1980's specifically to see what were rumoured to be some of the best red cymbidiums in the world. Wondabah Orchids was one of these nurseries. Needless to say C. Ruby Eyes came out of the stable of this once world reknown orchid nursery.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Cymbidium Ruby Eyes is the offspring of the most unlikely of parents. Imagine crossing a large showbench standard with intense colour with a miniature species. It is like crossing a Great Dane with a Chihuahua! Luckily, the pod parent was C. floribundum (pumilum) that great species that is not very descriminating with regard to who it will mate with. Unfortunately, if the 2N forms are used there can be problems with sterility in the resulting progeny. The other parent was C. Sensation, another good breeder. Another child of C. Sensation is the beautiful C. Flame Hawk. Below are two examples to give you some sort of idea of what the parents looked like. Neither of the plants pictured are the actual cultivars used to produce C. Ruby Eyes but are probably not far off.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdf7iG3WyN2I3468a1SZn4l7Ua6JoYERPVa9zPTrukFHmSb_nyKCMbjIvt2AL7ytZUEMR9Dhk2MEsWlbeVhINulrtDFgImQEx-k7-dAImhBWdw7A1rfGTjvhdVA_oUpChLuUB9kXat802/s1600-h/Cym_floribundum-Sina.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331573483799988082" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; cursor: pointer; height: 266px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdf7iG3WyN2I3468a1SZn4l7Ua6JoYERPVa9zPTrukFHmSb_nyKCMbjIvt2AL7ytZUEMR9Dhk2MEsWlbeVhINulrtDFgImQEx-k7-dAImhBWdw7A1rfGTjvhdVA_oUpChLuUB9kXat802/s400/Cym_floribundum-Sina.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium floribundum</span> 'Sina'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcSp9MtmJJYtmg6iqn41cOF7lu-g2U71zB98WmiBN_tE-xrZ0c04Zd5SoYxTTpLfj1RDhuxSs6zyZQMgP8DTH0eATlMnuO3ZQMAVvr7oIxJehmmVs3seaaVDbSMQLcwy2qc9BQb4GDMH72/s1600-h/Cym+Sensation.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331573477253447042" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; cursor: pointer; height: 302px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcSp9MtmJJYtmg6iqn41cOF7lu-g2U71zB98WmiBN_tE-xrZ0c04Zd5SoYxTTpLfj1RDhuxSs6zyZQMgP8DTH0eATlMnuO3ZQMAVvr7oIxJehmmVs3seaaVDbSMQLcwy2qc9BQb4GDMH72/s400/Cym+Sensation.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> Sensation 'Purple Perfection'</span><br /></div><p align="justify"><br /><br />The marriage between C. floribundum and Sensation created quite a stir. Here was a match made in heaven. One of the qualities of C. Sensation that contributed to the success of C. Ruby Eyes is that although the flowers are large and quite normal for a standard the plants are relatively small. Another interesing feature of C. Sensation is that the pseudobulbs are remarkably round, halfway between the size of a handball and a tennis ball. The leaves are relatively narrow for a standard.<br /><br />There are numerous cultivars of C. Ruby Eyes doing the rounds in the orchid world. The most famous of these is C. Ruby Eyes 'Red Baron'. I will get back to this cultivar in a minute. It is worthwhile to note that there are actually better quality cultivars such as: 'Royal Show', 'Tokushima', 'Paradisea' the list goes on. There are also imposters going under the name of 'Red Baron' . Some growers have taken on the task of coming up with an improved C. Ruby Eyes by remaking the original cross but using different parents. The results have been variable but have not really been an improvement on the original. Several of the original cross are still floating around but have never been named. One of these is a plant that I have grown for years. It did not meet the standard of being a red but it is a pretty plant none-the-less. It will never get bred with because it has a flaw that can be passed on. See if you can work out what the flaw is from the picture below. No it is not a virus that is the problem. I reckon this cultivar actually has a very beautiful labellum, much more clearly and delicately marked than any cultivar I have seen.<br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTXt2sGxkfHNBuaTQlqiX6673jKUURKBqBiOxbK0o9cX8MpO8z_R-ll5C1XNtc88pq4PjEzHIT8U8AVdKWQVvwzXz2DTMNxfCV6RuzLFSOWN3BwsREPG6wu00D9sPUnfiSF3YHrxAcccs/s1600-h/Cym+Ruby+Eyes.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331573484807396594" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 297px; cursor: pointer; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTXt2sGxkfHNBuaTQlqiX6673jKUURKBqBiOxbK0o9cX8MpO8z_R-ll5C1XNtc88pq4PjEzHIT8U8AVdKWQVvwzXz2DTMNxfCV6RuzLFSOWN3BwsREPG6wu00D9sPUnfiSF3YHrxAcccs/s400/Cym+Ruby+Eyes.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Ruby Eyes</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4zeRj8w7GNBEe2GoNi1lhNDFlfBf9h61lzxF-Py1PkYCSG8UbzhedTqZKTP96LBGr2VwcFfdxOPSjZyIr-3Y9MRblQTlhnJGJXpmhA2rrnpd0MY2RXIyV8HuyxefDTzjvmVnwf5l7w4l2/s1600-h/Cym_Ruby+Eyes-Royal+Show+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 399px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4zeRj8w7GNBEe2GoNi1lhNDFlfBf9h61lzxF-Py1PkYCSG8UbzhedTqZKTP96LBGr2VwcFfdxOPSjZyIr-3Y9MRblQTlhnJGJXpmhA2rrnpd0MY2RXIyV8HuyxefDTzjvmVnwf5l7w4l2/s400/Cym_Ruby+Eyes-Royal+Show+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357449487580965186" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> Ruby Eyes 'Royal Show'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNcPRK0ZsbeTmFgJpgUQNFKEJI7wLX_c4bvIp3r0baOwMlN1Q8GLBLbpztPFmTqRSizLhqDe3v6UH1CRB6UV7OvCpGVdDasBCD_p2KRbmqpVhpMguiMPQcv36mNoGOrkkZKr14rxq9iKEQ/s1600-h/Cym_Ruby+Eyes-Royal+Show+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 346px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNcPRK0ZsbeTmFgJpgUQNFKEJI7wLX_c4bvIp3r0baOwMlN1Q8GLBLbpztPFmTqRSizLhqDe3v6UH1CRB6UV7OvCpGVdDasBCD_p2KRbmqpVhpMguiMPQcv36mNoGOrkkZKr14rxq9iKEQ/s400/Cym_Ruby+Eyes-Royal+Show+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357449481484290114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> Ruby Eyes 'Royal Show'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The problem is a that some cultivars suffer from partial petal peloria. This shows up as color breaks in the petals, or in the case of my pretty little plant, callus ridges occurring on the petals. Although in fully peloric flowers these callus ridges would be yellow or white, like those on the normal labellum, those on my plant are a deep black/red. You can also see a partial colour break on the left petal of the centre flower.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This partial peloria can be passed on to progeny. Several hybrids of C. Ruby Eyes, can exhibit this genetic fault. Some that I have seen this mutation occur in are Radiant Ruby, Ruby Doll, Ten Pin and Inky Dink. In one group of seedlings that I have flowered out of the hybrid C. Ruby Eyes X Fascella there were a few that strongly exhibited odd petals. Have a look at the centre flower and the one immediately above it in one of my plants. You can see the deformity along the upper edges of the petals.<br /><br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIufSYDZMZ7QXpS8v6gT7UVcw0hCu6Ol3JkxnXLDDfor34RZwnhqmId3NPbJ1_APsenLmAhj08k3gO_INGpt_GknVujSOVV3tXXnzw8hEBpSsUjdUm4eTdZLPVwxJ_Pc3DT-1obxvY0JvG/s1600-h/Cym_Ruby+Eyes+X+Fascella.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332338488631335186" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 368px; cursor: pointer; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIufSYDZMZ7QXpS8v6gT7UVcw0hCu6Ol3JkxnXLDDfor34RZwnhqmId3NPbJ1_APsenLmAhj08k3gO_INGpt_GknVujSOVV3tXXnzw8hEBpSsUjdUm4eTdZLPVwxJ_Pc3DT-1obxvY0JvG/s400/Cym_Ruby+Eyes+X+Fascella.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP54VX6JWs5_Sz0y0LhMJYolPrL2MhCKnujxSyFscHF9AHC2eiMIT_SEFdpUqK7oZfOEEgdgBxBb7cGUOmOFnQM2zY9TPFvMcXrsiy8qKZ115f5tP-tQgdvZ6zR3M5uM-uImes6aI6ogwZ/s1600-h/Cym_Ruby+Eyes+X+Fascella.jpg"></a> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> Ruby Eyes X Fascella</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Cymbidium Ten Pin can also exhibit partial peloria but only in some individual plants. Two examples are giving below. The first plant is normal and shows no signs of genetic faults. The second has the remnants of calli on the petals as evidenced by the dark red base to the petals tapering through the whole of the petal.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVMuLGPS_ISh9fnurcSMuBeukLSnJU04NdgMZajFJfZjLFQfHRIsw1NL2WDXprphT3xifeI0i0AEDaq4h01H-BKvImXbxBMppd6r79ScDX8mBogo95kD4AotsaypyUDVNqARiUob_Fnrsr/s1600-h/Cym_Ten+Pin-+lois-1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331573493976950722" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 277px; cursor: pointer; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVMuLGPS_ISh9fnurcSMuBeukLSnJU04NdgMZajFJfZjLFQfHRIsw1NL2WDXprphT3xifeI0i0AEDaq4h01H-BKvImXbxBMppd6r79ScDX8mBogo95kD4AotsaypyUDVNqARiUob_Fnrsr/s400/Cym_Ten+Pin-+lois-1.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> Ten Pin (normal)</span><br /></div><br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH48RD4yRi_ofCagNTqBmbhYHJIOjr1Zqfigtzvmas_anTFYwF1wzoXvcepbhLmibHUS8q4v8cVIbJrFFn2pcIzOHaqYiJvAbPS1tEfBGyNEpR80u9NeGpD1FwJ84lJzTo2GhMKaa5fSQo/s1600-h/CymTen+Pin+-+Yeah.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331574379328880754" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 240px; cursor: pointer; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH48RD4yRi_ofCagNTqBmbhYHJIOjr1Zqfigtzvmas_anTFYwF1wzoXvcepbhLmibHUS8q4v8cVIbJrFFn2pcIzOHaqYiJvAbPS1tEfBGyNEpR80u9NeGpD1FwJ84lJzTo2GhMKaa5fSQo/s400/CymTen+Pin+-+Yeah.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> Ten Pin (slight petal mutation)</span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">While many people see Peloria as an interesting phenomenon, I find it a deformity. There are some collectors out there that have collections of both Petal and Sepal Pelorics. To me it is the equivalent of Hip Displasia in German Shepherds. The kennel clubs try to eliminate from the breeding program dogs that exhibit the trait. Maybe we should do the same if we want to breed stable, high quality plants. To this end, I make the outlandish suggestion that we should eliminate C. Ruby Eyes 'Red Baron' from future breeding. I qualify this by adding that those 'Red Baron' with the petal deformity. There is strong evidence that not all the 'Red Baron' out there are the genuine cultivar. If you need an example of this go to your friendly web-based image browser and see the variation in what is called C. Ruby Eyes 'Red Baron'. Be particularly careful when purchasing meristem produced plants. Mass multiplication of orchids through meristem culture is known to cause genetic deformities, many of which are undesirable. Cymbidium Ruby Eyes 'Red Baron' is one of those plants that is mass produced by meristem propagation.<br /><br />Plants bred either directly or indirectly from C. Ruby Eyes now number in the hundreds. C. Ruby Eyes alone has been used as a pod parent at least 15 times and as a pollen parent at least 80 times. This plant is still being used in breeding programs and will probably continue to contribute for years to come. Its primary use is in the breeding of red pendulous, minitures and intermediate Cymbidiums. This large number of offspring and it's continued use in breeding programs is remarkable considering it is 31 years old. That is amazing staying power for any hybrid. Hopefully if we continue to use this outstanding plant we will select and use cultivars that do not exhibit genetic mutations. If we use 'clean' plants of C. Ruby Eyes and its offspring we will certainly be in-the-black financially but in-the-red in regard to high quality, high colour cymbidiums.<br /><br />Just as a post script, Here is a picture of one of the offspring of C. Sensation, the very beautiful C. Flame Hawk.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkleS4Dd8qdwCNZifAfUcTpRU-5kgbS511EOVjVk0rvDxktDY0GD1XRFBYKQVFEzB0DiuA_vSKpsbJGN-rqzBXSAEPJFRoELq8T9eTY0uUO6piyvVXjqqKjFyhtCEMQMXzDNokCZAsP3Jn/s1600-h/Cym_Flame_Hawk-Lipper-1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332337507969829874" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; cursor: pointer; height: 266px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkleS4Dd8qdwCNZifAfUcTpRU-5kgbS511EOVjVk0rvDxktDY0GD1XRFBYKQVFEzB0DiuA_vSKpsbJGN-rqzBXSAEPJFRoELq8T9eTY0uUO6piyvVXjqqKjFyhtCEMQMXzDNokCZAsP3Jn/s400/Cym_Flame_Hawk-Lipper-1.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> Flame Hawk 'Lipper' </div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">(flower just opening)</div></div></div>Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-8709147469079275082009-04-19T04:37:00.000-07:002009-05-02T06:27:43.173-07:00Blood Flowers - Haemanthus<div style="text-align: justify;">September of 1981 was a turning point in my life. It was the start of a year-long field study of orchids in the wild. My supervisor Phil Cribb and I had worked out an itinerary and meticulously planned out places to visit, people to see, where my monies would be deposited and what tasks would be carried out. Part of my task was to collect plants, both living and pressed, that would eventually make their way back to the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. There was a bit of argy bargy working out where to go. Phil wanted me to carry out an extension of his work on various groups of orchids in Australia and the Pacific Islands. My dreams and ambitions had always focused on Africa and Asia. Jane Goodall was a hero of mine and in my young mind visualized myself exploring the African bush finding and working with strange and unusual plants. There was also the desire to follow in the steps of the great collectors of the 19th century and discover wonders in the mountains of Thailand, Vietnam, and India. What is the saying? Be careful what you wish for it may come true. They did come true.<br /><br />After boarding the plane at Heathrow Airport it was a relatively short trip to Durban in South Africa. The destination of Durban does not seem like a logical first choice to see orchids in the wild but the Orchid Congress being held there was a good incentive! An orchid congress is a great place to meet all sorts of orchid freaks, see an amazing array of plants and listen to a very large number of orchid talks. It was little piggy in orchid heaven. All day and night the conversations focused on orchids.<br /><br />Being such a young thing in a world of much older people posed certain problems. Most of the participants were three times my age. Pierre and Thelma Joubert came to the rescue. They were the organisers of the congress and were not only well organised but extremely generous and friendly. Pierre kept me more than busy the whole time I was there. Thelma introduced me to people and their plant collections. Their fellow committee members Lance and Carmen also provided numerous opportunities to participate. Carmen asked if I would like to be steward on the <span style="font-style: italic;">Oncidium</span> Alliance judging panel. The yes flew out of my mouth before she even finished her sentence!<br /><br />One night while we were having drinks and nibblies Pierre asked me to come along on their post-congress trip. One of the members had to cancel and there was a spare ticket. This involved a break in my itinerary but Phil agreed to it. A trip to the private game park Motswari sounded a great idea. Not only could I see orchids but all the African Wildlife as well. Frank and Ruth Shride from the USA would be accompanying us to work on an article. They were writing an article for National Geographic on the white lions of Motswari. You can imagine how inadequate I felt in the company of such luminaries. Thankfully, I don't suffer from shyness and the others did not suffer from egomania. The stories from that trip will have to wait for another post but suffice to say we saw heaps of plants.<br /><br />When we got back to Durban I spent a few more days traveling around the local area with Pierre and Thelma's son Richard. He was only slightly older than me and just as friendly as his parents. We travelled north and south, about as far as you can go in one day and still be back for dinner. The plants we saw were fantastic. <span style="font-style: italic;">Streptocarpus, Protea, Strelitzia, Erica, Aloe,</span> heaps of bulbous plants and of course orchids. I didn't know there were so many <span style="font-style: italic;">Eulophia </span>species!<br /><br />The next leg of my journey took me to Johannesburg. The change in altitude played havoc with me. Five-thousand feet does not seem like a very high elevation but for someone who never really spent much time above an elevation of 500 feet, it was a great change. The head spun, the stomach churned and all I wanted to do was sleep. Thankfully, that only lasted a couple of days. My host, Daniel Kleynhans, was not only gracious but understanding. Daniel delivered me to the Botanic Gardens where I was to meet up with Doug McMurtry. Doug had organised a trip that would see himself, myself and an artist named Barbara Jeppe tripping up to the Drakensburg Mountains in search of various plants.<br /><br />Barbara was an absolute hoot to travel with. We would be belting along at 80 Km an hour down some dirt track in the middle of nowhere and Barbara would scream out 'Stop!'. Doug would slam on the anchors, stop and then reverse until Barbara commanded him to 'Stop'!. The doors of the car would fly open and Doug and I would rush like mad people following a madly smoking crazy woman across a dusty treeless plain looking for God-knows-what. Thankfully, the very first time she did this we came across a ripper of a plant, <span style="font-style: italic;">Boophone disticha</span>. <span style="font-style: italic;">Boophon</span>e<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>has a large , perfectly-rounded heads of hundreds of scarlet flowers on a naked stem that shoots straight out of the earth. At flowering time the leaves are totally dead and in most cases missing. This was just the first of many beautiful bulbs, orchids and other fabulous plants that we would come across. We got a thrill every time Barbara screamed.<br /><br />As I said at the start of this post my trip to South Africa was a turning point in my life. It also made a huge impact on my life choices. Since that auspicious trip, my interest in South African plants has become and remained strong. That very first sighting of <span style="font-style: italic;">Boophone </span>lead to my life-long interest in South African Amaryllidaceae and Amaryllidaceae as a whole. Seeing Pelargonium and Aloe in the wild, subsequently lead to nice collections of these appearing in my garden. Interestingly, there is a pot containing <span style="font-style: italic;">Boophone disticha</span> sitting on the corner of my verandah just outside the kitchen window.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Every Autumn there is a strong reminder in my garden of my trip to South Africa. The first of the South African Amaryllidaceae to flower are the <span style="font-style: italic;">Haemanthus</span> species, followed by <span style="font-style: italic;">Amaryllis</span> and finally by a three month long eye-popping flowering of the various <span style="font-style: italic;">Nerine</span>. Below are just a couple of species of Haemanthus that grace my garden. These two species flower regularly and easily. Several other species in the genus and in my garden require fire to burn over the top of their bulbs to stimulate flowering.<br /><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbAuWUYiKdKqpVvoiida2cgxUQy-Q1d6qajD_8FVVWybk7u3NpEHGq_blVVc6Y-HcChsYQeWmVvmCr3Y4UJ6hQ0EKuDwy8LvaNFI6V83qF1hMUxjlh2jRVUvXDL8t040XsiqkV9bqeDaGJ/s1600-h/Haemanthus+coccineus.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 310px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbAuWUYiKdKqpVvoiida2cgxUQy-Q1d6qajD_8FVVWybk7u3NpEHGq_blVVc6Y-HcChsYQeWmVvmCr3Y4UJ6hQ0EKuDwy8LvaNFI6V83qF1hMUxjlh2jRVUvXDL8t040XsiqkV9bqeDaGJ/s400/Haemanthus+coccineus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326366592082142066" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Haemanthus coccineus</span> Form 1</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih0oNkLbH26bCOLWRwcGkTo1hkB5EvMZZC9lho2OdVcB_NG-Wwf5sKvr5eTLW0FhBsvU9RdS4DftFPkt5qixQt7KlLYWdBje640cwzsFJFb5qyBlTronu8rm7fd5gLRnTqhL_wFEJK_QCH/s1600-h/Haemanthus+coccineus+large+form.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih0oNkLbH26bCOLWRwcGkTo1hkB5EvMZZC9lho2OdVcB_NG-Wwf5sKvr5eTLW0FhBsvU9RdS4DftFPkt5qixQt7KlLYWdBje640cwzsFJFb5qyBlTronu8rm7fd5gLRnTqhL_wFEJK_QCH/s400/Haemanthus+coccineus+large+form.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326366585459949794" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Haemanthus coccineus </span>Form 2 </span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhojCaCOsVuZy3FhAoxtJeARdrMk3rmyJLMDRQW7AuhIAheslwMYcXfD4Sg2LbGEXtmhig067w9Rs3Plp9znac8v0sl6qT-Dhtbho5RTMyKZvoLyFdGvQAeeeAXvQz6Xn0ycjAibfSkOZhw/s1600-h/Haemanthus+albiflos.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 308px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhojCaCOsVuZy3FhAoxtJeARdrMk3rmyJLMDRQW7AuhIAheslwMYcXfD4Sg2LbGEXtmhig067w9Rs3Plp9znac8v0sl6qT-Dhtbho5RTMyKZvoLyFdGvQAeeeAXvQz6Xn0ycjAibfSkOZhw/s400/Haemanthus+albiflos.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326366582863267426" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Haemanthus albiflos</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Broad-leaved, early-flowering form. </span><br /></div>Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-84871759421879739262009-03-30T04:32:00.000-07:002009-04-01T12:05:41.514-07:00Guess the Hybrid - for my forum friends<div style="text-align: justify;">One of the internet forums that I dip into once in awhile, alright, in truth every day, has a periodic topic called 'Guess the Hybrid'. Usually, the plant is an un-named hybrid, sometimes a named hybrid of unusual form. These little guessing games are interesting as they challenge people to think. They also help us to refine our knowledge, especially of heritable characters.<br /><br />A couple of side issues that have come up in the past couple of months have been the quality of Cymbidiums in Australia and the quality of the pictures of them. There are few orchid magazines in Australia compared to America. Inevitably, space is limited in these magazines and only a few pictures can appear. By a few I mean less than 50 in the two big orchid journals and less than 25 or even 10 in the smaller ones.<br /><br />Many of the people in the various orchid societies are keen growers of orchids. The demographic is generally retired people. Their abilities with a camera? Well, it is understandable that some people would be critical of their photographs. For the most part the photos are mug shots or pictures of the whole plant. The mug shots look like the mug shots of famous people taken after a big night on the town. The flowers look a little past their best. Even the photographer was obviously having a bad night, lacking the ability to focus properly. Many of the pictures are compositionally challenged, a little off centre or with the flower position at funny angles. Almost inevitably a flash is used that does horrible things to the colours and makes the 'portraits' look harsh and washed out.<br /><br />Many orchid societies around the world employ professional photographers to take pictures of the awarded plants. Smaller clubs and less well-off clubs have to get Ethel, Harry, Violet or Richard or any other person hanging around with a camera to quickly snap the picture. In the age of the digital camera, everyone things they are a photographer. Few if any of them are in any way professional, and even fewer have actually taken a class in photography. Some of these would be photographers have not even read the manual and don't know what half the buttons on the camera are for.<br /><br />Complicating matters is that the people who do own special or very high quality Cymbidiums would not even think of exhibiting them in public. Several good reasons are given by various people for not displaying their best plants in public. First and foremost is that when plants are exhibited at a show, ever man and his brother wants to touch the plants, photograph them or worse yet steal them. Many do the former two, occasionally some do the later. Part of this 'touching' involves the removal of pollen to be used in breeding programs. The best plants are the best breeders, for the most part, and no breeder in their right mind would want to give away their precious pollen to be used in someones breeding program. I remember exhibiting a plant of Arachnorchis (Caladenia) rosella in the mid-1980's. Within seconds of putting the plant on display, all of the pollen was taken. Secondly, you never know who's plant may be virused. This non-lethal but severely disfiguring disease is not something any high quality grower would want in their collection.<br /><br />One of the commentators on the forum remarked 'Why are Australian Cymbidiums so Ugly?'. I must admit, that at the time my mood was not the best and my reaction was uncharacteristically grumpy. Going back and reading the post now, it was remarkably terse, lackied humour and used the word 'unfair' more times than was absolutely neccesary. I still feel that the commentators comments were unjustified but looking at the magazine he was referring to he/she would get the impression that Cymbidiums in Australia were 'Ugly'.<br /><br />Truth be told, there are good-looking Cymbidiums in Australia. Tastes may vary from those in the USA or even Europe, England or Japan but they are pretty none-the-less. Indeed, Australia has at times 'Punched above it's weight' in Cymbidium breeding. It seems as though we are going through a light patch at the moment. I used the term 'It seems' advisedly. There are many interesting and novel hybrids originating in Australia that are not shared with the public, especially with those in the USA, Holland, Japan and even Australia. The history of people taking the best of Australia's breeding and propogating thousands of plants through meristemming is reknown. These proliferators, as they are known in the trade, are a scourge, making handsome profits by picking the eyes out of legitimate breeding programs.<br /><br />For the benefit of our forum members, I offer up the plant below. Hopefully, the picture is of sufficient quality to judge the quality of the flower. Unlike some of the 'guessing games' posted on the forum, there is no prize with this game. The 'winner' walks away with a warm inner glow of being the first to guess the plant by using their oversized brains filled with hundreds if not thousands of mental picture of plants they have seen.<br /><br />I would encourage you to post a comment about this plant. It is easy to do. Just below the picture is an option to post a comment. You can be totally anonymous if you would like. BTW, if you click on the picture it will bring it up to a larger size.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipASfcr67_NrGJmzAXkgZhl3AI4zNBu_VqaVDymlBJDrUXEgtJS3bVHUTCcMnj4FQ5l_NXsUYbaCLUbZiKgwg8h3MynHHZknu3PIqX8cK9KZ73p2Y9aaoQLdsVXTs3Q2a_dZKkVVZpK9-A/s1600-h/Cymbidium+quess+who.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 387px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipASfcr67_NrGJmzAXkgZhl3AI4zNBu_VqaVDymlBJDrUXEgtJS3bVHUTCcMnj4FQ5l_NXsUYbaCLUbZiKgwg8h3MynHHZknu3PIqX8cK9KZ73p2Y9aaoQLdsVXTs3Q2a_dZKkVVZpK9-A/s400/Cymbidium+quess+who.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318947566599830834" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium William Weaver</span><br /></div><br />You will see that a name has now appeared on the photo of the mystery plant. This is a lovely plant bred by Andy Easton. The person who guessed the name correctly was Ha Bui my generous and kind pen friend who I will meet face-to-face one day! The incorrect guesses were very interesting and even had me doubting the labels on my plant! Thankfully, All was well, with Andy confirming and even congratulating the winner before I had a chance to.Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-91995119595800184122009-03-17T02:10:00.000-07:002009-03-17T03:59:16.089-07:00Cymbidium Koh-hou<div style="text-align: justify;">One of my modest goals in life is to collect together all of the species and primary hybrids of the genus Cymbidium. Before you go all crazy on me, there are only about 50 species of Cymbidium. That means if I grow one plant of each and all of the possible combinations of the species I would still only have a collection of 2,500 plants! Easy really. Well, not so easy actually.<br /><br />The first thing is to get hold of all the species. There are a handfull of species that are readily available locally, mainly the big showy plants like Cymbidium tracyanum, C. hookerianum, C. insigne, C. floribundum, and C. lowianum. Without too much trouble you can even get hold of C. iridioides, C. erythraeum, C. elegans, C. eburneum, C. mastersii C. lancifolium, dayanum and C. cochleare. Cymbidium sanderae is relatively easily obtained though some do not consider it a true species. The same is the case for C. suavissimum. Several years ago a few plants of the very rare C. whitea came onto the market and sold for nearly $200. Now, seedlings of this species are appearing everywhere for $8. Damn, I should have waited.<br /><br />The more tropical species are also fairly easy to obtain. Cymbidium findleysonianum, bicolor, aloifolium and atropurpureum are widely available in Melbourne but there seems to be little interest in them as they need a greenhouse in winter, most are larger plants and they have relatively small flowers when compared to the other species. They tend to not flower all that well in the southern latitudes and the leaves tend to spot with fungus in the cool damp period in winter.<br /><br />The dwarf, broad-leaved species C. devonianum is readily available but flowering sized plants fetch prices that would make your toes curl. The even smaller growing C. tigrinum is an even more expensive little bugger. This weekend at an orchid show there were 100mm (4 inch) pots going for $45.00. It is particularly rare in cultivation here in Melbourne.<br /><br />The three native species, C. canaliculatum, C. madidum and C. suave are 'common as muck'. The only problem is that many of them are wild-collected plants. I recently bought a 12 growth plant of C. suave salvaged from a logging operation. It set me back all of $20. Most of these wild-collected plants are not really value for money. They do not take well to being ripped off a tree and being stuck in a pot. Most die fairly rapidly. Those that live are of dubious quality. They are average for the species but that is not what horticulture is all about. Horticulture abhores average. Horticulturalists select plants with the best qualities, be it growth habit, flower size or flower colour. The best forms are crossed and the resultant seedlings grown on. It is these seedlings that go on to do bigger and better things. Oh, they also command the highest price. A three bulb plant of a tetraploid form of the dark burgundy form of C. canaliculatum was being sold for $100 several years ago. The money couldn't get out of my pocket fast enough. It was worth every penny.<br /><br />Most of the other species are either not available or not available commercially. Cymbidiun ensifolium, goeringii, and sinense occasionally sneak out for a visit on the sale benches. They must be very special plants as the prices paid for them are enormous. We have yet to see several of the species appear in our collections. We only dream about C. wenshanense, C. roseum, C. elongatum and C. aliciae.<br /><br />The primary hybrids are not everyone's cup of tea. In many cases they are not an improvement of the parents. Actually, there are a few that are decidedly inferior to the parents. You wonder what the breeder was doing when they dreamt up some of these crosses. They almost certainly looked better in the breeders visions than in reality. The interesting thing is that for some people, myself included, it is not so much about producing beautiful plants. The goal in the making of primary hybrids is seeing which traits are dominant and which are recessive. A secondary goal is to see if the cross actually works. The more closely related species cross easily and produce fertile offspring. More distantly related species may not cross at all or produce sterile offspring. This last scenario does not always mean that the cross is a dead end. Don Wimber proved this by converting the sterile C. Peter Pan from 2N to 4N. Admittedly, C. Peter Pan is not a primary hybrid but it does have a species, C. ensifolium, as one parent. After the conversion from 2N to 4N, C. Peter Pan became fertile again and has been used in a long series of stunningly beautiful and fragrant hybrids.<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKe0HGqEo41UC_BbjpkPCEmPq3lX7DwrywFjcnu6Jmz6Up8nwYU5BSKjkCdpQGHCxb_HudllA1yuq_wcNVCitadwxH07z87cJZwvV_JZr1hsh7McXzRPRzURFnBMcmS9JCkKeSJUByD7gZ/s1600-h/Cym-Peter-Pan-Greensleeves-4N-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 345px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKe0HGqEo41UC_BbjpkPCEmPq3lX7DwrywFjcnu6Jmz6Up8nwYU5BSKjkCdpQGHCxb_HudllA1yuq_wcNVCitadwxH07z87cJZwvV_JZr1hsh7McXzRPRzURFnBMcmS9JCkKeSJUByD7gZ/s400/Cym-Peter-Pan-Greensleeves-4N-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314101584562983746" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Peter Pan 'Greensleeves' 4N</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Two of the most delicate and in many respects interesting Cymbidium species are C. ensifolium and C. dayanum. Cymbium ensifolium is a very widespread species in the wild and has a large number of named forms ranging from pure white albinos through greens, tans, browns and reds. The base colours are some form of white, green or tan with various degrees of spotting of the darker colours. Cymbidium dayanum is a stunning crystaline white with bright red lines on the sepals and petals and a red lip with a bright yellow patch in the middle, at least in the typical form. Thre are fine forms that are pure white albinos and others that are red with burgundy striping.<br /><br />A recent remake of the hybrid C Koh-hou used an albino form of C. ensifolium and the standard form of C. dayanum. The result combines the best and worst features of both plants. On the good side it is a very easy plant to grow and flowers prolifically. My larger plant is blooming for the second time this year and I fully expect it to flower at least one more time. The leaves are narrow and an extremely shiny dark green. The flowers are very near to C. dayanum in colour but 1/3 again larger. The flower spikes are upright to slightly arching like the C. ensifolium parent. The fragrance of the flowers is absolutely intoxicating. One small five inch pot with a seven-flowered spike perfumed the whole livingroom, dining room and kitchen. On the downside, the flowers are as short-lived as each of the parents, barely 3 weeks. If C. Koh-hou was a Crocus, Iris or a Rhododendron, 3 weeks would be a really long display. We have high expectations of Cymbidiums.<br /><br /><br />Sometimes a plant has beautiful flowers and an ugly plant. Likewise there are many Cymbidiums with lovely foliage and shockingly ugly flowers. Little C. Koh-hou is an absolutely ideal display plant; stunning to look at and a pleasure to the nose. It is one of the easiest of plants to grow. A specimen plant can be grown in a 6 inch pot. What it lacks in keeping qualities it more than makes up for in grace and elegance.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBbYumDCPBat3IePRRlbVkgpJM9n6BY8sloX0jZPQj7I4_fj5LtwkAs2UYZsyr0coD3kdAfTAKmyIrJ74qoyRTXyrXjrIUSCwQq8GiokBV5wJQFXW6tVMLGI01ZP_dUU6O0TSRCDbDDEVE/s1600-h/Cym_Koh-hou+closeup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBbYumDCPBat3IePRRlbVkgpJM9n6BY8sloX0jZPQj7I4_fj5LtwkAs2UYZsyr0coD3kdAfTAKmyIrJ74qoyRTXyrXjrIUSCwQq8GiokBV5wJQFXW6tVMLGI01ZP_dUU6O0TSRCDbDDEVE/s400/Cym_Koh-hou+closeup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314083087512674082" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Koh-hou</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipBCs1L8jrrEB3_GAGid2c2xP4EFWMpigeT5Zxh179NHe43s8sJGKmIdRV0BTMFeKiMt-6G64q-0mqwP7mbAFfVea8-RIqBxNhvfgHa0cboTz_fnKRTZGt3ZAU3u5F4-NC92flBlwY4Ckw/s1600-h/Cym_Koh-hou+Full+flower.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipBCs1L8jrrEB3_GAGid2c2xP4EFWMpigeT5Zxh179NHe43s8sJGKmIdRV0BTMFeKiMt-6G64q-0mqwP7mbAFfVea8-RIqBxNhvfgHa0cboTz_fnKRTZGt3ZAU3u5F4-NC92flBlwY4Ckw/s400/Cym_Koh-hou+Full+flower.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314083077136037922" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Koh-hou</span><br /></div>Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-55565552565032107642009-02-28T02:42:00.000-08:002009-03-01T12:58:32.522-08:00Pictures from Hades - Part 2<div style="text-align: justify;">I would suggest you grab a cup of tea and get comfortable before starting to read this post. It is a bit long. It is my way of documenting some of the events that have taken place in the past three weeks here in my bush home on the Northeast outskirts of Melbourne Australia. You may also want to grab a box of tissues. This is not a happy post. It has taken me two days to piece together. Not that the writing was difficult or the pictures hard to prepare. Writing this post made my experience 'real', with all the emotion that was involved. Many parts were left out on purpose. As with all my posts you can view a larger version of the pictures by clicking on them.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">On the 7th of February I posted four pictures of what was going on around me. The day was abnormally hot, the winds extremely high and the humidity extremely low. You could feel from the first thing in the morning that this was going to be a special day. The meteorologists, the Country Fire Authority and our local public broadcasting service had been warning us all week. The week before, when we experienced three days of similar conditions, should have given us fair warning. The 7th was especially brutal weather wise; 46.6C with 100 kph winds and less than 10% humidity. These conditions were an all time record breaker for us.<br /><br />You could feel it. You could not escape it. It zapped the energy. It numbed the mind. There was nothing you could do. The electricity supply was periodically interrupted. The phone lines could get incoming calls but we could not make outgoing calls. The local emergency phone tree was activated. The first call came at 10:00 am. There was a fire in Kilmore east, 30 km away. Implement fire plan! We knew it would happen. You could just tell. The sense of anticipation was rippling though us. Our conversations centred on fire and every broadcaster and news service we heard was talking about it Even the local christian radio station was in on it. My little portable pocket radio only gets FM and only a few stations one of which is LightFM - Christian radio. If we needed God on any day, this was it.<br /><br />Our fire plan is really quite simple. Pack, load car, leave. Oh, yeah, turn on 774 AM our local public broadcaster and emergency services station. It was too oppressively hot to move much. It was too much to think about driving the 20km to the Mall to hang out and watch a movie. The local hoods would probably have helped themselves to our belongings packed so neatly in the car, those special things that you take to start a new life if needs be. A weeks worth of clothes and toiletries, camera equipment, laptops, backup hard drives, important papers, special photographs, my diplomas, my grandfathers fob watch, my grandmothers reading glasses and enamel jewelry box, the set of handcoloured prints of Nicholls 'Orchids of Australia' and a heap of stuff. Way too much crammed in. It is not good to have too much warning. The mall was out of the question. We were 'safe' it was a long way away.<br /><br />We needed to keep ourselves busy while we waited out the day. I took pictures and put together a blog on my plants that got cooked the week before. My partner sat on the couch watching old movies. We both drank copious quantities of iced tea. We packed of course and put everything by the back door. Every half hour or so we would get a phone call. After each phone call I would run outside and snap a few photos. The radio announcers kept saying that the fire was at Kilmore East. The Country Fire Authority website said Kilmore East. The number of trucks attending the fire kept getting bigger and bigger. By 5:00 there were 86 appliances in attendance. Serious stuff but still in Kilmore east. We could see really high smoke drifting over but couldn't smell it. You could still see the sun through it.<br /><br />At 5:20 things changed. I popped out to see what was going on. Still no smell of smoke. I walked out to the walk and looked up. My heart sank and I screamed out to my napping partner. 'You have to come quick, look at this'. Below is what I saw. You can see the corner of the house in the lower left of the photo.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk-VITUL6vSaDC14yV_hkmFrUq1HMYBY4J3NOgsn-SSu4_q36OruCO_K1ptQDzLbPPKDoz6Xabu9bulcYg1Y2VRTDod7AJ85cCFWRAn1bMgfZLiAlK2zo8qKUld9ogp4WwaIv68zLKLGvT/s1600-h/Smoke+over+house.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk-VITUL6vSaDC14yV_hkmFrUq1HMYBY4J3NOgsn-SSu4_q36OruCO_K1ptQDzLbPPKDoz6Xabu9bulcYg1Y2VRTDod7AJ85cCFWRAn1bMgfZLiAlK2zo8qKUld9ogp4WwaIv68zLKLGvT/s400/Smoke+over+house.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307799954693793314" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The fire was no longer in Kilmore East! The radio still told me it was. I tried not to panic. It didn't work. The cars were loaded. I got into some serious photography. By the time I walked to the the picnic table it was obvious that the fire was no longer in Kilmore East. There was smoke rising in Strathewen, Kinglake West, Pheasant Creek, Kinglake, Saint Andrews, Steels Creek, Christmas Hills and Yarra Glen. The wind was still coming from the Northwest. The cool change was meant to come at 6:00 bringing with it winds from the Southwest. We only had to last 1/2 hour and we would be safe. The change would take the smoke and fires away from us. Below is a sequence taken over the half hour between 5:30 and 6:00. The first two photos are just before the change, the third at the change and the last one after the change. Thankfully, the change came early, about 5:45 for us. Well, it was good for us, except for the dust. The problem was that the winds that came from the Southwest were even stronger than the winds from the Northwest. At 130 kph the Southwest winds fanned the fires and drove them in a totally different direction, creating a huge smear of fire across the mountains. Fire burning on a 70 - 80 km front.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHnGVRhlRPsE5yk1hU13C_5ena9u5OUi432vKAC_X3q3QdXHThwW3_YBUZNm3KFuS51_eQAEqRG-WBoW2_LgVBpH7BlcJ0sNWNpD3YE_ZElOIawTWj3diUmD6kuVqgMBQvSi1KZNlCOqmL/s1600-h/Fire+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHnGVRhlRPsE5yk1hU13C_5ena9u5OUi432vKAC_X3q3QdXHThwW3_YBUZNm3KFuS51_eQAEqRG-WBoW2_LgVBpH7BlcJ0sNWNpD3YE_ZElOIawTWj3diUmD6kuVqgMBQvSi1KZNlCOqmL/s400/Fire+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307798394043882978" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">5:30</span> </div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSNwO18yT5hUxhHJJYNQf3ibMpXAqHAzQCLyz7R9hy40HbVZXUFc9MAgsOy7-uWd4IisCBl0nl6aTZgGMrvlMp8g3_b_oEQ4IS7O5JpueHBNayAbn02-3a32XIp7IyQjg4FepbRkh-1ocj/s1600-h/Fire+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSNwO18yT5hUxhHJJYNQf3ibMpXAqHAzQCLyz7R9hy40HbVZXUFc9MAgsOy7-uWd4IisCBl0nl6aTZgGMrvlMp8g3_b_oEQ4IS7O5JpueHBNayAbn02-3a32XIp7IyQjg4FepbRkh-1ocj/s400/Fire+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307798985583338514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">5:40</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVHjzJo327YhWJFGiQVfj7iCs-8bwDFEVIQorDei_zTOanwTwHFV2eOJVg_6NJvNgk27HXLk5w4s5eOPcse2O7yO4UbbQeLzKZ38TQ6wjiLuGFQCJ0rGWvSdfMmawNEFEg8rcePfKL9vEG/s1600-h/Fire+3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVHjzJo327YhWJFGiQVfj7iCs-8bwDFEVIQorDei_zTOanwTwHFV2eOJVg_6NJvNgk27HXLk5w4s5eOPcse2O7yO4UbbQeLzKZ38TQ6wjiLuGFQCJ0rGWvSdfMmawNEFEg8rcePfKL9vEG/s400/Fire+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307798992093097554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">5:50</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYVbGUs_mlC-qoQxvU0T3C8h9gUFPO5X_8FIQLUEPK1ENK6GFHnJlkemD44iaVEiNFa1Wv3hdq5ve_xJh9fQlMgbnnAQLbIfSigi7FmLoq5v1-ZTCviSZmx_TG_gcQZmYufWsRrw6q2l_/s1600-h/Fire+4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYVbGUs_mlC-qoQxvU0T3C8h9gUFPO5X_8FIQLUEPK1ENK6GFHnJlkemD44iaVEiNFa1Wv3hdq5ve_xJh9fQlMgbnnAQLbIfSigi7FmLoq5v1-ZTCviSZmx_TG_gcQZmYufWsRrw6q2l_/s400/Fire+4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307798993150678898" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">6:00</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Shortly after the last photograph was taken it started to get dark. Not because it was time to get dark but because the sun was being blocked by the smoke. Our neighbours Bert and Sue from down in the valley came up to our place to get a view of the fires. We chatted and tried to keep each other calm by making small talk. I took some photos but because of my trembling hands they all came out blurry. The tripod and switching the camera to timer mode helped greatly. I pointed the camera in the direction of the previous shots. Just as I did the first flames started coming over the hill. At first it was just a quick flash above the hill and then it disappeared. The shutter kept clicking. We started to hear the drone of a jet. It didn't change. You normally hear a jet coming, it passes over and then goes away. This sound kept getting louder and louder. It was the fire. It was sucking up oxygen and consuming organic matter, spewing smoke and heat heavenwards, creating it's own weather. By just after 7:00 we started hearing explosions followed by huge eruptions of flames. We worked out that it was gas bottles exploding. Then we saw a house go up in flames. Then another, and another and another. It was coming closer and closer to our home. Just after 7:00 the picture below was the view from our picnic table. The picture from the same position in the previous blog Pictures from Hades was taken just before this one. If you click on the photo below it will enlarge and you will see that it is taken at approximately the same angle as the four previous shots. You can see my neighbour Eric's house in the foreground and Mount Everard fully ablaze in the background.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn7OqQ4U5qSjSGpaLBzM10zHis1UA7gexE3R37GzhEcuOAyuLN5Or_UormybKG6WtwAGs91dKLNNB7mLGZO0g9Xb6f0bZUG4ue2ZQ3zYuB3qlAWvmVUAsKTw5h5Pz0k23H9O7sXAiHCfFR/s1600-h/Fire+5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn7OqQ4U5qSjSGpaLBzM10zHis1UA7gexE3R37GzhEcuOAyuLN5Or_UormybKG6WtwAGs91dKLNNB7mLGZO0g9Xb6f0bZUG4ue2ZQ3zYuB3qlAWvmVUAsKTw5h5Pz0k23H9O7sXAiHCfFR/s400/Fire+5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307798989911562722" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">7:10</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This was extremely serious and it was time for us to leave. Actually, we should have left hours ago. I had enough time to snap a few more shots, download them, resize them and post them. It took me all of ten minutes to do that procedure. In the meantime my partner called and booked a hotel. We had quick showers and jumped in the cars and left. When we were in the car, I called the head of the phone tree and told them we were leaving. He said most had gone already. Great, we were the only bunnies left in the neighbourhood. This fact later turned out to be incorrect but at least we knew we were out of there. Some of my most dramatic pictures were taken in our last ten minutes at the house. The house we were not sure would be there in the morning.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We spent the night of the 7th February in the city, in a large hotel with air-conditioning and cable television. We didn't sleep. When we arrived at the hotel we noticed that our cars were caked in dust and ash. They stood out like hillbilly cars at a country club. Two filthy cars in a carpark full of gleaming new upmarket cars. The staff at the hotel were marvelous. They knew our situation so put us up in a very quiet room on the top floor facing away from the fires. We got a complimentary breakfast and they even made up a lunch for us to take home. It was pretty obvious we were a bit distressed and disoriented.<br /><br />The next afternoon we went home. The house was there, the property was unburnt. There were 23 messages on our home phone. On the way home we heard that 14 people had died in the fires. Thank goodness more hadn't lost their lives. The second message on our phone was to inform us that two friends and their daughter had died. Several other messages had similar grim news. The toll was going to be higher than 14. The phone messages told us that.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">By Tuesday the extent of the events of Saturday the 7th were becoming apparent. 181 dead, 1820 houses destroyed 7,000 people homeless. Shelters in Whittlesea, Yea and Diamond Creek serviced the vast majority of the affected people. Most had gotten out with only the clothes on their back. The stories told on the radio and portrayed on the television are too harrowing to put up here. What was in evidence by tuesday was the best and worst of the human character. Arsonists were caught and would have been lynched had the police not spirited them away to unkown locations. Several were caught stealing relief money collection containers. One person even put in and recieved monies for the funeral of their father that was killed in the fires. Only problem was that the scam artist had no father in the fire area. Thankfully, they were caught trying to claim benifits for being a victim. This low in human behaviour was more than amply compensated for by the thousands of people who donated goods and money to the relief effort. and jumped in to lend a hand. One hundred million dollars were donated in the first week and the Red Cross asked that people stop donating certain types of goods, particularly food.<br /><br />On Monday the 9th February wilst getting ready for work, the phone tree was activated again. We were on an alert warning with fires in the three communities to the North and East of us. Cars were repacked and we headed off to work. Not not sure what I did that day. judging from the dates I submitted a few subject amendment forms and had lunch but don't remember much else. Tuesday was similar to Monday. A few abusive messages were posted in a forum that I am on. My numbness was turning to anger. I made a vow to myself and a couple of friends that there would be nor further postings until my nerves settled and the anger was gone or at least at manageable levels. This was no time for trivial online discussions of flower count on hybrid plants or some strange theory about how the fires were retribution for the changing of abortion laws in Victoria.<br /><br />One of the most annoying things that started coming out on Monday and that gained strength on tuesday was the blame game. Lack of controlled burning was blamed. Rampant green legislation by some of the councils where the fires occurred were blamed. Outrageous, uninformed and insensitive remarks were the order of the day. Even Germaine Greer made pompous and simplistic remarks from the comfort of her upmarket digs in London. Thankfully, by Wednesday the finger pointers were identified for the idiots that they are and were subsequently ignored or ridiculed in further reporting. More balanced and informed commentary started to filter through and gain strength. A Bushfire Royal Commission was called.<br /><br />Wednesday came and went. Do you ever have one of those days when you remember getting to the end of the work day and wondering how it went so quickly.? It seemed as though I had just gotten in. Had a few, not very pleasant, phone calls with friends informing me of lost friends or me informing them of lost friends.<br /><br />Thursday was slightly better. The newspapers were not reporting any more deaths. The toll stood at 181 and hadn't changed in a couple of days. The more sensationalist tabloids were predicting 300 dead. The fires were still burning but not with the ferocity of the previous weekend. The fires were sneaking closer to the house again. Butterman's Track and the Watsons Creek reserve were burning. The Kinglake National Park in Arthurs Creek was being backburnt to prevent the fire getting to our town. It was disconcerting to have plumes of smoke rising to the East and North of us. Not much sleep that night. Below is a picture of the moonrise on the thursday night. Eerie and beautiful at the same time. The smoke permeated everything as did the ash and dust.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTej-n5JfeeRQAd1mziJWA6YuEVH9V9nUniIefohIhvU6LU81X1n68bYgr_k5flabgPkTqk4ldI0i9IeoFieZr0ZzbMVgZCu4Ru0J5T4WCK-NB26zzslNOwKGHxtpbhEqZ6gxk7PUfu7K/s1600-h/Mt+Everard+Moonrise.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 221px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTej-n5JfeeRQAd1mziJWA6YuEVH9V9nUniIefohIhvU6LU81X1n68bYgr_k5flabgPkTqk4ldI0i9IeoFieZr0ZzbMVgZCu4Ru0J5T4WCK-NB26zzslNOwKGHxtpbhEqZ6gxk7PUfu7K/s400/Mt+Everard+Moonrise.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307799473515783010" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Smokey Moon and Butterman's Track burning</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiakVIo6QDH_dByhtolXsZxCmt93SqP2bfQp_z6acgx9ts3GN-p8ydp6-WIoZL5WWvtbAQCRp3T2aZp5jeey9JugrVUVf5hjiCRnO8lYHGB-46LX5hkM_yCGzWrTfj1Kz1CbOWvm7uX_nyo/s1600-h/Smokey+Moon.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 340px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiakVIo6QDH_dByhtolXsZxCmt93SqP2bfQp_z6acgx9ts3GN-p8ydp6-WIoZL5WWvtbAQCRp3T2aZp5jeey9JugrVUVf5hjiCRnO8lYHGB-46LX5hkM_yCGzWrTfj1Kz1CbOWvm7uX_nyo/s400/Smokey+Moon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308026504545078434" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Smoke transforming the moon</span><br /></div><br /><br />Thursday was the first day that the air was clear enough to see the mountains again. This was the opportunity to get a couple of 'After' pics. The camera was put on the tripod and aligned to the originals. Peace and stillness was starting to return to our neighbourhood.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ6a4rF6lH1T-WdghNbZgB5ASmaBEK5ZcewWBmVcia89fvzU1plIPTrWjlXQn2S6ZZwxfHLccxdEp880mC0mculTrj0mwGXqS-3pCiKHDA5fL2MtO5FkBE2HyUcghItmbaBKuqkXblw5J4/s1600-h/St+Andrews.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ6a4rF6lH1T-WdghNbZgB5ASmaBEK5ZcewWBmVcia89fvzU1plIPTrWjlXQn2S6ZZwxfHLccxdEp880mC0mculTrj0mwGXqS-3pCiKHDA5fL2MtO5FkBE2HyUcghItmbaBKuqkXblw5J4/s400/St+Andrews.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308024344433036786" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The 7th of February</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUmddxZw48dPTlgg42YmOXjvFXvZUHTMF6uzbcuwNfctxv8QHEXxFFnjl2EctDWEDCx6D1D2AA-STLspeB8bNgSorBZiBCeXigZhDzkxDzGvLxkQwfktVsq2XTo2GjQagkAUq3gvvenJ8B/s1600-h/Mt+Everard.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUmddxZw48dPTlgg42YmOXjvFXvZUHTMF6uzbcuwNfctxv8QHEXxFFnjl2EctDWEDCx6D1D2AA-STLspeB8bNgSorBZiBCeXigZhDzkxDzGvLxkQwfktVsq2XTo2GjQagkAUq3gvvenJ8B/s400/Mt+Everard.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307799472186285554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The 12th of February</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAxEu42upmyolqzHDw0Z2hALxuetnAj1ntqx4nVEbNMbKORXnkp3RVHzYf2hYzSpwZfbErjv7oQrsmEu6_WNHnBNYBq4j-v725ks2_oJMLz337BsVAitYmf8vLfgmlKEoAB1YVqSC_j4p7/s1600-h/Mount+disappointment+all+aglow.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAxEu42upmyolqzHDw0Z2hALxuetnAj1ntqx4nVEbNMbKORXnkp3RVHzYf2hYzSpwZfbErjv7oQrsmEu6_WNHnBNYBq4j-v725ks2_oJMLz337BsVAitYmf8vLfgmlKEoAB1YVqSC_j4p7/s400/Mount+disappointment+all+aglow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308024341385602498" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The 7th of February</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBuD0OfeXAWvu6NYB3P8HpDxdMgPJuoCbRo_3DPje5p_FphwlLx2DSkW2O9WsVD4zwNF16aoaiWR5Cr8DXAAoPbBgo_azdqcDnovzsgEXjeviF6Emce4QuA0550AfqHSpgFIkNi9HKab92/s1600-h/Mt+Disappointment+1+week+later.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBuD0OfeXAWvu6NYB3P8HpDxdMgPJuoCbRo_3DPje5p_FphwlLx2DSkW2O9WsVD4zwNF16aoaiWR5Cr8DXAAoPbBgo_azdqcDnovzsgEXjeviF6Emce4QuA0550AfqHSpgFIkNi9HKab92/s400/Mt+Disappointment+1+week+later.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307799469494609810" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The 12th of February</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The following Wednesday provided me with an opportunity to go into the fire affected area. This should have been an easy task. At the end of our road is a small turnoff that has beautiful views over the mountains and valleys of our district. I took the camera up there to get some pictures. The plan was to drive down the hill to Strathewen to check on friends. When I stopped at the turnoff and got out of the car a wave of nerves came over me. The tripod was not in the car and my hands were not still enough to take photographs. The drive down the hill would not be possible today. Attempts on Thursday and on Friday also failed. Still no success. For crying out loud, it was only at the bottom of the hill! Emotions were still too raw and close to the surface. After my experience on Friday night a phone call was made to my friend Lynlee to organise a trip that would involve several people. She had to drop off some materials to some friends. We had our wristbands that allowed us into the area. Because there were so many deaths in the area and not all the bodies had been cleared, only residents were allowed into the area. Roadblocks manned by police made sure the only those who were meant to be there were there.<br /><br />We loaded up the car with fox traps, extra supplies and some 'treats' for the people we would be visiting. Down the hill we went. Lynlee and I made an agreement not to take pictures of houses or cars, only pictures of the bush. This was a respect thing. Blue and white flagging tape meant people had died. Long flowing ribbons meant that the bodies were still there, short tied up ribbons meant the bodies had been removed. Enough said about that. Below are a few photographs taken along the way.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62QWaH2H5vrZaFI_orBx8GXjuVLg16zncYsmkkYluHJwkkERCID6dsIFAv-1s7Glzk_Hm0RPGfGZ4ZEhZK1JV-fzn5b1hEk6q5iAi7O709CcspRGLbgpNTmBZw1Mu1x2VLSu-RuZIj_qJ/s1600-h/Entering+Strathewen.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62QWaH2H5vrZaFI_orBx8GXjuVLg16zncYsmkkYluHJwkkERCID6dsIFAv-1s7Glzk_Hm0RPGfGZ4ZEhZK1JV-fzn5b1hEk6q5iAi7O709CcspRGLbgpNTmBZw1Mu1x2VLSu-RuZIj_qJ/s400/Entering+Strathewen.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307798389477895778" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Entering Strathewen</span><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP1ijcWgIRptjoO9jCLllfzJSWcVKGP5UbBqYJ_d8WPsaAfA10D1dlXwY80uLnFXP0SUr7yOkIY9bu41gYXKSAcyKOn5KukIz-aNH6V7ba9GSUBlTKHgENPqGvqieS0ESGzVN8uznCTEhB/s1600-h/Arthurs+Creek.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP1ijcWgIRptjoO9jCLllfzJSWcVKGP5UbBqYJ_d8WPsaAfA10D1dlXwY80uLnFXP0SUr7yOkIY9bu41gYXKSAcyKOn5KukIz-aNH6V7ba9GSUBlTKHgENPqGvqieS0ESGzVN8uznCTEhB/s400/Arthurs+Creek.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307797613239338034" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Just before the main settlement of Strathewen</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIflF2yPJWi3WZ287yA-qObh12V664S3fHzPKYnYnC-3IpHq0QK9mcSbcEygryUood660-Yg1H9DToahmShTwhjpfprUl4OvQ-5E2U1pNpuzGw0V0amjEfpb_pLB06N3PquPW1P1-PwMi/s1600-h/Bill+and+Lindas.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIflF2yPJWi3WZ287yA-qObh12V664S3fHzPKYnYnC-3IpHq0QK9mcSbcEygryUood660-Yg1H9DToahmShTwhjpfprUl4OvQ-5E2U1pNpuzGw0V0amjEfpb_pLB06N3PquPW1P1-PwMi/s400/Bill+and+Lindas.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307798387833682194" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bill and Linda's Property at Strathewen</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0O-87a0ELYA9YLWkNRSEg7TEnUDL4ecwu2npMAvPc9w_AU1f1vx3p3s0dINn7nB8BcsZffG5wQQJ6pLLC7ZpN_INWSSYJ82IfWc7_QTJhzkiVjI3Ul1rgliHIDvXrdSk1M06zGLlIJTD/s1600-h/Bills+Bike.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0O-87a0ELYA9YLWkNRSEg7TEnUDL4ecwu2npMAvPc9w_AU1f1vx3p3s0dINn7nB8BcsZffG5wQQJ6pLLC7ZpN_INWSSYJ82IfWc7_QTJhzkiVjI3Ul1rgliHIDvXrdSk1M06zGLlIJTD/s400/Bills+Bike.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307798388238820114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bill and Linda's house survived but the rest of the<br />property and Bill's moterbike didn't </span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyuy7YbpYwI5RWM055aCyZRRASRp4zqbsZh31f1LIf0oQ9gTAG0U0EcNIvv09h7XSJ9vUvkXTecR6Z-F-JeXDVjKe3p8I1UMI6wOxJV9LW4BB4B6q8IAPUaCFtDx316XcO9h7_l5S1-HE/s1600-h/above+Bills.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyuy7YbpYwI5RWM055aCyZRRASRp4zqbsZh31f1LIf0oQ9gTAG0U0EcNIvv09h7XSJ9vUvkXTecR6Z-F-JeXDVjKe3p8I1UMI6wOxJV9LW4BB4B6q8IAPUaCFtDx316XcO9h7_l5S1-HE/s400/above+Bills.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307797603752820658" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">At the top of Bill and Linda's property. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Former damp forest reduced to sticks and ash. </span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRBtHQu0RlWSLTDGTbmqQjfetAtkVKH3rdDjWJWG6YtVh3nfZYO7sSHze0e9NAlpf19lv8vixPQmS5IT9jyNo1w5J0Srtma99wtF73oc1o0aki_sBNAI0LFB8A-tqH1j7zPpXlnmZjdsVf/s1600-h/Beale+Road.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRBtHQu0RlWSLTDGTbmqQjfetAtkVKH3rdDjWJWG6YtVh3nfZYO7sSHze0e9NAlpf19lv8vixPQmS5IT9jyNo1w5J0Srtma99wtF73oc1o0aki_sBNAI0LFB8A-tqH1j7zPpXlnmZjdsVf/s400/Beale+Road.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307798387418581026" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Heading up Beale Road between Strathewen and Kinglake. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The silence was amazing. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How could this ever regenerate? </span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvm7nV0_skPg76zOT5MMfySQlaj4mV9-iAyMDuRjPmDhop82dIke-Tpqo2ox2cejO8ltV7JkKbUtXG_jsQkrJ02upz03Q8QPKrHCx7i5mQugHmGu0y3aWqOPsOh6c-kdblz3MX79iKWBTE/s1600-h/Mt+Everard+track.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvm7nV0_skPg76zOT5MMfySQlaj4mV9-iAyMDuRjPmDhop82dIke-Tpqo2ox2cejO8ltV7JkKbUtXG_jsQkrJ02upz03Q8QPKrHCx7i5mQugHmGu0y3aWqOPsOh6c-kdblz3MX79iKWBTE/s400/Mt+Everard+track.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307799471271653250" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The track leading to my study sites at Mt Everard</span><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypqLQqwz5-Peq-fjCVL_IEEQuuRWAAQquUV05_50LSFcSuR3dZP_AlhC8EeTHv41e2PTn1mNxRYpeCzfwBKOc6r4nKYy8PCkcavbp6Ae8hy90tiDl98SYOx20O0dNb-8orYHs5WwLaATl/s1600-h/ashbed.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypqLQqwz5-Peq-fjCVL_IEEQuuRWAAQquUV05_50LSFcSuR3dZP_AlhC8EeTHv41e2PTn1mNxRYpeCzfwBKOc6r4nKYy8PCkcavbp6Ae8hy90tiDl98SYOx20O0dNb-8orYHs5WwLaATl/s400/ashbed.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307797611750939458" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ashbed at one of my study sites on Mt. Everard</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaMFri5szpTl6wAgn-vJglPzHI-sq9DTT5fGvXM6O8RV3_bGBgKxVN30w-KIIOiI9FcVBOO874m8V3zUCQTXEc9ucmpqx7RqpL2LAL3GBRlqQgPhskYY-Z1nVhvlbPxogUfOXmqlMr90oV/s1600-h/Wallaby.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 331px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaMFri5szpTl6wAgn-vJglPzHI-sq9DTT5fGvXM6O8RV3_bGBgKxVN30w-KIIOiI9FcVBOO874m8V3zUCQTXEc9ucmpqx7RqpL2LAL3GBRlqQgPhskYY-Z1nVhvlbPxogUfOXmqlMr90oV/s400/Wallaby.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307799951885774962" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Wallaby that didn't make it out of my study site. </span><br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDFrGAzAy9cnhfaznzenNt56u_JlC_9AhMJVszPjMDuEITnHApm1a4KEvtBYAxoQZHFixBbtVZ318ubkxqYXMgdp5Sax673IoQslpBd3fiaifrJfcVMNq6zlssE_OYEPg33f5xAC3-r4uS/s1600-h/Lynlee.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDFrGAzAy9cnhfaznzenNt56u_JlC_9AhMJVszPjMDuEITnHApm1a4KEvtBYAxoQZHFixBbtVZ318ubkxqYXMgdp5Sax673IoQslpBd3fiaifrJfcVMNq6zlssE_OYEPg33f5xAC3-r4uS/s400/Lynlee.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307799469230122338" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lynlee checking to see if a rare conifer had survived the fire. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Some opportunist had come and cut down every </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">plant of the Cypress Pine, presumably because the </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">wood is so valuable. Chances of it regenerating? </span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinVfuWKcM-YTx12VMtY9deeM5aDs44ug3SYN9POHSJKyff7R7ebyGwMoj6YhPIZDtKD_MrdYQZXHTMt68Cmyql3Dg4NLxHRzlfoYOvkK_USYrgRD3SzmuU6EcdD43HyHiiRWBFqqUwm5Xx/s1600-h/Kinglake-Saint+Andrews+road.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinVfuWKcM-YTx12VMtY9deeM5aDs44ug3SYN9POHSJKyff7R7ebyGwMoj6YhPIZDtKD_MrdYQZXHTMt68Cmyql3Dg4NLxHRzlfoYOvkK_USYrgRD3SzmuU6EcdD43HyHiiRWBFqqUwm5Xx/s400/Kinglake-Saint+Andrews+road.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307798990488354754" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Heading down the main road from Kinglake to St. Andrews. </span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Gxc44AZfZu7ImZytqQioEvIYya1gEZyhosdaRsUbfexd0-OLNTa8emjC2RvLh9cka4obon1fGjxZJCkiDK-n7cCt1fRIu5qyko_B6LvoZVw20NSGn-kzDzZw_wfOqyxVbz7G_hpTa862/s1600-h/ninks+road+valley.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Gxc44AZfZu7ImZytqQioEvIYya1gEZyhosdaRsUbfexd0-OLNTa8emjC2RvLh9cka4obon1fGjxZJCkiDK-n7cCt1fRIu5qyko_B6LvoZVw20NSGn-kzDzZw_wfOqyxVbz7G_hpTa862/s400/ninks+road+valley.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307799952012193810" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Overlooking the Ninks Road Valley at St. Andrews. </span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The fires continue three weeks after the main front has passed. 300,00 hectares have been burnt out. Over 2,000 houses have been destroyed. 210 people lost their lives. Dozens are in hospital. 37 are still missing and presumed dead. But there are already signs of renewal. Lyrebirds, Wallabies and Wombats are scratching around the ash looking for food. What could possibly sustain these creatures in such desparate times? A wander through the forest looking at their scratchings showed what they were eating. The smell of their food permeated the air and gave away its presence before it could be seen. Fungi are growing everywhere. Stimulated by the fire, fungi are putting out fruiting bodies. The first fungi observed was a truffle type. It smells strongly of garlic. Wallaby and Lyrebird scratchings showed me where they were. Typical mushrooms were pushing through the still warm ash. Below is a picture of one of them.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuACCd6N2d0Cl3bEHbKpjpjL9VU8_Acn0HgQSMIIWrs0t1efgMXQAKAPiYscITvnwDkLTGrOcZ_zFEy00g5W8PbjUWcQ2zProdL76sAqkANL3WoMcHmq3a-oULyV_1AJIZGB3PEt51mPsr/s1600-h/Mushroom.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuACCd6N2d0Cl3bEHbKpjpjL9VU8_Acn0HgQSMIIWrs0t1efgMXQAKAPiYscITvnwDkLTGrOcZ_zFEy00g5W8PbjUWcQ2zProdL76sAqkANL3WoMcHmq3a-oULyV_1AJIZGB3PEt51mPsr/s400/Mushroom.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307799949332944114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">A fungus, identity unkown. </span><br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">On the Thurday after the fires there was an article in the paper about a young girls' excitement about the 'naked ladies' flowering around her burnt out house in Strathewen. I had to get a photo for myself. It was a sign of hope. Five days after a fire and a plant was blooming? Amaryllis belladonna (Naked Ladies or Belladonna Lily) is stimulated to bloom by fires in it's native South Africa. It retains this habit in it's new home in Australia and in particular in Strathewen.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK23wsXQvEUqDNe0mJDC7nXUmqnP4utQE1BhSJScJqrzFKiq4NLtsJj8pw_AZnjqyfu-tZkHYsjbmFYCWPH-WYsCtKymHST5g-1FipQ6JQUTXLqDkQ6-EJnlquCcnYeFJh9Zejoc0qbTFC/s1600-h/Amaryllis+belladonna.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 271px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK23wsXQvEUqDNe0mJDC7nXUmqnP4utQE1BhSJScJqrzFKiq4NLtsJj8pw_AZnjqyfu-tZkHYsjbmFYCWPH-WYsCtKymHST5g-1FipQ6JQUTXLqDkQ6-EJnlquCcnYeFJh9Zejoc0qbTFC/s400/Amaryllis+belladonna.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307797613235634754" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Amaryllis belladonna two weeks after the fires. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fire truck rushing to attend a nearby outbreak of fire. </span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKo3iVJhqkWtsogfpaDyC-CA_31CAtyGUz_Kf-vl6Y0Qx3js_UNUCbKtoF6NTKbVndlENbyw20BtczFXpgfYcZ_lLT36dEpq-jlRpmlROzJQpJm47pVmN1K5A9gSC8WjAaopb3aDzQclsz/s1600-h/7-12-08+362.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKo3iVJhqkWtsogfpaDyC-CA_31CAtyGUz_Kf-vl6Y0Qx3js_UNUCbKtoF6NTKbVndlENbyw20BtczFXpgfYcZ_lLT36dEpq-jlRpmlROzJQpJm47pVmN1K5A9gSC8WjAaopb3aDzQclsz/s400/7-12-08+362.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307797605386093330" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Grass Tree (<span style="font-style: italic;">Xanthorrhoea australis</span>) resprouting two weeks after fire. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thousands of grasstrees were resprouting, including the </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">related species </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">X. minor</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (Small Grass Tree)</span>.<br /><br /></div>Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-70408077011126273542009-02-07T03:10:00.001-08:002009-02-07T03:17:15.627-08:00Pictures from HadesToday as I mentioned earlier was a day from Hades. Temps to 46.4 in Melbourne and up to 47.8 just outside of Melbourne. Soon after the fires started to take hold. These are pictures taken from my house of the fires around my town. They speak for themselves.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtZiZFiaEtjukNQXRB0Cdnm80S_KiwSdMo5rZ0tDsr2SfKP-T7KrFxHkvenYwdruvk6nrHQBL-jR2hSRs5AgTOvif-NB0iDdaWDMwF5Ik__LUkBi9qnYS2Y5PocfTEF1Inu93dGBucG7g/s1600-h/St+Andrews.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtZiZFiaEtjukNQXRB0Cdnm80S_KiwSdMo5rZ0tDsr2SfKP-T7KrFxHkvenYwdruvk6nrHQBL-jR2hSRs5AgTOvif-NB0iDdaWDMwF5Ik__LUkBi9qnYS2Y5PocfTEF1Inu93dGBucG7g/s400/St+Andrews.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300011796376030770" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Looking toward St Andrews</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj005ed8CUdIsn_aCp-TswEMvqR2M3RUM9xtz_wk4XCtaJQAyyqMBNkMqDOrjPRB3eZGm6j-8Wr4Hvsxthb1aFTwwtBQk6-9JNd-MSLpntYcBd8DK9hXjQ63Q3th1RiAx4ifDf-wKBxGfdC/s1600-h/Dixons+Creek+aglow.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj005ed8CUdIsn_aCp-TswEMvqR2M3RUM9xtz_wk4XCtaJQAyyqMBNkMqDOrjPRB3eZGm6j-8Wr4Hvsxthb1aFTwwtBQk6-9JNd-MSLpntYcBd8DK9hXjQ63Q3th1RiAx4ifDf-wKBxGfdC/s400/Dixons+Creek+aglow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300011795192650850" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Looking toward Dixon's Creek</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOqppZrrpMK_IDQY8ktUcn4Ofxe4grAUk61sRom3JFah7zE4IO8HlwDuco4AtD8k4v_pk_GsBZMdCvuWJR8vHcU3_G8niW7gO3HZnveNkhl_WMPUEVtpLQ8OsehiCu9V94WMvN1bR_AQjg/s1600-h/Dixons+Creek+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOqppZrrpMK_IDQY8ktUcn4Ofxe4grAUk61sRom3JFah7zE4IO8HlwDuco4AtD8k4v_pk_GsBZMdCvuWJR8vHcU3_G8niW7gO3HZnveNkhl_WMPUEVtpLQ8OsehiCu9V94WMvN1bR_AQjg/s400/Dixons+Creek+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300011796314106674" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Another view just north of Dixon's Creek</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCniN-zzD8EcllAty6hljzIuKYSTaqRNCAKZQYJVJrTlkSrd7Q3oG55h-cnvyTPzGKv8ppiElbPL3Pc5yTjZMkUjkAm8ccAjnFJx4ll7pVpQ6ESd5_JyhF0D8T6YIOg-LZpoLyrgWiwHhq/s1600-h/Mount+disappointment+all+aglow.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCniN-zzD8EcllAty6hljzIuKYSTaqRNCAKZQYJVJrTlkSrd7Q3oG55h-cnvyTPzGKv8ppiElbPL3Pc5yTjZMkUjkAm8ccAjnFJx4ll7pVpQ6ESd5_JyhF0D8T6YIOg-LZpoLyrgWiwHhq/s400/Mount+disappointment+all+aglow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300011795719955474" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mount Disappointment at Pheasant Creek</span><br /></div>Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-77921777623536115382009-02-06T17:34:00.000-08:002009-02-07T03:10:23.918-08:00A blog from HadesI am sitting in my basement typing away on my laptop surrounded by my orchids. They got moved inside last night. Thankfully a fan is blasting over me and the plants. I can here you saying that 'Chuckie, you have gone absolutely crazy'. Well in the words of our Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd 'extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures'.<br /><br />You see, at the moment the temperatures outside are just over 43C (110F). Last week we had similar and higher temperatures for three days in a row. Needless to say all sorts of organisms suffered. Animals, including humans, were dying, plants were dying, and dust storms were blanketing everything. Today is even worse as they predict it will get to 44C or higher (112F). with winds of 50-90 Kilometres per hour. Our community fire guard phone tree was activated earlier today and we just got notification that there are two fires 10k northwest of us. The winds are blowing out of the northwest!!!<br /><br />The orchids had a particularly hard time. Not all of them though. Many of the Cymbidiums lived through with little more than losing the odd leaf or two. Some others did not fare as well. Below are some pictures of the worst of the casualties. My friends on the Cymbidium Forum wanted to see the 'devastation' . Well to feed their morbid curiosity, the camera was pulled out and a different kind of picture taken! I hope you enjoy these George! Stop gloating that you have such nice weather in your part of the world.<br /><br />The first picture is of a beautiful little cloud-forest plant called Maxillaria sophronites. It is normally a pretty tough little plant. Interestingly, it didn't scorch in the heat but basically 'cooked' . All of the plant tissues first blanched, like brocolli in a steamer, and then turned these lovely shades of brown. It is heading toward the compost bin. The second photo is the usually magnificant Maxillaria fletcherianum. The plant did have half a dozen fully-leaved pseudobulbs and flower spikes starting to form. It now only has two severely burnt leaves on the very youngest growth. Very sad.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ9UZvXK9zYjmY3XBnYds91QMeGyOrhdB_jq-RKJv9t1XnR37jAyQgOOmUKsxZufc51Q7B4a7wh8k-NyTG2di-QC7iml-NeeT5AHraJpJu3Jh80Jp1OjBQvwk-A4HGPACNdV8tNb2Lsz0D/s1600-h/Maxillaria+sophronites.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ9UZvXK9zYjmY3XBnYds91QMeGyOrhdB_jq-RKJv9t1XnR37jAyQgOOmUKsxZufc51Q7B4a7wh8k-NyTG2di-QC7iml-NeeT5AHraJpJu3Jh80Jp1OjBQvwk-A4HGPACNdV8tNb2Lsz0D/s400/Maxillaria+sophronites.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299864830042709714" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Maxillaria sophronites</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqWbXLECo4lObI1QwDi285a6P3sN9r2_o5blio5gtgI06auhnM0BSkl0Q6lgh6e6fP6rvgqEmmUR9dWxL0uG4ZdzRKZR_9VuvCQvMqjl4KAToRhSSabcH_YrGEu0_D68jM1GG4I4BGJNp/s1600-h/maxillaria+fletcherianum.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 371px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqWbXLECo4lObI1QwDi285a6P3sN9r2_o5blio5gtgI06auhnM0BSkl0Q6lgh6e6fP6rvgqEmmUR9dWxL0uG4ZdzRKZR_9VuvCQvMqjl4KAToRhSSabcH_YrGEu0_D68jM1GG4I4BGJNp/s400/maxillaria+fletcherianum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299864825588278370" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Maxillaria fletcherianum</span><br /></div><br /><br />The worst affected plants were the Masdevallias. These mostly cloud forest plants without much in the way of water reserves, literally curled up their toes. All but two plants in my Masdevallia collection are dead. Maxillaria triangularis, pictured below, gives you some indication of what the rest of my Masdevallias look like. They are now the most expensive compost you can think of.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikGgrLNPghAsd-C__6IlvlnG1fCEvrDjQ9mo1S-K_h3EDlDlTndlot4eRBo6ZgQFgI5WlJ75V-3LOvoD3jLzJd_RsOoNhWhQCf3uhixpAwCAeXTsud_JU_cOQ27D_cW87i7INbroylL8P2/s1600-h/Masdevallia+triangularis.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 369px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikGgrLNPghAsd-C__6IlvlnG1fCEvrDjQ9mo1S-K_h3EDlDlTndlot4eRBo6ZgQFgI5WlJ75V-3LOvoD3jLzJd_RsOoNhWhQCf3uhixpAwCAeXTsud_JU_cOQ27D_cW87i7INbroylL8P2/s400/Masdevallia+triangularis.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299864822277349074" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Masdevallia triangularis</span><br /></div><br />While the majority of the cymbidiums fared pretty well, some did not. Below is a picture of what was a mature plant of Cym. iansonii. Not only did the leaves cook, but the pseudobulbs also steamed to the point of blanching. While some plants had burnt tips, this species cooked from the inside out! The leaves stayed green longer than the pseudobulbs. The leaves on these cooked pseudobulbs shed a few days later and the new growth that at first appeared green rotted from the base upward! The ends of the leaves are green but the bases are completely black.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Bw_pEHcX7LgBhsRFkWm5TDIekqr1xY0vrRe0JtvoJOXOtqxYKYoiZRfjr1kTdsurcTOfM5v6PN4kV3aRtOuMAfzhRl7uAD97gxg5pEO19AwQKuQMVdqiQkVgxUHX2NkW0WOdOf5v9vvL/s1600-h/Cymbidium+iansonii.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Bw_pEHcX7LgBhsRFkWm5TDIekqr1xY0vrRe0JtvoJOXOtqxYKYoiZRfjr1kTdsurcTOfM5v6PN4kV3aRtOuMAfzhRl7uAD97gxg5pEO19AwQKuQMVdqiQkVgxUHX2NkW0WOdOf5v9vvL/s400/Cymbidium+iansonii.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299863616943134754" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium iansonii</span><br /></div><br /><br />A couple of the Cymbidium devonianum hybrids responded in a very peculiar way. Instead of pseudobulbs cooking or leaves getting burnt tips individual cells withing the leaf bleached. Not all of the cells but a scattering of cells. And not on the young growth, only on the older leaves. Very strange. Below is a picture of Cymbidium Devon Odyssey exhibiting the mottled cell bleaching induced by heat.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSuiMSroehJUmPC2NiDvCqyMamlHfAjvt9uOQoLcn0TSO8lpPQEs8mndUE8hJJZwUFHtpijNwrJC6WE84AM0qQIi2mVYhKABKFeGb3qn5CimT7JIWq82e79pOWpK2nZiSRwrEzehpvBwyJ/s1600-h/Cymbidium+Devon+Odyssy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSuiMSroehJUmPC2NiDvCqyMamlHfAjvt9uOQoLcn0TSO8lpPQEs8mndUE8hJJZwUFHtpijNwrJC6WE84AM0qQIi2mVYhKABKFeGb3qn5CimT7JIWq82e79pOWpK2nZiSRwrEzehpvBwyJ/s400/Cymbidium+Devon+Odyssy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299863619321100050" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> Devon Odyssey</span><br /></div><br />The wierdiest of the heat damage is this living but bleached tissue. Not hot enough to kill the cell but enough to blast the chloroplasts.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAZRERlfeZKEvRDS4VBxLcRlvthkOl6ttDoTVdk7YL3VzHTXI5_DxmC791-MfUgcBPHKPJcnC32XCVSYHNvCGd6rXJmJTDDJK9GfAp453NljOsSH7qoYqLu2BCIrcDk1H8rHmrosl1KrDg/s1600-h/Cymbidium+Chiisana.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 290px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAZRERlfeZKEvRDS4VBxLcRlvthkOl6ttDoTVdk7YL3VzHTXI5_DxmC791-MfUgcBPHKPJcnC32XCVSYHNvCGd6rXJmJTDDJK9GfAp453NljOsSH7qoYqLu2BCIrcDk1H8rHmrosl1KrDg/s400/Cymbidium+Chiisana.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299863620049082130" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium</span> Mad Magic</span><br /></div>Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-76292800099599687802009-01-26T02:35:00.001-08:002009-01-26T03:36:56.080-08:00Cymbidium Flying Comet<div style="text-align: justify;">Last September I wrote a blog on Cymbidium Kusuda Shining and Friends. In one of the two blogs on the subject the hybrid between C. Kusuda Shining and C. virescens was discussed and various forms illustrated. This was before my photography lessons. At that point it was pretty much point and click and hope for the best. My photography teacher has brainwashed me into thinking that pointing and clicking is not good enough. Well, in all honesty I would have to agree with her.<br /><br />Just to recap on the story of KS and friends. Andy Easton made the wonderful hybrid Kusuda Shining many years ago. This hybrid has proved to be a great parent to a wide range of colourful and interesting hybrids. Since the writing of that blog the hybrid between KS and virescens has been named by Andy. The formal name is now Cymbidium Flying Comet. A very appropriate name really. Some of the cultivar names we have tentatively put on our seedlings before it was named were 'Stella', 'Cosmo' and 'Super Nova'. We must have all seen the same thing in the offspring. Pictures of the parents of C. Flying Comet appear below. The picture of C. goeringii (virescens) is several years old and was taken with a happy-snap camera.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgBYQCpH77wb86vtNFpYye3wQ3dCqG6Vs5WLWgiouQ0ULPEKx9_rck2n6rstHhaCt04uSbnpFKVg8Ih4Sat79yZsd_eUHFOtN8BYz7rZE7hqGUj2ZkoyCiVEqFZqTKUldbtuPw34CxEoQ/s1600-h/Cym_Kusuda+Shining+-+6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 305px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgBYQCpH77wb86vtNFpYye3wQ3dCqG6Vs5WLWgiouQ0ULPEKx9_rck2n6rstHhaCt04uSbnpFKVg8Ih4Sat79yZsd_eUHFOtN8BYz7rZE7hqGUj2ZkoyCiVEqFZqTKUldbtuPw34CxEoQ/s400/Cym_Kusuda+Shining+-+6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295555178949455378" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Kusuda Shining</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3oAQZgwqL4z0Uo78YEP3XQS1muRrymsKk3JwdPLJk3l-sLT2V2YKMCXdA4Eynib85YiJnxKfcBz-eG4uLSR6e3Np9WYWtTyakhNX1jff23k_50dSYGQ3wBqU5WVOiNkVfZpxOXCJxsll/s1600-h/Cym_goeringii_12.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 347px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3oAQZgwqL4z0Uo78YEP3XQS1muRrymsKk3JwdPLJk3l-sLT2V2YKMCXdA4Eynib85YiJnxKfcBz-eG4uLSR6e3Np9WYWtTyakhNX1jff23k_50dSYGQ3wBqU5WVOiNkVfZpxOXCJxsll/s400/Cym_goeringii_12.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295555172612527362" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium goeringii</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">virescens</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">)</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the runts of the litter my orchid grower friend named 'Randall's Gem' as a bit of a joke. He saw this plant as the ugly little brother to the more grand and colourful siblings. I liked it. Actually, my initial impression was not all that great but I took a picture of it anyway. It was not until the photo was downloaded to my computer and projected onto the monitor that the potential of 'Randall's Gem' became evident to me. I called my friend back and ask if I could buy the plant. He was going to sell it off as an no-name pot plant at a local mall! Thankfully, it was saved from a fate worse than death.<br /><br />I came home and took several pictures of it. None of them all that great.<br /><br />Since taking that original shot, C. Flying Comet 'Randall's Gem' has come into flower for the second time. This is good as I get a chance to redeem myself and take a better picture. Interestingly, the second flowering of the plant is much better than the first. I like to tease my professional grower friend that the reason the second flowering is so much better is that I am a much better grower than he is. We both know this is not true so we can laugh about it.<br /><br />What has changed over the past year is that the plant has matured a bit and has been growing in much cooler conditions. I grow it in a shadehouse completely exposed to the elements, except sun of course. I do not push my plants as much with fertilizer either. They tend not to flower themselves to death like my friends plants and tend to be a bit more graceful.<br /><br />Below in the first picture is C. Flying Comet 'Randall's Gem' on it's first flowering in 2008. The mug shot style is fairly typical of my photographs. One day my photography teacher will knock the police photographer out of me. The second and third photos were taken this morning at about 8:00 am as the sun was shining through the trees. Photograph four was taken at 8:30 pm tonight after the intensity of the sun had dimmed a bit. All four photos are the same plant just taken in different styles, with different camera settings and lighting arrangements. Photograph four is nearly spot on for colour of the flower. It is actually hard to get the colour correct. Green overlaid with pink on the petals and sepals and white with magenta red and yellow on the lip is a real challenge. Too dark and the green bleeds into the pink and makes it browny-red. Too light and the yellow and white of the lip flares and the magenta red turns faded red. Hopefully, I hit some sort of happy medium. <br /><br />To see larger versions of any of the pictures just click on the photo. It will magically appear twice as big before your very eyes! Hope you enjoy them.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30Em2WZg85VqJhV5ia-dYzoHNpCtKnnLK603QCKIV3CE2MSysNHtF3cOTXMpvU6W9fz7HSz9WZ7mz_HHqbWtmAiugQDcprC9Rvf9cAO3v-7Dqaxr0D4SFZm9MiWcjEMiGniQI24DEIMRv/s1600-h/Cym+Flying+Comet+2008.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 385px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30Em2WZg85VqJhV5ia-dYzoHNpCtKnnLK603QCKIV3CE2MSysNHtF3cOTXMpvU6W9fz7HSz9WZ7mz_HHqbWtmAiugQDcprC9Rvf9cAO3v-7Dqaxr0D4SFZm9MiWcjEMiGniQI24DEIMRv/s400/Cym+Flying+Comet+2008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295549633299301794" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Flying Comet 'Randall's Gem'</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">(f stop 11, natural light, in shade)<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-7LyAh3Y3sO-BgWtowpWQHHEWrCqsk0adDELtteAAGHctApV6ZRdoafK3qYQrU7N7N5pKiiB9eKCN1dI6KVg4HeP8oS6KQG07uuzPV-ZL6qyCn6IzrzAFrCZYocIDZoqmE6rD4L8snlQ/s1600-h/Cym+Flying+Comet+backlit+black.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-7LyAh3Y3sO-BgWtowpWQHHEWrCqsk0adDELtteAAGHctApV6ZRdoafK3qYQrU7N7N5pKiiB9eKCN1dI6KVg4HeP8oS6KQG07uuzPV-ZL6qyCn6IzrzAFrCZYocIDZoqmE6rD4L8snlQ/s400/Cym+Flying+Comet+backlit+black.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295549632761026258" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Flying Comet 'Randall's Gem'</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">(f stop 22, backlit, morning sun, black background)<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1v9-avTGSien-BgRSJtD2OO__y6f0q1G4_f8bjn_bHSxon7SPr8RmLXwRMqH1yI33vOtnXwPvGA_cAP1EeZBeY_GVbjz0xGasV25Abxvnq66OSSYRmQcXhCZgmiwnCTiPkDpBW1sMx4lA/s1600-h/Cym+Flying+Comet+backlit+natural.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1v9-avTGSien-BgRSJtD2OO__y6f0q1G4_f8bjn_bHSxon7SPr8RmLXwRMqH1yI33vOtnXwPvGA_cAP1EeZBeY_GVbjz0xGasV25Abxvnq66OSSYRmQcXhCZgmiwnCTiPkDpBW1sMx4lA/s400/Cym+Flying+Comet+backlit+natural.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295549633471715922" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Flying Comet 'Randall's Gem'</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">(f stop 22, backlit, morning sun, forest background)<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJ21jNMSEvREmDxTCqf2_yESwCkk5-pJcHMyjUDAd3XNj1t70YWBnLF6hitkEeK7YhNcBk6XV668L-puVr-eJgXymWlMa3fTt_b-rmLBAdXnerVqmgV9MNKJwBQOpqidyiw1MOGK0cqWM/s1600-h/Cym_Flying+Comet+-+Randalls+Gem.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 389px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJ21jNMSEvREmDxTCqf2_yESwCkk5-pJcHMyjUDAd3XNj1t70YWBnLF6hitkEeK7YhNcBk6XV668L-puVr-eJgXymWlMa3fTt_b-rmLBAdXnerVqmgV9MNKJwBQOpqidyiw1MOGK0cqWM/s400/Cym_Flying+Comet+-+Randalls+Gem.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295551177197944690" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Flying Comet 'Randall's Gem'</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">(f stop 22, front lit, late evening direct sun, black background)<br /></div>Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-40008784882621929922009-01-23T20:26:00.000-08:002009-01-25T13:02:49.115-08:00Cymbidium floribundum or pumilum<div style="text-align: justify;">When you make collections of plants strange things can happen. If you collect a genus of plants, like Cymbidium, there are several tacks that you can take. Many people collect hybrids. Collecting hybrids provides you with a never-ending source of new plants. If you are a follower of plant fashions or if you suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder you can constantly replace the old with new. While this can be satisfying it is also expensive. The newest hybrids are the most expensive. If you try to keep at the cutting edge you eventually find yourself buying unflowered hybrids on speculation. If you guess correctly you could be on a winner. If you get it wrong you just wasted a few years of time, effort and expense. At least you may be able to recoup a bit of money by selling your culls off to an unsuspecting 'amateur' or fashion blinded 'novice'. There are literally thousands and thousands of people who support an extensive industry supplying their needs.<br /><br />Since the rise of environmentalism in the 1960's and 70's there has been a shift away from hybrids to species for the serious collector. The shallowness of fashion was eschewed for the 'connection with the earth' and 'naturalness' implicit in the growing of wild species. Granted, species have always been grown but came close to being completely wiped from collections in the 1950's. The prevailing attitude in the 50's, with vestiges of it persisting until today, is that hybrids are easier to grow and have hybrid vigour. What tosh! Most Cymbidiums are easier to grow than almost any plant. This is attested by the numerous plants sitting on back porches and patios throughout Australia and California. They barely get water, almost never get repotted and inevitably are sunburnt beyond belief but flower happily every year.<br /><br />Species collectors need to get every species of a genus and usually several forms of each. In a genus like Cymbidium collecting all the species, varieties and forms is fairly straight forward. With under 50 species it is a small genus by world standards. A collection of just species and forms of Cymbidium would be modest, at least as far as collections go.<br /><br />A slight variation on the species collection is the conservation collection. While the outcome is similar to the species collection, each plant comes from a known location in the wild. This type of collection is usually reserved for botanic gardens, universities and those truly concerned with the conservation of genetic diversity. Occasionally, a rogue collector uses the excuse of conservation to import cheap wild-collected plants from a developing country. I remember clearly in the early 80's, while studying orchids in the Pacific islands, the depredations of unscrupulous orchid collectors. I was taken to get photographs and herbarium specimens of a species orchid. Unbeknownst to me, an American collector had found out where I was going and the subject of my study. He had paid the local villagers what amounted to a huge salary to collect all of the plants of this species they could find. They simply followed me and my guide into the forest and stripped every plant they could find. Hundreds of them. There was absolutely nothing I could do except put my pack on top of several plants and stand in front of another group until they left, satisfied they had gotten every plant. I felt sick.<br /><br /><br />Believe it or not there is one even more extreme form of collector! This is the type that collects every slight variation there is within a species! This type of collector is not prevalent in the west, at least in Cymbidium. In Asia, particularly in China, single species Cymbidium collecting has a history at least 1,500 years old. Part of the reason for this is that people could only draw on the local species for their collections. To introduce novelty they had to collect all the variations they could from the local populations. In China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan this is the normal style of collection, or at least it was until recently.<br /><br />One of the main plants that has been the focus of attention for single species collections is the plant we know as Cymbidium floribundum, or alternatively and erroneously as C. pumilum. This plant was originally named as C. floribundum in 1833 by Lindley but for some reason this name was not recognised by Rolfe when he described and named Cymbidium pumilum in 1907. This oversight and renaming of an already named species was recognise and corrected as long ago as the 1960's but people still insist on using the name C. pumilum.<br /><br />In Australia there is an incredible diversity of groups of people from various countries, including from China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Thailand. It is within these groups of people that you find the tradition of single species collections. Although this type of collecting has diminished through the availability of other plants, some people maintain the traditions they grew up with.<br /><br />Until fairly recently, most of the forms of Cymbidium floribundum, that were widely available in the west, were fairly non-descript browns with a pale edge or a supposed 'Alba'. This 'Alba' form is actually just a greenish form and not an albino at all. It is betrayed by the red spots on the underside of the column! There are reputedly true albinos of C. floribundum but as Andy Easton says 'there is no proof there is a true albino pumilum'. Buyer beware! Fortunately, a full range of interesting forms of this species are appearing on the market. There is even one commercial grower here that specialises in forms of C. floribundum. He rarely sells his plants and when he does the good quality ones start at Aus. $150.00. Thankfully, he makes a living from selling plants other than C. floribundum.<br /><br />Over the years a dozen or so forms of C. floribundum have crept into my collection. I didn't purposely collect them. To be totally blunt, C. floribundum is not one of my favourite species. The flowers are generally short-lived, indifferent in colour (for most of them), not fragrant and every bug and its brother loves to eat the flowers. What it does have going for it is that it is easy to grow, clumping up into a specimen plant fast. There are 2N and 4N forms and those with pendulous, arching or upright flower spikes. Plants can range in size from 10 to 30cm tall when fully grown. The best thing is that a fully mature plant will live happily and flower profusely in a 6 inch pot.<br /><br />While it would have been nice to include pictures of all the forms that I have, to be honest, most of the flowers look identical or much of a muchness. The main variation in most of these forms not being colour but ploidy level, plant size, disposition of the flower spike and number of flowers on the spike. The three I have chosen are three of my favourites and are the most distinct.<br /><br />The first of these plants is 'Sina'. This plant has particularly dark and narrow petals and sepals with a clearly marked lip. The flower spike is arching and carries upward of 30 well-spaced flowers. This is the first form to bloom in spring. The leaves are also narrower than normal. Overall, the plant is very gracile and delicate to look at. It is actually very tough and a strong grower. This plant was imported from china and is probably a selection of a wild plant. It is a diploid.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHrLEUsDcdGrMreqk66BoiWchYQRr29XY6Ch3Jma8w4AGYdMZoziiJxgtIommlbSkQvwND4ZtKAIIx-kD60yu6fDgk9MSpFWYge9a4Sufn9_R6A6PuRL0RxmaHA7bphvPjCxk2sYkpRQY/s1600-h/Cym_floribundum-Sina.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHrLEUsDcdGrMreqk66BoiWchYQRr29XY6Ch3Jma8w4AGYdMZoziiJxgtIommlbSkQvwND4ZtKAIIx-kD60yu6fDgk9MSpFWYge9a4Sufn9_R6A6PuRL0RxmaHA7bphvPjCxk2sYkpRQY/s400/Cym_floribundum-Sina.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294712537128421778" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium floribundum</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 'Sina'</span><br /></div><br /><br />Cymbidium floribundum 'Pale Face' came to me with Japanese characters on the label. I asked my friend Bin at school to translate for me. It translated to 'The young woman with the pale face'. That number of words would not fit on the label so it got the name 'Pale Face'. It has the most delicate pink spots on the lip that complements the white and contrast in an interesting manner with the green of the petals and sepals. This is a robust grower with nearly upright flower spikes of 25-30 flowers. It is a tetraploid.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVXIy1JKZZIvQlikYs9iePl6df4MtbRwfCIu7vGKDwRSzSus06YtnoKcqO33WucWoFFVF6qoOYnnJL3ny6cGOMSx1zqRu_XheDXvJWAGmRH5yOlJit9C2k1ERvkwDKDqMYjW_0jdMHJW4h/s1600-h/Cym_floribundum-Paleface-closeup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 307px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVXIy1JKZZIvQlikYs9iePl6df4MtbRwfCIu7vGKDwRSzSus06YtnoKcqO33WucWoFFVF6qoOYnnJL3ny6cGOMSx1zqRu_XheDXvJWAGmRH5yOlJit9C2k1ERvkwDKDqMYjW_0jdMHJW4h/s400/Cym_floribundum-Paleface-closeup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294712530821162434" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium floribundum</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 'Pale Face'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUAlMGENV11t4wbN7U0aeVhYMRxnd21BszMx9yRyLwpD1WbTwKL3xUP40Gwk4GZzYdg8hSTQLQA6WHCYckAfkzcLEsUgis5PvNRqZLt9853TVMCfgR6H96rOENgnrQije2_CbN3a298byB/s1600-h/Cym_floribundum-Paleface.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUAlMGENV11t4wbN7U0aeVhYMRxnd21BszMx9yRyLwpD1WbTwKL3xUP40Gwk4GZzYdg8hSTQLQA6WHCYckAfkzcLEsUgis5PvNRqZLt9853TVMCfgR6H96rOENgnrQije2_CbN3a298byB/s400/Cym_floribundum-Paleface.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294712524578011682" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">C</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ymbidium floribundum</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 'Pale Face'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br />The final selection is one of the most expensive plants in my collection. You don't need to know how much was paid for it. If you did know the cost you might tell my partner, who would not be happy! There are much more important things to do with money!!! Well C. floribundum 'Tokiwa' epitomises everything that the Koreans find attractive in C. floribundum. First and foremost, variegated leaves. 'Tokiwa' has very strongly variegated leaves. It is a white variegation, the most highly prized type. The flowers are very special as well. Unlike most C. floribundums, the petals of this species are fairly wide and the flower is more widely spreading than normal. The colour is simply beautiful. You can see for yourself. The flower spikes are strongly upwardly arching and although they have only 15-20 flowers they are much showier than most other forms. 'Tokiwa' is a tetraploid. One further interesting point with this plant is that the flowers last twice as long as every other form that I grow. This is a real winner of plant. Great leaves, great flowers, and all on an easy to grow compact plant. The Koreans got this one absolutely right.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjouDG9znxNHWzXX9U3VtOftVyfIMd_I2Z0B6ZTXyj4NBeZTsdKdWo7CUaVtf6GWbHOn2139YxkYMKy7ZZYS6NZxhlJvfz5mwvX9k7PmJmfXetsIwv5hEpunmpIa-55XrhVQprMPCh_Du95/s1600-h/Cym_floribundum-Tokiwa-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 274px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjouDG9znxNHWzXX9U3VtOftVyfIMd_I2Z0B6ZTXyj4NBeZTsdKdWo7CUaVtf6GWbHOn2139YxkYMKy7ZZYS6NZxhlJvfz5mwvX9k7PmJmfXetsIwv5hEpunmpIa-55XrhVQprMPCh_Du95/s400/Cym_floribundum-Tokiwa-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294712541771856658" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium floribundum</span> 'Tokiwa'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXauxybQgQLfmoIh6BAaWdMkDMJIirWXKycrDtOno3gtnggqRPMEC3G2J5lgMjxETahWrGJIjRr3tEbkw91BVaSMbsxhxp5r__UUnQmqo31F3JMkmd2UIOX0x8AsqCymfCrV_J88Z5p_Z4/s1600-h/Cym_floribundum-Tokiwa+-fullview.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 357px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXauxybQgQLfmoIh6BAaWdMkDMJIirWXKycrDtOno3gtnggqRPMEC3G2J5lgMjxETahWrGJIjRr3tEbkw91BVaSMbsxhxp5r__UUnQmqo31F3JMkmd2UIOX0x8AsqCymfCrV_J88Z5p_Z4/s400/Cym_floribundum-Tokiwa+-fullview.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294712547214778562" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium floribundum</span> 'Tokiwa'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGOntnR47gQc9fSG5a1rUoS-FHgrk-1uHjb5jyqN8wfc_D420S-CP8FKPNuJFv_afLGmwX0nKDjfGm5Y-0ddI_Nw9q2Uh7eNdbe2slyx6iZ_-0CxBWXNh8RgWvI0JRDm7GoVxviPRXRhov/s1600-h/Cym_floribundum-Tokiwa-leaves.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 325px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGOntnR47gQc9fSG5a1rUoS-FHgrk-1uHjb5jyqN8wfc_D420S-CP8FKPNuJFv_afLGmwX0nKDjfGm5Y-0ddI_Nw9q2Uh7eNdbe2slyx6iZ_-0CxBWXNh8RgWvI0JRDm7GoVxviPRXRhov/s400/Cym_floribundum-Tokiwa-leaves.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294746103433456994" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cymbidium floribundum</span> 'Tokiwa'</span><br /></div><br /><br />The final plant is not a Cymidium floribundum at all. It is a hybrid made with C. floribundum as one of its parents. Cymbidium Little Aussie 'Justin'. There is another clone of this hybrid that is even more spectacular called 'Honey'. 'Honey' and 'Justin' may in fact be the same plant, just purchased from different growers, variations of intensity of flower colour can vary depending on growing conditions. The other parent of this hybrid is C. Sussex Dawn. It has inherited all the best features of the species; compact plant, easy grower, prolific spiking with lots of flowers, and interesting colours. This plant, by coincidence, is called Little Aussie. It is really appropriate to put this plant on this post. I am writing this blog on the Australia Day long weekend! My friend bred this plant. You will have to agree that he did a great job! Thanks JC.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfyXNtpQrN-qnk-EHS9gPPv6aQKp6hyU29x6BfD7YzOpjCfmJQBcUsw0xlrG-3aXH8AwSa5l_p0ST8R41RaqlqS_aQomZuqqxQxFSuSGvpyo0eG-S-wS3YE_gVA1gkOLG_4_wMwKViFFF3/s1600-h/Cym_Little+Aussie-Justin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfyXNtpQrN-qnk-EHS9gPPv6aQKp6hyU29x6BfD7YzOpjCfmJQBcUsw0xlrG-3aXH8AwSa5l_p0ST8R41RaqlqS_aQomZuqqxQxFSuSGvpyo0eG-S-wS3YE_gVA1gkOLG_4_wMwKViFFF3/s400/Cym_Little+Aussie-Justin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294712717191129666" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Little Aussie 'Justin' </span><br /></div>Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-87320446276879370682009-01-22T22:13:00.001-08:002010-11-16T21:57:51.888-08:00The Hidden Crown - Cryptostephanus vansonii<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_LlJPKbUUh7wBjDY3DUHIufuK7L9PeCjr2vONUba0psvbMivDGxF0Cv3pClxbjho16IiLGBZXH2HND3xTKx2nWpfTLAbWMs_EqlkbqmeaKgKtRef7l0ZmCAjSo2LE76FWBywXF9vlyRj/s1600/Cryptostephanus+vansonii+fruit.jpg"><br /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">When it comes to growing classy plants there are few that can match up to the genus Clivia. Everything about them is refined. They are of modest size and modest in their growth rate. The leaves are broad, dark-green straps that in the best forms sit neatly in a fan, one stacked on top of the next, in the form of an open book. The flowers arise from the centre of the plant on a long stalk forming a head of up to 25 or so flowers that nestles just at leaf height or slightly above it. The flowers are not subtle, being bright orange, yellow, red or a combination of these and varying in intensity. The flowers, however, are very regular in shape, at least in the most popular Clivia miniata. The plant in flower looks like an artificial plant. The genus even has royal connections, being named after Lady Charlotte Florentia Clive the duchess of Northumberland. The name of the genus is therefore pronounced Clive-e-a, recognizing the name of the person the plant is named after, not Cliv-e-a!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">My first experience of Clivia was at Longwood Gardens just outside of Philadelphia. This huge display garden was set up by Pierre S. DuPont and is carried on today by a committee of management. Longwood is one of the worlds premier gardens. A major feature at Longwood is the the huge set of conservatories. These are large enough to support trees and lawns and expansive beds of ever-changing displays of stunning plants. Each season there is a different set of plants to brighten up the conservatories. In one of the conservatories there is a huge water display, including fountains set amongst landscaped gardens. At one end of this conservatory is a large terrace on which to sit and admire the scenery. On either side of the entrance door there are two huge earthenware pots imported from China and tastefully decorated with patterns. In each of these pots is a creamy-yellow form of Clivia miniata. I might add that the pots are about one metre across and the leaves of the plant arch out over the edge of the pots by about 1/2 metre. These are seriously impressive plants, attractive even when not in flower. When in flower they are breathtaking. The individual cultivar grown at Longwood Gardens is one of the most sought after cultivars of Clivia miniata. A division of this plant sold for US$2200 at the Longwood Gardens Rare Plant Auction held by the Professional Gardener Alumni Association in 2000.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijqAxt-ugped-jdxcPCnYlGTnRQ22i81BCt-b_7lAJYu5JBXP-PjTiHLGJeed5210liib31NQHBgmvz98Ie8cRm3sh58Om6jODzeTo8C1oliaCv9bDPq64J5bRR09KjP5ogplaMRHqjOVa/s1600-h/First+Week+of+Holiday+048.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijqAxt-ugped-jdxcPCnYlGTnRQ22i81BCt-b_7lAJYu5JBXP-PjTiHLGJeed5210liib31NQHBgmvz98Ie8cRm3sh58Om6jODzeTo8C1oliaCv9bDPq64J5bRR09KjP5ogplaMRHqjOVa/s400/First+Week+of+Holiday+048.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294412325589690754" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">East Conservatory November 2007</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The white pyramid at the far end is a trained Chrysanthemum<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZSbLMh0yXKGB-8UJMEUZ2YUrGEe_oWHLFg856A9ZpiYYr5grZnWeOyDJhmZBQ_37naJLG0TAT_cnioqc5rFi5kfnGQXTHLUaiUn4gkyJeLfySiCnWJ8_oR1YXg-ejNkjzOjN-G5iUGGJ7/s1600-h/028.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZSbLMh0yXKGB-8UJMEUZ2YUrGEe_oWHLFg856A9ZpiYYr5grZnWeOyDJhmZBQ_37naJLG0TAT_cnioqc5rFi5kfnGQXTHLUaiUn4gkyJeLfySiCnWJ8_oR1YXg-ejNkjzOjN-G5iUGGJ7/s400/028.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294412316468779762" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">East Conservatory February 2007</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsw6AZEcG6b-U7-ZY-PFlJGzultWrq5Wa1vJIRnt9qPUBaY91x0pzGFmhXL3PqwhGpADrhsDYcBWBNPhIPvUbN3_S-tcqoiTLegn3PCljSOzQM47MaeDauW4rdYQtl0K3nx7OeICnm5bxd/s1600-h/First+Week+of+Holiday+039.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsw6AZEcG6b-U7-ZY-PFlJGzultWrq5Wa1vJIRnt9qPUBaY91x0pzGFmhXL3PqwhGpADrhsDYcBWBNPhIPvUbN3_S-tcqoiTLegn3PCljSOzQM47MaeDauW4rdYQtl0K3nx7OeICnm5bxd/s400/First+Week+of+Holiday+039.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294412320755895426" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">West Conservatory November 2007</span><br />Amazingly trained Chrysanthemums<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGhnR3NC3l0tejdyL2uD2Na09JYG0ODcVzLp1KhlUf32iwK7VGhlefMV5j4Tp9fUWNABVb765ziemHy5QRhc2RtToiOZeGPM8ctXUk90jroDE2eM9mytqopbZ-W3Tm9a_Tkp_2P_W_gN7/s1600-h/First+Week+of+Holiday+031.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGhnR3NC3l0tejdyL2uD2Na09JYG0ODcVzLp1KhlUf32iwK7VGhlefMV5j4Tp9fUWNABVb765ziemHy5QRhc2RtToiOZeGPM8ctXUk90jroDE2eM9mytqopbZ-W3Tm9a_Tkp_2P_W_gN7/s400/First+Week+of+Holiday+031.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294412322954324914" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">West Conservatory and Fern Floor (in distance) November 2007</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">My cousin Haydon is in middle of path. The yellow, white and orange flowers are Chrysanthemums!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It was not until several years ago that I actually aquired several plants of Clivia. About 10 years or so ago, Clivia started to flood onto the market here in Melbourne. They became the new fashion in gardens. They became so common that you could buy them in nearly every outlet that sold plants, including supermarkets! Shortly after the first flush of poor quality Clivias hit the market, better forms started coming from more reputable growers. Cultivars such as 'Twins', 'Monk', 'Painted Face and others had wider, shorter and neater leaves and larger, well-shaped orange flowers. Some clever dick predicted the trend for novelty and flooded the market with seedling grown yellow cultivars. These commanded seriously high prices and still do. A seedling with 6 leaves and about 30cm high cost approximately $40. Most of these were several years off flowering. I wonder how many of them actually lived to flower? Yes, I bought one.<br /><br />My other purchases were several cultivars imported from Japan by a specialist. These were bought as seed for $10 each! Thankfully, Clivia seed is very easy to raise as long as you have the patience. These Japanese Clivias are now 10 years old and have yet to flower. One lives in hope. I might add here that the Japanese and Taiwanese grow Clivia primarily for their leaves and not their flowers. This may explain why I have such beautiful plants and no flowers.<br /><br />My friend Rob, who is a mad Clivia grower, belongs to a Clivia club. Yes, there are clubs devoted just to growing Clivia. These people are even more seriously weird than that orchid people. They see differences where most people don't. They also have bizarre interpretations of what various colours are. I have yet to see a white or pink Clivia that is not truly yellow or orange. Oh well, maybe if their hope is strong enough they will actually believe their plants are white and pink!<br /><br />About 8 years ago, Rob went on a trip to New South Wales to do the rounds of his Clivia friends. He always drives so that he can bring back a carload of plants. I told him before he left if he found any dwarf cultivars could he pick me up a seedling or so. Two weeks later one seedling appeared. Woo Hoo! My Clivia collection was up to 6 plants. Being a collection of only six plants means that they get more attention than the collections that have more numerous members. This little seedling was put in a 6-inch pot, watered and fed. I didn't expect flowers for many years.<br /><br />The following spring I noticed two side growths coming off this very small plant and a flower spike forming in the centre of the plant. It was great! Not only had Rob found me a dwarf plant he found a micro-mini! Seriously, this plant was only 8 inches tall with 6 leaves on the main growth. I moved it to the greenhouse bench to keep it away from slugs and rabbits. This plant was going to bloom come hell or high water. Well, it did bloom but it wasn't a Clivia. The flowers were small and whitish pink. I called Rob asking if he knew what it was. He then called his friend, but as his friend was suffering from dementia he didn't remember Rob and couldn't remember that he actually grew Clivias. No luck there. Well, at least it was in the family Amaryllidaceae. That was a good start.<br /><br />After a few unsuccessful tries I had luck. It was a Cryptostephanus. Great. Only three species in Cryptostephanus, thank goodness. Corona 6 segments, nope. Corona 12 segments, yep. Flowers darkly pigmented, purple to black, nope. Flowers pale, white to pastel pink, yep, C. vansonii!!!!! Easy. The species was only described in 1943. It is a narrow endemic that occurs in the Bvumba and southern Chimanimani Mountains of Zimbabwe. It grows as a lithophyte or a forest floor plants. The roots are very thick and covered with velamen (a spongy covering that holds water). The roots don't really penetrate into the soil but creep laterally through the leaf litter and mosses of its preferred habitat.<br /><br />The Cryptostephanus species range in colour from white through pinks and purples to black-purples. It was originally thought that Cryptostephanus would breed with Clivia. The hybridizers hoped to introduce new colours into Clivia especially purples, pinks and whites. Well, it didn't work. They may be closely related according to the taxonomists and they even look it to the average Joe but obviously the plants can tell the difference. Until now there have been no successful hybrids. Avoiding the hand of the hybridist is not a bad thing. Maybe this is the way that Cryptostephanus thumbs its nose at we mere mortals!<br /><br />One nice thing about this plant is that it has avoided recognition in the horticultural press and nearly every botanical work. This is surprising because it has very beautiful flowers followed by dense clusters of orange-red berries that hang on the plant until it flowers the following year. Flowering last for months, much longer than Clivia. I feel privileged that through a mistake this plant found its way into my collection. The original collector has gotten several crops of seeds from the plant he accidentally gave away. So has Rob. I saved several last year and sowed them around the parent plant. It took them 10 months but there are three baby Cryptostephanus coming up in the pot.<br /><br />The picture below is what this plant looked like when it flowered this spring. Did I mention they are slightly fragrant? The whole plant is only about 30cm high and grows happily in a 8 inch pot. I can grow 6 of them in the space one Clivia takes up. As they say in California 'this is a keeper'.<br /><br />BTW, the name Cryptostephanus means Hidden Crown, literally Crypto - hidden and Stepanus - Crown. The names Stephen, Steve, Stefan and Stephanie all come from the same derivation. The name refers to the small corona (petal appendages) at the summit of the tube of the flower. You can see them as little yellow or dark pink 'teeth' at the point where the petals form a tube in the flowers below.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NOq0VOFsEFeGZo6iQ109xv8O11qtHj-PBUm7jz0oro2fVPoX0OR1fUd_2wxbXI1vSpsvnXrP6yw6Hj8Fx_kuqbN3VNSebkh3074qYK68Aq_6xGMC1cWqTz_uXtn6Jb36Ccpi1mI8flIk/s1600-h/Cryptostephaunus+vansonii+-+portrait+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 308px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NOq0VOFsEFeGZo6iQ109xv8O11qtHj-PBUm7jz0oro2fVPoX0OR1fUd_2wxbXI1vSpsvnXrP6yw6Hj8Fx_kuqbN3VNSebkh3074qYK68Aq_6xGMC1cWqTz_uXtn6Jb36Ccpi1mI8flIk/s400/Cryptostephaunus+vansonii+-+portrait+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294368662875326930" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Cryptostephanus vansonii</span><br />Flowering October 2008<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_LlJPKbUUh7wBjDY3DUHIufuK7L9PeCjr2vONUba0psvbMivDGxF0Cv3pClxbjho16IiLGBZXH2HND3xTKx2nWpfTLAbWMs_EqlkbqmeaKgKtRef7l0ZmCAjSo2LE76FWBywXF9vlyRj/s1600/Cryptostephanus+vansonii+fruit.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_LlJPKbUUh7wBjDY3DUHIufuK7L9PeCjr2vONUba0psvbMivDGxF0Cv3pClxbjho16IiLGBZXH2HND3xTKx2nWpfTLAbWMs_EqlkbqmeaKgKtRef7l0ZmCAjSo2LE76FWBywXF9vlyRj/s400/Cryptostephanus+vansonii+fruit.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540393079912400882" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Cryptostephanus vansonii</span><br />September 2009<br />(Same inflorescence as above)<br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-88198318463830298052009-01-18T02:39:00.001-08:002009-01-23T04:03:34.978-08:00Cymbidium Maureen Carter<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The internet is a wonderful thing. It has allowed me to communicate with people all over the world that share my interests. Mostly, this communication has been with plant people. Over the past couple of years I have been involved with a forum that deals exclusively with the plant genus Cymbidium. Believe it or not there of several of these forums but the one that I belong to is the one for advanced growers and breeders of these wonderful plants. I used to belong to the general forum for cymbidiums. Can you actually have a general forum for a specific topic? Well, you can. In the general forum there were a lot of people who were just getting into growing and would ask questions that most of us in our 'advanced' forum dealt with 25 or 30 years ago. It can get a bit tedious in a general forum when you really want to get into some seriously challenging discussion.<br /><br />Over the period of involvement in the Cymbidium forumI have developed some serious pen friends. It is amazing how much you can get to know about certain aspects of people by communicating with them nearly daily, even if it is on the net. We even get to the point of teasing each other about our tastes in plants. Last week one of the guys on the net, (I have actually known this guy for nearly 30 years) mentioned that a plant was very 'Chuckish'. He was referring to my taste in reference to the general form of a Cymbidium flower that was inferred from my various postings on the forum. A couple of days later one of the other members posted a picture of a plant that he labelled 'Ultra Chuckish'. I had been turned into an adjective!!!<br /><br />The summary of my taste in plants created a good laugh for me. Here I am going along thinking that there is some sort of protection and anonymity on the net. Well after two years of posting they know everything! The good thing about this 'knowledge' is that people actually alert you to certain plants that you may like, based on what they think you will like, gleaned from your postings. Interestingly, nearly 100% of the time they are absolutely correct.<br /><br />My friend, who lives near me and who drops into the forum as a guest once-in-awhile, gave me some plants several years ago that fit the category of 'Ultra Chuckish'. One of the characteristics of Chuckish is spidery flowers. These types of flowers are not much appreciated in the western countries but are greatly appreciated in Asia. Another characteristic, again shared between myself and the Asian growers, is fragrance. Large, boofy perfectly rounded flowers with no fragrance are not for me. I like my orchids to look like orchids, not artificial, highly bred, showbench plants. The plants I grow will probably never end up with an award. To me though, they are stunning. This is why I grow the plants, for my pleasure, not awards.<br /><br />Back to the plant my friend gave me. It is called Cymbidium Maureen Carter. It is a beautiful creamy white albino, with spidery flowers produced on bolt upright spikes. The plant is very free flowering and is a really strong grower. I loved it before I knew its history. Oh, it is also fragrant. This is where the net comes in. The plant was bred by my friend Andy Easton, who also bred the wonderful Cymbidium Kusuda Shining (the subject of an earlier post). Andy is one of the mainstays of the forum and has been a greater or lesser part of my life for longer than I would like to admit. Cymbidium Maureen Carter is named after my friend Cliffs Aunt. Cliff is also a mainstay of the forum. How do these men know each other? Well they both used to live in New Zealand and they were friends there. They are back together again on the forum even though Andy lives in the USA and Cliff in Australia.<br /><br />So how did this plant come about and why when I look at other peoples plants of Maureen Carter do they look so different? The original plant was made with an albino Cymbidium sinense and Sleeping Beauty, itself an albino. So the plants would all come out albino and should be pretty consistant? Well it all depends on the type of albino you use. There are white, green and yellow albino forms of C. sinense. There are also diploid and tetraploids of most of them. Sleeping Beauty also comes in diploid and tetraploid forms and although generally pure white there are forms with pale yellow on the labellum (they are still albino though).<br /><br />One of the difficulties with registration of orchids is that only the original grex name applies for registration purposes. There is no way to know what form of a plant has been used. For all we know C. Maureen Carter could be made with a dark brown form of C. sinense and a white and yellow albino of Sleeping Beauty. Thankfully, we do know what the original plant was bred from. The sinense used was a white albino and the Sleeping Beauty was also a pure white albino. As is the case in any breeding you can get slight throwbacks and a bit of yellow does show up in the newly opened flowers of C. Maureen Carter. Interestingly, both of the parents were diploid which means that the offspring were also diploid and fertile.<br /><br />As is the case when something wonderful is created, someone else wants to have it. If they can't get hold of the original plant they remake the hybrid. This is where the skill and knowledge of the breeder comes to the fore. When this hybrid was remade, and it was remade several times, various yellow and green albino C. sinense were used and only the diploid forms. The tetraploids forms of sinense are very rare and exceedingly expensive, those who have them don't let just anyone have them. Unfortunately, the tetraploid forms of sleeping beauty were used in the remake. The result was a mishmash of yellows and greens with indifferent shape and poor coloration. Another real bummer was that all of the seedlings of these diploid X tetraploid crosses were triploid and sterile. Dead ends for breeding!<br /><br />If you do a google search, for Cymbidium Maureen Carter you will see some of the products of these low quality crossings. Only one picture will come up that is close to the original and that is on the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate website. This last plant is closest to the original that was used by Cliff when he registered the cross. Cliff used C. Maureen Carter 'His and Hers' for registration of the cross. The SBOE plant looks as though it is probably from the original cross. A proper assay would have to be carried out to see if it is a diploid, triploid or tetraploid and therefor capable of breeding. There are a couple of yellowish-green Maureen Carters with the cultivar names 'Dafon' and 'Orchis'. There is even a lurid yellow cultivar called 'Fragrant Princess'. This last one has none of the charm of the original cross and also has a story that goes with it that does not bear repeating in polite company.<br /><br />The photos are not of the best quality and my photography teacher has given me a 'Could do better' on my report card. Oh well, they were taken before I was getting lessons. I promise never to use a brown sheet as a backdrop for a white/cream flower ever again. and I will improve the light! I must thank Andy and Cliff and my friends on the forum for encouraging me to keep writing these stories. Undoubtedly, they will correct any of my factual errors before you read this post!<br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDA40TK8u8iOO6QD8h6qp3Z47uqQlOlcmIit91m7OzyvLQCLDEq39RT7EsuOjHV4_vBX6jljafKbKPfhL9f1iRAvSUiGkrFzcVdpMP8V3BhcsUrgQrGFcDYpJ_SEuH7sIKjFb4dxPf1IK2/s1600-h/Cym+Maureen+Carter+closeup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDA40TK8u8iOO6QD8h6qp3Z47uqQlOlcmIit91m7OzyvLQCLDEq39RT7EsuOjHV4_vBX6jljafKbKPfhL9f1iRAvSUiGkrFzcVdpMP8V3BhcsUrgQrGFcDYpJ_SEuH7sIKjFb4dxPf1IK2/s400/Cym+Maureen+Carter+closeup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294458200976969810" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Maureen Carter 'Chichester'</span><br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv6z9GgEgOw5PAW_X7LfmLHPdjLHibQ3eZU8xEZC_JyosRpeoC2UymgBhLs9F21F97yZ9H3WC04zpHUB4CQutobUzXBrHwOTtvjnBbTkAn9wspwWUOpBjabmml8PtMPU26W85Ga2SaY3dD/s1600-h/Cym+Maureen+Carter+full+plant.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 285px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv6z9GgEgOw5PAW_X7LfmLHPdjLHibQ3eZU8xEZC_JyosRpeoC2UymgBhLs9F21F97yZ9H3WC04zpHUB4CQutobUzXBrHwOTtvjnBbTkAn9wspwWUOpBjabmml8PtMPU26W85Ga2SaY3dD/s400/Cym+Maureen+Carter+full+plant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292581793369688610" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cymbidium Maureen Carter 'Chichester' </span><br /></div>Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573427713084374867.post-10373561986035577372009-01-16T01:45:00.000-08:002009-01-16T03:33:20.408-08:00Pretty Pelargoniums<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ZrHe1Ralot80TSyPInpr39fIFlPSKBTvzM5Lh4j5wDiSyHdyG3pegYlHYQfwTAujbiSLkbWyLwkwJL7GLLY4nSXY_AJKbVYViP52l3QKJt25RaCOC7kg9lf1-as84nobGoYc_fVURTRX/s1600-h/Pelargonium+ardens.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 399px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ZrHe1Ralot80TSyPInpr39fIFlPSKBTvzM5Lh4j5wDiSyHdyG3pegYlHYQfwTAujbiSLkbWyLwkwJL7GLLY4nSXY_AJKbVYViP52l3QKJt25RaCOC7kg9lf1-as84nobGoYc_fVURTRX/s400/Pelargonium+ardens.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291853076426092434" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Pelargonium</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> X ardens</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the real pleasures of lining in a Mediterranean-type climate is the ability to grow a huge range of plants from some of the most botanically rich regions of the world. This type of climate occurs in the Mediterranean (of course), parts of South Africa, Southern Australia and most of California. Temperature variations are much less pronounced in these climates than in the cool temperate and continental climates. The summers may be hot but it rarely truly freezes in the winter, so no need for long-johns here! Winter days, at least in my area, rarely drop below 12-15C even though night temps may drop down close to 0C. The differential between day and night temperatures in both winter and summer can actually be relatively large, 10-15C differentials not being uncommon with occasional larger gaps. Rainfall is relatively modest (620mm per year at my home) with a uneven distribution over the year, heavier and winter/early spring and very little in summer/early autumn.<br /><br />The climate of my adopted home could not be farther from the northern temperate zone in which I grew up. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA or 'Philly' has summers that are hot and steamy, more like the tropics but maybe a bit warmer. Summer nights, while slightly cooler than the days are still hot and steamy. Winters are cold with frozen ground and snow. The only way I could grow most of the Mediterranean-type plants was to put them outside in summer and in the basement, heated frames or greenhouse during the winter. For the majority of these plants this was a totally unsuitable arrangement. Being predominantly winter-growing plants, the hot, wet summers rotted most of them off when they were trying to rest. winter wasn't much better, either being cooped up in a dark, dank nearly sunless spot or in an enclosed, humid environment with not much more light than the basement in temperatures more like the tropics. where were the cool, damp winters and hot dry summers?<br /><br />One plant genus we did successfully grow in Philadelphia was Pelargonium. The common species cultivated were mostly species in the section Ciconium, the normal Garden and Ivy-leaved Geraniums and the section Pelargonium, the Scented Geraniums and Regal Pelargoniums (in the USA they call Regal Pelargoniums, Martha Washington Geraniums). These are just two small sections in a huge genus of plants that contains hundreds of species ranging from those a few centimetres tall to large imposing shrubs to 2m tall. Some are geophytes, producing large underground tubers, others thich woody or succulent stems. While most produce 'normal' leaves, others have leaves so finely divided that all that is left of the leaf surface are the veins while others have lost their leaves altogether.<br /><br />Plant fragrance is a notable characteristic in Pelargonium. The leaves of many have strong fragrances reminiscent of Apples, Oranges, Limes, Lemons, Coconuts, Mints, Roses, Anise, Celery, Camphor or Balm. Some combine the above scents, like lemon-rose, Camphor-rose and mint-rose. While many are pleasantly fragrant, several smell like insecticide or burning hair or plastic. The flowers, while generally not fragrant, occasionally surprise the flower by emitting powerful fragrances. One species in particular, Pelargonium gibbosum, the Gouty Pelargonium (so named because of the lumpy 'swollen joints' of the stem) has the most remarkable fragrance of them all. The flowers lack the showy colours of many of its relatives, being mainly green, sometimes with indistinct brown or reddish dots at the base of the petals. The drabness of the flowers is made up for just before dusk during the flowering season (late spring through autumn). You may not even realise the plant is in flower until you get home late from work one night and smell bananas. That's right, bananas! Remember those banana marshmallow candies in the 1960's and 70's? Dense marshmallow, artificially flavoured banana and molded into the shape of little bananas about 3 inches long. the flowers of Gouty Pelargonium have the exact frangrance of these retro-candies and extremely strong to boot! The flowers of this fascinating plants are pictured below.<br /><br />By far what attracts most people to these beautiful plants are the colours of the flowers. the range is truly amazing. While mauves, pinks and whites are the predominant colours, greens, yellows, browns, oranges, reds and vivid purples are also in the colour palate. The only colour that does not exist in Pelargonium is a true blue. You need to go to the related genera Erodium and Geranium for true blue. Interestingly, most Pelargoniums have flowers that combine a range of colours in the same flower. It is not unusual to get red, yellow and white in one flower, or white pink and red, or oange and pink, or green and red, the list goes on.<br /><br />One of the most interesting things about Pelargoniums and the Geraniaceae in general, is the way that they are pollinated. A few are bird pollinated, like Pelargonium fulgidum. but this is rare and pretty much limited to the red-flowered species. A hybrid of P. fulgidum (P. Scarlet Unique) exhibits the qualities of a bird-pollinated Pelargonium. The brilliant red flower with a wide open gap in the the middle of the flower. This bright green gap screams out to the bird 'put your beak here!'. A few of the species are moth pollinated, having white or green flowers and emitting their fragrance at night (P. Gobbosum). Most of the Geranium family are, however, pollinated by bees or flower wasps. The bee/wasp pollinated species for the most part are not fragrant but do provide a nectar reward to the insect. Nothing spectacular there you say? Well, Pelargoniums, Geraniums, Sarcocaulon and Erodium leave nothing to chance when ensuring that the insects know exactly where the nectar reward is and how to enter the flower to get it.<br /><br />The highly successful Geraniaceae, employ what are called nectar guides. You can clearly see them in most of the pictures below. These nectar quides appear as solid or spotted lines generally on the upper petals of Pelargonium but commonly on all the petals in the genera with regular flowers, Geranium, Sarcocaulon and Erodium. By the way, one of the ways to distinguish Pelargonium ffrom these other genera is by the construction of the flowers - they are zygomorphic. Zygomorphic simply means that the flowers can only be cut in half one way to get two even halves. In Pelargonium this is usually vertically through the centre of the flower. There are five petals in the flower, two produced north of the flowers equator, three below. While the nectar guides are clearly visible to the human eye what must they look like to a colour-blind bee? Thankfully, this has been studied and here are some wonderful infra-red pictures of Geraniaceae on the 'net. These pictures clearly show how stunningly distinct these nectar guides are to a bee!<br /><br />The orchid flowers around the house are a bit sparse on the ground at the moment so I thought I would turn to the Pelargoniums for a bit of camera fun. Instead of taking pictures of full plants, it was more fun for me to take close-ups of the flowers. The colours are wonderul and provide a real challenge to the photographer to capture them accurately. What is not immediately evident is that even in the plants that do not appear to have nectar guides, like Pelargonium 'The Boar', have veins a different colur to the base colour of the flower which under infrared light stand out as strongly as the nectar guides that are obvious to our eyes.<br /><br />The majority of Pelargonium species come from Africa, with the greatest concentration in southern Africa. A couple occur in the Mediterranean and a dozen or so are from Australia. Africa and Australia share many Families, Genera and species of plants. From a biogeography point of view this is fascinating and maybe should be the subject of a post? Below is just a small selection of Pelargoniums that are flowering in my garden. These photos were taken on the 11th of January (our mid-summer).<br /><br /><br /></div><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgioIZsyIfOwtCQVuDDEF5csc5TAF_OJR9Nhn3CMc0BW20zwfGNy_EWwlcY1vbD688RWz4vKUaDxDnsOJ7qlrW8PWw0vIE6GpNo6g6IhUpZUrrNqh2SVYclWll1iryqEXH-OYcTNUwVgXpo/s1600-h/Pelargonoum+tetragonum.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 323px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgioIZsyIfOwtCQVuDDEF5csc5TAF_OJR9Nhn3CMc0BW20zwfGNy_EWwlcY1vbD688RWz4vKUaDxDnsOJ7qlrW8PWw0vIE6GpNo6g6IhUpZUrrNqh2SVYclWll1iryqEXH-OYcTNUwVgXpo/s400/Pelargonoum+tetragonum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291829359843271490" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Pelargonium tetragonum</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3mtOiM9osGzL8ZN3FQD-WxuS8_GIZ4eWX70aGBy5C1RlWdpPBD0QcEjrtimzO8AQenKZPCjyz209CFiaMy_iUfdu7GZ4-8VwhSZ5AYLmype8vrVuwP6rtuBZKvfBhR9YW94BOj4bEIxZE/s1600-h/Pelargonium+viscossissimum.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 380px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3mtOiM9osGzL8ZN3FQD-WxuS8_GIZ4eWX70aGBy5C1RlWdpPBD0QcEjrtimzO8AQenKZPCjyz209CFiaMy_iUfdu7GZ4-8VwhSZ5AYLmype8vrVuwP6rtuBZKvfBhR9YW94BOj4bEIxZE/s400/Pelargonium+viscossissimum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291826892368389186" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Pelargonium viscossissimum</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnk5u5wfXunbdvR0ULIVfGcVGlQaeb2CIMmpcL6DE9HS7o4jYHYAN5YenLS7tyVgpcjpW2kh53Sy-cmjs18Hax0E-Apxc0H5NvNJkfPkiPJe4x4NnPHiZi9e1jFRb05GZTb5xFmp-S2iH0/s1600-h/Pelargonium+The+Boar.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 375px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnk5u5wfXunbdvR0ULIVfGcVGlQaeb2CIMmpcL6DE9HS7o4jYHYAN5YenLS7tyVgpcjpW2kh53Sy-cmjs18Hax0E-Apxc0H5NvNJkfPkiPJe4x4NnPHiZi9e1jFRb05GZTb5xFmp-S2iH0/s400/Pelargonium+The+Boar.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291826363011134722" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Pelargonium</span> 'The Boar'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsEIEDvCeXMGb18JT03zF0mGLt0V6Cq70hxlScX4uDbAclJ5AythJuotVB1x1fHB_2oGpuH8ouZngrrlWlbTuhrVnRnH17N-98ewa5UNVKPTzxE13ezJIPoIvqlAk5GbioDnYggISEqCG5/s1600-h/Pelargonium+Splendide.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 398px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsEIEDvCeXMGb18JT03zF0mGLt0V6Cq70hxlScX4uDbAclJ5AythJuotVB1x1fHB_2oGpuH8ouZngrrlWlbTuhrVnRnH17N-98ewa5UNVKPTzxE13ezJIPoIvqlAk5GbioDnYggISEqCG5/s400/Pelargonium+Splendide.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291826360604066370" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Pelargonium</span> 'Splendide'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rnc5CBtcHZ97R09RHWKA4VyCv9Ye3IaQgEMhDNjape2qXq7eSaxAhgTMA3xkm8I_KuMt3psnpzBYJL8R0mjhk-_e_4SDIIVBX9ASuBxKgDj5H0OqCPQ2rIAzu8r6O0KxrsdWhLebqMug/s1600-h/Pelargonium+Scarlet+Unique.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 309px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rnc5CBtcHZ97R09RHWKA4VyCv9Ye3IaQgEMhDNjape2qXq7eSaxAhgTMA3xkm8I_KuMt3psnpzBYJL8R0mjhk-_e_4SDIIVBX9ASuBxKgDj5H0OqCPQ2rIAzu8r6O0KxrsdWhLebqMug/s400/Pelargonium+Scarlet+Unique.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291826354453615554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Pelargonium</span> 'Scarlet Unique'</span><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3SYuqJSgN7PC7bBcMMgxHj884i9OBkN7l9x8EmujpVMCOJk-IoHwPfWy6LEb1UEnrijDBmv-XQ0GYa8EER4xMQABJG7b5t6OyxfTqec9t7qscFtuJDluVRTEXL2D0VHmKhEEARV1unnyE/s1600-h/Pelargonium+rodneyanum.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 375px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3SYuqJSgN7PC7bBcMMgxHj884i9OBkN7l9x8EmujpVMCOJk-IoHwPfWy6LEb1UEnrijDBmv-XQ0GYa8EER4xMQABJG7b5t6OyxfTqec9t7qscFtuJDluVRTEXL2D0VHmKhEEARV1unnyE/s400/Pelargonium+rodneyanum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291826356565367666" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Pelargonium rodneyanum</span> </span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(Australian Native)</span> </div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghvav4X_Q39cVgRg6JvMLVnvhIr204oZZC_Bgw6N9MHok9NAvJR38lyQMR9aXTNt_x9HiUO1RdCy-X-F5JstMCH7JT3P86w8smwDChr6YtNpQsFi31UQf8hxhnqDku1NemDgKMcAhBLXAN/s1600-h/Pelargonium+quercifolium.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 323px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghvav4X_Q39cVgRg6JvMLVnvhIr204oZZC_Bgw6N9MHok9NAvJR38lyQMR9aXTNt_x9HiUO1RdCy-X-F5JstMCH7JT3P86w8smwDChr6YtNpQsFi31UQf8hxhnqDku1NemDgKMcAhBLXAN/s400/Pelargonium+quercifolium.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291826356654394162" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Pelargonium quercifolium</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 'Royal Oak'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQcgb_z64g0S3FkIUNQlpvYlV6Fi9D6y6s99fKcYxo-EaXWwg8tEtOd9snH7v0X-PiCbqeu1inaFwnOp8mo8x4vQwJ9Nh6gvfv26PO1Xwd-tgAD6SqHkkJspoaE_XeOBVUsHuyRxwUJnW1/s1600-h/Pelargonium+Prince+of+Orange.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 357px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQcgb_z64g0S3FkIUNQlpvYlV6Fi9D6y6s99fKcYxo-EaXWwg8tEtOd9snH7v0X-PiCbqeu1inaFwnOp8mo8x4vQwJ9Nh6gvfv26PO1Xwd-tgAD6SqHkkJspoaE_XeOBVUsHuyRxwUJnW1/s400/Pelargonium+Prince+of+Orange.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291825956942031586" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Pelargonium</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 'Prince of Orange'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqBmMsgOpnOixiHsjdaElHCy6Qmt0qwqFlxMlWRHeAwa8XEWLiLtYj8o08SVk4xebU2Em70ER8-8RPjbNqKC-Ymi65JrUiSzo2i4XMR9Ii3bvUtniyo-iTmsafuRXL9wWe6atXV0XfSH1e/s1600-h/pelargonium+havelasae.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 398px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqBmMsgOpnOixiHsjdaElHCy6Qmt0qwqFlxMlWRHeAwa8XEWLiLtYj8o08SVk4xebU2Em70ER8-8RPjbNqKC-Ymi65JrUiSzo2i4XMR9Ii3bvUtniyo-iTmsafuRXL9wWe6atXV0XfSH1e/s400/pelargonium+havelasae.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291825958237147618" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Pelargonium havlasae</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(Australian Native)</span> </div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCVs_HDbgBDbU4PRmOPtuI6HhKhV2huZ3aOwimaHKqTglOH7d7B8q8l4OgFYpBkcma9-iZWX61JI46RAZHWBC3tHpzeFAnCkPnGgSwFq2aoM1zg-SPnPkZJROtQEbZNHeWMHyMqfPrKqe4/s1600-h/Pelargonium+gibbosum.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 310px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCVs_HDbgBDbU4PRmOPtuI6HhKhV2huZ3aOwimaHKqTglOH7d7B8q8l4OgFYpBkcma9-iZWX61JI46RAZHWBC3tHpzeFAnCkPnGgSwFq2aoM1zg-SPnPkZJROtQEbZNHeWMHyMqfPrKqe4/s400/Pelargonium+gibbosum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291825951621042018" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Pelargonium gibbosum</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(Gouty Pelargonium)</span> </div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBgIsgE7VrGfL_mofEWETo5v1g7nqHzJF-mZAj9219TsrcNm8T-ItWVeArucsn0ffDpO4uBylNRyA1JfTMqDVVRlYjm4-LanGframyXXtGIxwf-3DBPNuGQ8X5p0zRdvMPJVdOAZjUUSI/s1600-h/Pelargonium+Distiction.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 372px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBgIsgE7VrGfL_mofEWETo5v1g7nqHzJF-mZAj9219TsrcNm8T-ItWVeArucsn0ffDpO4uBylNRyA1JfTMqDVVRlYjm4-LanGframyXXtGIxwf-3DBPNuGQ8X5p0zRdvMPJVdOAZjUUSI/s400/Pelargonium+Distiction.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291825951649026306" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Pelargonium</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 'Distinction'</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rY6mHVk0hjUITO2oA4d6AvfH6PNOgqj4YvW17k77hqxWTO0FbGl-rwTTcoed99NtYH4DyOTPquFCdfrFVzL4CLF0tzm3th_8R86QBduVz5R_ipmdwJX4b_-Qhw7u35yu3rshS5g5cF2y/s1600-h/Pelargonium+australe.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rY6mHVk0hjUITO2oA4d6AvfH6PNOgqj4YvW17k77hqxWTO0FbGl-rwTTcoed99NtYH4DyOTPquFCdfrFVzL4CLF0tzm3th_8R86QBduVz5R_ipmdwJX4b_-Qhw7u35yu3rshS5g5cF2y/s400/Pelargonium+australe.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291825946002181282" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Pelargonium australe</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(Australian Native)</span><br /></div>Chuckiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149888748240852041noreply@blogger.com2