Cymbidium tracyanum

One of my favorite Cymbidiums is presently in bloom: Cym. tracyanum. It takes up some real estate, an especially important issue for orchid growers who need to bring their plants in to over-Winter. The flowers are wonderfully fragrant, and it is unfortunate that the technology does not yet enable “scratch-and-sniff” via the web.

I have three different tracyanum cultivars: a) ‘Burmese Bronze’ obtained from the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate, b) a cultivar from the cross “tracyanum FCC/RHS x tracyanum F1” made by Andy Easton and obtained from Top Hat Orchids, and c) ‘New Horizon’, 4N obtained from Hatfield Orchids. The latter two plants did not flower this year, so I can’t yet post a comparison between them, e.g. color, shape, size, etc… Next year.

‘Burmese Bronze’ is late to bloom this year. My notes from last year indicate that it bloomed early November. While visiting a colleague’s greenhouse this afternoon, I noticed that his Cym. tracyanum flowers are also just beginning to open up. Perhaps it was the longer stretch of mild Fall weather that delayed spike initiation.

Natural Spread: 9cm horizontal;
Dorsal Sepal: 7.2cm length, 2.3cm width
Lateral Sepal:6.3cm length, 2.3cm width
Petals: 6.6cm length, 1.3cm width
Lip (horiz.) (vert.):6.1cm length, 2.2cm width mid-lobe/side-lobe junction; 2.5cm width at apex.

13 evenly-spaced flowers and 2 buds on an upright to arching inflorescence measuring 130cm in length.

Below are pics of one or two flowers as they are opening up. They reminded me of the Vorlon ships in the “Babylon 5” series.

January AOS judging

Today was a busy day at the judging center. The judges were broken into two teams, and screened 18 plants, six of which were awarded. The judges at one table faced two interesting and separate issues today.

The first issue dealt with plant health. A Paphiopedilum was denied an award because both the plant and the flower looked anemic, with light green foliage and light green colors on the small flower. 'Intensity' was not a suitable adjective to describe the plant. Because the Paph. was an alba varietal, it was unclear if the light color was a genetic trait, or if the plant was suffering from a nutrient deficiency, e.g. chlorosis. Comparisons with other alba forms of record clearly showed intense greens are possible, so the plant was passed as suffering from inadequate culture.

The second issue dealt with history and judging standards. A complex Paph. was presented, whose grex was originally registered back in the 1950's or so. Some clones of the grex had been awarded at that time. The question for today was whether or not the instant flower should be judged by today's standards, or those at the time the grex was registered. Clearly, the standards in complex Paph. flower quality has changed since then. I wasn't able to listen in on the final decision because I was running plants over to the second judging team. However, after the overall judging was complete, the chairperson of the first table noted that the scores suggest that some judges used the historical standards (higher scores), while other judges used current standards (lower scores). I expect the judges will revisit this topic as part of their education program for this year.

Below are pics of plants from today's judging:
Blc. Chia Lin 'Red Rose'














Paph. Borobudur (javanicum x wardii), HCC/78














Paph. Ripple 'Penns Creek' (hirsutissimum x Via Virgenes), HCC/78














Paph. Hawaii Wings (hennisianum x mastersianum), HCC/78














Oncidium Twinkle 'Fragrant Fantasy', CCE/90

Tiger Morning seedlings

Below is one of three siblings from the cross Cym ((lianpan X lowianum), 4N X Tiger Tail, 4N), purchased from George Hatfield back in 2005. The other two are in spike, but not yet open. I'll update this post when they come into bloom.














Natural Spread: 5.7cm horizontal, 6.5cm vertical
Lateral Sepal: 3.6cm length, 1.1cm width
Petal: 3cm length, 1.1cm width
Lip: 1.5cm length (curled), 2.5cm length (uncurled), 1.1cm width

9 evenly-spaced flowers and 5 buds on an upright inflorescence measuring 43cm in length. Petals and sepals light green with reddish-brown speckles at base; column lemon-green; lip green-yellow with yellow patches; lip curled under; callus ridge yellow; texture waxy; substance firm. Noted for sweet, citrus-like fragrance.

According to George's notes, Cym. lianpan is presently considered by the botanists/taxonomists to be synonymous with Cym. goeringii. With such an interpretation, Cym. (goeringii x lowianum)=Cym. Eastern Morning, registered by Mukoyama in 2003 (see http://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/registerpages/orchiddetails.asp?ID=133801). Mukoyama has recently (December 11, 2008) registered the cross Cym. Tiger Morning (=Eastern Morning x Tiger Tail).

However, in "The Genus Cymbidium" by DuPuy and Cribb (2007), Cym. lianpan is annotated as being a variety of Cym. tortisepalum (pg 310), not Cym. goeringii, e.g. Cym. tortisepalum var. lianpan and Cym. tortisepalum var. longibracteatum. See Table 19 (pg 312) for a comparison between Cym. goeringii, Cym. tortisepalum and Cym. ensifolium.

RHS has no registration of Cymbidium hybrids having Cym. lianpan as a parent, but does identify at least one hybrid with Cym. tortisepalum as a parent. It's up to the experts and administrators to settle any controversy...

Given that Cym. lowianum is part of this grex's pedigree, one would expect the presence of lowianum's "V" mark at the mid-lobe of the lip, which seems to be a dominant trait. Such is found if one uncurls the lip, as shown below.

NCOS December meeting

This afternoon was our December NCOS meeting, with a holiday party. The attendance was strong, and the show tables were filled--the Paphs. having the strongest representation.

(Cyc. pentadactylon 'Jumbo Best' x Morm. sinuata 'Fireball'), exhibited by Chryss Mavrides.














Brachypetalum hybrids. All have Paph. concolor in their parentage. Display by Susan Kulhavi.














Paph. Angel Hair, exhibited by Barry Woolf.














Paph. parishii, exhibited by Barry Woolf.














Top to bottom: Paph. Green Cascade 'Penns Creek' HCC/AOS; Paph. Pukekaikiore 'JAN'; Paph. Icy Icy Wind 'Cattaraugus Creek'; exhibited by Bill and Lynn Goldner.


















Paph. Mishima Elf; first bloom seedlings/siblings exhibited by Roddy Gabel.














Blc. Chia Lin 'New City' AM/AOS, exhibited by Ken Meier.














We won't meet again for another six weeks (Sunday, January 18, 2009).

AOS Judging, December 6, 2008

Below are pics from today's AOS judging at the National Arboretum. The AOS judges gave an introductory lecture to members of the Maryland Orchid Society about the judging process, the standards by which orchids are judged, an example of improving flower quality over time using white phaelenopsis breeding as a model, and then some quizz slides to (successfully!) provoke discussion between the judges, and between the judges and the audience.

The number of plants put up for judging was greater than usual. But, it was an active, enjoyable and educational day.

Paph. Green Cascade 'Penns Creek' (Paph. Elfstone x Paph. Stefani Pita); HCC/AOS, 79pts














Zelenkocidium Thunderhead (Zelenkocidium Aloha x Clown Ears); HCC/AOS, 79pts














Paphinia Majestic (Paphinia cristata x Paphinia herrerae), four flowers on one inflorescence; AM/AOS, 87pts














Dendrobium Stephen Batchelor (Den. alexandrae x Den. johnsoniae); CCM/AOS, 81 pts














(Cyc. chlorochilon x Cyd. Jumbo Micky); screened but some flowers on both inflorescences were damaged and/or just past prime, thereby preventing a nomination. The disappointed judges discussed several means by which the exhibitor should package the flowers to prevent damage during transport. Perhaps next year...


















Scaphosepalum decorum; CCM/AOS 81 pts














Clowesetum Dragon's Treasure (Cl. warscewiczii x Clo. Pink Lemonade) 'Miss Anita'; AM/AOS 84 pts














After most of my clerking duties were complete, I was able to participate in drafting the description for Dragon's Treasure.

Cymbidium mastersii

Cymbidium mastersii is also in bloom. This was a surprise for me because I didn't expect the plant to flower for another year. It was recently purchased from a California vendor so I thought it would need another season to adjust to this region. The plant was tucked into a location under the backyard shade frame, and I didn't notice that the plant was in spike. Only when I brought the Cyms indoors for Winter did I noticed that the buds had already cleared their sheath.



















According to "The Genus Cymbidium" by DuPuy and Cribb (2007), Cym. mastersii flowers do not fully open, shape and coloration is variable; petals and sepals range in colors from white to faintly pink; lip is white with a yellow central patch and yellow callus ridges, with some varieties showing pale to strong purple-red spots one the side- and mid-lobes; column white or pale green (see pages 212-216; figures 120-123). It flowers between October and December.

Here's a link to another description of the species: http://marniturkel.com/Pages/orchids/o.articles/cym.mastersii.html. There's plenty of information out on the web, including pics of white (or alba) forms of the species.

Previous AOS awards for Cym. mastersii:
1. 'Cinnabar', CBR/AOS; 14 flowers on 2 inflorescences; February 7, 1995.
2. 'La Gobielle', CHM/AOS 83 pts; 49 flowers and 45 buds on 18 inflorescences; November 10, 2001.















Stats of my plant in AOS format (for my practice)
Natural spread: 4cm horizontal, 3.5cm vertical
Dorsal sepal: 5cm length, 0.8cm width
Petal: 4cm length, 0.4cm width
Lateral sepal: 5cm length, 0.7cm width
Lip: 4cm length, 1.1cm width
Description: 10 flowers on one inflorescence; petals and sepals white with rose-pink on outer surface; lip white, yellow throat and yellow-orange callus; substance light; texture matte.
The flowers seem most fragrant around mid-day-perhaps after having been warmed by the morning sun? I can't say it's "almond scented" as commonly described; rather, there's a slight fruity quality to the fragrance, at least to my nose.

Cymbidium Eastern Bunny 'Oborozuki'

As discussed in an earlier post, Cym. Eastern Bunny 'Oborozuki' is entering its blooming season--the second time this year!

Cym. Eastern Bunny=(Cym. goeringii x Cym. Lovely Bunny).
'Oborozuki' appears to be a Spring term meaning "hazy moon" , see http://renku.home.att.net/500ESWd.html.

The flowers pictured below come from a plant with four pseudobulbs, the largest and youngest bulb responsible for four inflorescences and the second largest bulb responsible for another inflorescence, each spike (five total) at different stages of maturation. The plant is in a 5" pot, about 1.5' tall and about 2' canopy diameter. A second plant (not shown) has nine inflorescences, also at different stages of maturation, and about the same growth habit. Both plants reside side-by-side in an East/Southeast-facing garden window, having been placed there upon receipt from George Hatfield's visit this last May.














































Stats in AOS format (for my practice)
Natural spread: 6.5cm horizontal, 5cm vertical
Dorsal sepal: 4.5cm length, 1.8cm width
Petal: 4cm length, 1.4cm width
Lateral sepal: 4.5cm length, 1.8cm width
Lip: 3cm length, 2cm width.
Description: 6 flowers on a first inflorescence. 4 flowers on a second inflorescence. Sepals and petals even pale yellow on top of faint green base; lip faint pale yellow on top of white base; column light green at apex becoming pale yellow towards base with inner surface strongly striped in dark red; substance heavy; texture waxy.

Still going strong as of January 23, 2009, with other inflorescences now in bloom.