First bloom of (Brenda x Devon Odyssey)

This is a first bloom seedling of (Brenda x Devon Odyssey). Seventeen flowers on one inflorescence. I saw it's siblings in flower at Hatfield Orchids this past March.













Actually, I'm a little surprised that it's in bloom for me right now. The plant produced a spike this past August, I think in response to the Summer heat. Thankfully, the spike never blasted, even when the plant was brought indoors for the Winter.




















I'll be the first to admit that the form of this clone isn't good. Cym. erythrostylum's influence can still be seen in the grandchild via the porrect-trending petals and the distinctive bow-leggedness of the lateral sepals. In truth, I don't mind the porrect petals, but these traits show how dominant Cym. erythrostylum's form can become. If done right, the porrect petals can be a good thing. Conversely, the bow-leggedness, ... yeah, that's a flaw that begs correcting.



























What I did like about this clone is that the petals were more darkly colored than it's siblings that I saw at Hatfield Orchids. Maybe there's some potentiality here. However, given that the lip is a modified petal, and the distal portion of the lip curls downward, you can also see that the distal portion of the petals also recurves backwards. Not so good for form...














Neat lip patterning, don't you think?

Valerie Absolonova

I've been waiting for the flowers of this clone to open up!! The combination of Eastern Bunny 'Oborozuki' (prior posting) and Valerie Absolonova makes for a delicious scent when I go downstairs to check in with the basement orchids under lights and get some relaxation therapy. VA is a Mini Cym and has no problem dealing with our Summer heat, which is just the type of Cymbidium I need for my growing conditions.

The lip patterning may not be as good as Andy's or Kobsukh's clones, but I like this one's lip nonetheless.












































The increasing importance of, and need for, Mini Cyms cannot be dismissed! For example, our local orchid society had it's Holiday party earlier this week. As a gift to the orchid society members, I gave out free, established seedlings of a (Valerie Absolonova x novelty-type) hybrid that Andy Easton had made. However, no more than 1/3 of the seedlings were taken! (No offense, Andy. Actually, your name drew positive attention to the seedlings.) Most members said that Novelty-type Cyms were too big(!) for our East coast, home growing conditions.

To be blunt, there is a market for Cymbidiums here in the eastern U.S., as I routinely field requests for suggestions of an appropriate Cym hybrid. But, Cym hybridizers need to make them Mini Cyms, or else the general orchid enthusiast in this region simply does not have the space for this genera. There's a market niche waiting (and wanting) to be filled.... nudge, nudge, ... wink, wink, ... hint, hint...

Eastern Bunny at it, again(!)

It's presently grey and overcast, with temps cooling further from our morning high. While the stew is...stewing..., I thought I'd comment on what's in bloom down in the basement. I need something to cheer me up.

Eastern Bunny 'Oborozuki' is in the midst of repeat blooming for 2011. This clone is a blooming fool, at least for me. It flowered out 4+ spikes this past Spring and largely took the Summer off. I accidentally knocked it over back in August, breaking it's clay pot, so I decided to divide the plant before it got too big for me. In response, the remaining pseudobulbs sent out five spikes!













Did you know that it's fragrant? I don't think I had appreciated this quality before. Placing it between the dining room window and the dining table definitely adds to the ambience.

I'm always interested in color patterning, so I thought I'd begin documenting how my Cyms are marked by following examples shown in the botanical specimens. Below is a dissected EB'O'.













Here are the petals.













I pollinated it last year with a couple of different diploid Cyms, all of which came to naught. The pods swelled nicely, but upon dihencing, there wasn't any mature seed. Sadness. As much as I like it's compactness, fragrance and productivity(!), it's off to the local orchid society's auction block for this orchid.