OrchidSafari ARCHIVES*

1. Gaudy Ladies I Have Known, by Don Herman, Shreveport Orchid Society Presentation, 12 Sep 92.

2. Synopsis of discussion, 24 Apr 96

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Q. What does splash petal mean? Tri-color, or shape, or something combined?

A. Splash petal does not mean tri-color or shape...generally it is two colors, can entail three or more, wherein the coloring creates flares on the petals (and often the sepals as well). It can simply be this manner of coloration and/or it can be a form of peloric, where the petals are mimicking the color pattern of the lip...mlg

In the Nov. 1980 issue of the AOS Bulletin, you will find an article, entitled "Splash-Petal Cattleyas - Colorful Clowns of the Orchid World", by Frank Fordyce.

Q. Does that refer to just the petals or is the lip included? That is actually a petal isn't it? A. I think you have to define a little bit. Many plants have darts on the petals - darker incursions on the extremes of the midrib. As these expand, they may be called flares, but they are distinct from the peloric forms that attempt to reproduce the lip pattern in the petals.

The splash petaled cattleyas started with Cattleya intermedia var. aquinii. Not a very impressive looking flower to say the least. But it started a whole new revolution in Cattleya hybridizing...mlg

I would agree intermedia aquinii was the first reliable splash breeding stud, but there have been lots of splashed and flared species, especially in the Cattleya alliance...EdW

Q. I have a Slc. Batemanniana. Told it was splashed. Anyone able to help with parents? A. Batemanniana is an Sc: C. intermedia X S. coccinea/grandiflora
Sometime, it was remade with the aquinii form of intermedia, and I think most of the awards date from then, even though the cross is probably 40+ years old...EdW

Yes, but it isn't uncommon for a lip to be of another color -- splash refers to Flaring usually the midrib and petal tips -- can include petals on some clones - like Lc. Candy Corn. The "splash petal" cattleyas are also the peloric forms where the petals take on the characteristics of the lip. Some showing more "lip" similarities than others...mlg

Q. Wasn't it aquinii that was "The father" of most of the splash petals of today?

A. Intermedia aquinii may be in a lot of the splashes, but aquinii produces just one signature form. There are a lot of different forms around and other parents are important in breeding...EdW

Q. Lc. Candy Corn. Know where I can get one?? Saw it for the first time in Naples Fla. and now I have got to have one!

A. Hausermann's has it in their catalog, pg 30, item #Z-5225C.

Not just the pelorics -- some splashing is strictly hereditary. That's the reason for tonight's subject - so we know what parents are likely to give splashed -- important if we like' em, maybe more important if we do not.

Also C. granulosa gives flaring and C. trianaei var. mooreana -- you mentioned something with C Suavior - it also has intermedia parent.

Q. Would Slc. Barefoot Mailman be a splash? And are they all so varied? H&R's catalog shows about three different clones, all very different in appearance!

A. Barefoot Mailman is like Penny Psyche -- no two exactly alike...mlg

Wish I could get C. trianaei var. mooreana to breed something as nice as it is. That's a fine flower and a plant that grows well.

Q. What does signature form mean?

A. Signature form is slang. Means you can detect certain parents even when they are multiple generations back: aquinii -type splashes, dowiana var. aurea throats, B. Deesse lips, that sort of thing...EdW

I finally found a picture of a Lc. Aqui-Finn. Now I understand, the petals nearly look like the lip!...Dr Jay

Think my favorite splash is C. Dorothy Warne...mlg

Aqui-Finn! Now there's one that meets John Y's description -- have bought three, none of them opened well...mlg

Try growing the D. Warne in Phal light. Milton had a section on Jack Lane where some tall trees shaded the nursery all day and that's where they grew...EdW

Q. Dare I say Lc. Colorama 'The Clown' is the "Father" of tri-colored Catts? Or is it like aquinii in that it is just another famous one?

A. No, I think you can say Colorama is the popular multi-color novelty of your time on the scene, but there were too many earlier ones to think of any particular cross as "father of the type"...EdW

Q. How about C. interglossa? I think you would say C. intermedia var. aquinii is the building block for many splashes...mlg

Q. What is aneuploid?

A. Aneuploid in two sections:

1. Aneuploidy is when the chromosome structures don't match exactly in paired sets. At 2n (diploid) you have a pair of everything. 4n (tetraploid), double dose. 4n still grows and breeds well, in fact, flowers may be quite large and the growth very robust.

2. When we get odd chromosome sets, the trouble starts. A 2n x 4n cross usually produces 3n progeny for the most part. They may grow well and bloom well, but they're usually sterile mules. High ploidy may fail to match many sets, leaving the progeny with incomplete or malformed structural components called aneuploids. This isn't quite the classical explanation, but perhaps it will illustrate a somewhat complex subject in few words.

A. Some stable, others not. Sometimes it's because they got greedy and tired to get too many plants out of the same plating...e.g. Den Hawaiian King - bought three before I found out the mericloning took on too big a bunch -- have a line on a new one, a different mericloning - ordered today!...mlg

Q. As I'm looking at catalogs pictures of these splash-petal Catts, and thinking that I haven't brought home a plant in over a week, I was wondering how true the pictures are...or would I be disappointed in "the real thing"? This is a general question--just want opinions--

A. I've learned to wait and see one or two displayed at shows, or grown by a friend before I jump in and buy a mericlone...increases my odds. Like that Aqui-Finn - there was a reason no one was growing it! Gave 'em away...EdW

Sometimes they are disappointing. BUT sometimes they are not. Tosi Aokie 'Pizzaz' is pretty true from the clones I have seen...Dr Jay

I was at RF Orchids a few years ago and saw a bunch of Mini Purple 'Lea' The variation among the plants was shocking as some were paler and smaller than others. Only one was worth buying.

Little, partially opening flowers -- like the 6" beauties that turned me on -- sparse flowering at that....I'd be happy with some 4-inchers!

More of them are good than bad -- when folks talk about something like Aqui-Finn and Hawaiian King, nearly ALL were bad. Get mericlones from reputable orchid houses and you rarely go wrong, but once in a while - something is just too good and they take a chance and make too many.

Q. I've a pest question. I bought some metaldehyde solution to rid myself of some snails in one of my dendrobiums. I'd like to drench the plant, but I'm not sure how much to dilute the stuff. Any suggestions?

A. If you can find someone in your area carrying Que Bane snail bait, you won't need to drench -- only thing I've found that works, mine don't even like beer! Not as messy as the saw dust or jelly kinds...mlg

Q. So where do you get good plants?

A. H&R is very good, and so is Carter Holmes...HH

Rarely buy any more mericlones -- buy three of a kind in crosses and take my chances -- when I see something I can't live without, I try to make a deal for a division...got stung on that once...mlg

Colchicine is used more in Cymbidiums than in most other orchids. It is a very dangerous material - don't play with it. Dan Chadbourne can give you some good info about the treatment. It is highly toxic - only to be used by those with all the proper safety equipment -- and, yes, quite a few mess with it...EdW

Ed, what's the name of the keiki paste they use on phals? Is it as dangerous as colchicine?

NOTE Taker's NOTE:

Colchicine has been used for many years to induce the formation of polyploidy in orchids (and other plants).

Polyploids are plants that have multiples of genes; that is to say, if a plant has n chromosomes, application of colchicine may induce a plant to have 2n, or more, chromosomes. This causes many plants to express their genes differently; in many cases, these expressions are highly desirable.

Colchicine is a nasty chemical; a materials safety data sheet (MSDS) reveals the following:

Highly toxic; may cause cancer; may cause heritable genetic damage; very toxic by inhalation, skin contact, or ingestion; possible teratogen; it targets the liver and kidneys, and damages the bone marrow, nerves, and cardiovascular system; mutagen; the oral human lethal dose is calculated to be 86 micrograms (thousandths of a milligram) per kilogram body weight, by one account. This is a nasty, lethal chemical with a rap sheet as long as my arm. The list of effects with respect to exposure is impressive to this editor; it is not suggested that colchicine should be used in the home or kitchen chemistry lab. A laboratory setting with proper attention to all safety recommendations as put forth by the source of the colchicine is highly suggested.

All of this aside, do you know where it comes from? It comes from the meadow saffron. The difference between the poison and the cure, is the dose!

Q. I saw a whole bunch of P. Maudiae 'Magnificum' at a local grower's; looked like seedlings, but then they couldn't all carry the clone name, right? Were they mislabeled, or all divisions, or what?

A. Meristems are made when the apical meristem is excised and mascerated, or "blended" into near one cell pieces which are put into a liquid nutrient and agitated. They begin to form protocorm like bodies which are then put on a solid medium to differentiate and grow. At every step in a meristem's life, it is exposed to mechanical or physical trauma, not to mention any stray radiation that sneaks in. It is a wonder we get as many replications as we do...EdW

Cells are vulnerable; any change will obviously change whole plant. Too bad!

I'm afraid that's true, and when the changes occur after the protocorms have begun to develop, some real monsters can result. Most of them can't live, fortunately.

Q. Could you use rooting hormone, the kind you buy at the store, instead of keiki paste?

A. BAP benzyl amino purine, though a family of purines will have the effect. BAP is pretty safe. Usually mixed in lanolin and applied to Phal. nodes. The rooting hormones don't seem to help much. We tried them in flasks and no improvement in roots noted. They would not, at any rate, be likely to spur top growth.

Q. What plant has the largest Cattleya flower?

A. Blc. Languedoc "Singapore Welcome". It can do a 10-11" flower...EdW

And Blc. Mem Crispin Rosales can get large -- and those gorgeous Blc. Pamela Hetheringtons!...mlg

Q. I like my flowers small, any ideas?

A. Epl. Red Star (L. milleri X Epi. atropurpureum)
Nothing is sweeter than Beaufort 'South River' (Soph. coccinea X C.luteola) - deep peachy/orangey color - adorable.
Also Lc. Pixie Gold (L. flava X C. luteola)

Has anyone seen a good Blc Horizon Flight (C intermedia X Buttercup)? Mine is - well, awkward for lack of a better word - it's splashed all right, but I have to open the petals to see the flower.

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