The Orchid Digest is a
non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

Table of Contents       Cover

Breeding with Recently Described
Vietnamense Paphiopedilums
Part II - Paphiopedilum henryanum
OLAF GRUSS AND HELMUT ROHRL
16 pages, 64 photos

Phragmipedium Kovachii Hybrids
GLEN DECKER
12 pages, 35 photos

Here we are in the 21st century, with technology developing faster than we can keep up with, yet one of the most exciting orchids to be discovered was a mere eight years ago. During my years of growing phragmipediums, I would have never dreamed of such a thing, nor did I ever expect to be involved with the propagation of this species and producing some of the first hybrids available.

Fortunately, the hybrids were definitely easier to grow than the species itself. Even though the species has a bad reputation for being difficult to grow this does not seem to be an issue with the hybrids. The first of the hybrids bloomed only 13 to 14 months from flask, not that uncommon, since hybrids like Phragmipedium Don Wimber were being flowered as quickly as 12 months. The hardest, most exciting part of breeding with a newly discovered species is that no one knows what it will do. Will it impart only bad traits or only good ones or a little of both; one could only speculate what you might achieve. Usually we expect to see a little of both, but how much bad or good will have a lot to do with what you have bred it with.

Since this was a plant strictly under the control and supervision of the Peruvian government, the first round of hybrids were done in Peru. At the time, two Peruvian orchid nurseries were given the permits to collect, grow, hybridize and distribute kovachii and its hybrids. The first was Alfredo Manrique of Centro de Jardineria Manrique and the other Manolo Arias of Peruflora. I had the distinct pleasure of being able to work with Manrique on many of these first hybrids. The biggest problem we faced was simply that we were limited to what was available in Peru to breed with, which was a handful of species and a few besseae hybrids.

The Quest for an Elusive Slipper Orchid
Cypripedium Subtropicum
HONG JIANG AND ENDE LIU
6 pages, 14 photos

When in 1986, a new Cypripedium species was published in Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica, a leading journal of scientific botany in China, it stirred a lot of interest. The Orchid Digest reprinted the article in its 1989 July-August-September issue, leaving out just the part in Chinese. What made this new species so special? It was not only found in a subtropical region, but it seemed to be so similar to the Central and South American genus Selenipedium that just a few technical details seemed to place it in the genus Cypripedium. The authors, taxonomist Singchi Chen (Chen Xinqi in Chinese style) and the experienced field botanist and taxonomist Kaiyong Lang (Lang Kaiyong), suggested this species to be kind of a missing link, and probably the most primordial of Cypripediums. This relic of a long gone period, the geological age called Tertiary, was said to have attractive flowers as well. A tall stem, over a meter high, with many leaves was topped by not less than seven simultaneously open flowers, each nearly the size of a Cypripedium reginae, the color yellow with reddish brown spots on the lip. This was obviously something similar to the Mexican Cypripedium irapeanum, or its more modestly sized sister species Cyp. molle...

New Perspectives on Novelty Slippers
HADLEY CASH
10 pages, 37 photos

Exactly two decades ago, in 1989, a delightful book was published called Novelty Slipper Orchids. Its co-authors were Dr. Harold Koopowitz and Dr. Norito Hasegawa, then joint owners of the esteemed slipper orchid company, Paphanatics, unLimited. This book provided excellent kindling for my early interests in paphiopedilums (paphs) and, more so, in slipper orchid hybridizing. At the time of its release, the term “novelty slipper” was generally regarded in the orchid world as applicable to almost any type of Paphiopedilum (P.) hybrid, with the exception of true “standard” or “complex” crosses. Even two distinct species, when mated together, were generally referred to as “novelty” crosses. In Koopowitz and Hasegawa’s book such crosses as Maudiae, Angela, and Colorkulii, were presented as “novelty slippers.” Today, we would refer to such crosses of two distinct species as a “primary hybrid.” As in years past, the large full-flowered hybrids, with many species in their lineage and numerous generations of breeding in their background, are still referred to as “standard” or “complex” paphs. The use of the term “novelty slipper” has now evolved its own unique meaning. Today, it is generally used to describe a cross that involves a complex paph on one side with a species, primary or primary type hybrid on the other. Bear in mind that any modern day novelty slipper orchid is only one cross away from becoming a true complex paph again. All one has to do is cross the modern day novelty back to a complex, and voila, it’s a complex all over again… sort of! But, we’ll look a bit more at that concept later....