Wils Sheila Anne 'Colombo'

[tc66]

I bloomed a few nice seedlings from this Golden Gate hybrid but nothing like this one. When a hybridizer as accomplished as Tom Perlite names a hybrid for his wife, it is a very good indication they consider the cross to be special.... and it is! So far we have at least one nice pod forming on a grex that has been around but still offers exciting potential in a thoughtful pairing with other oranges.

Andy Easton

[Diane56Victor]

That is my type of bloom.
Great colour depth, and contrast with a bright flash as a finale. Stunning!
One for my wanted list....how long do think I will have to wait before it will be available here in the land of Oz?

[MrCym]

Maybe never Diane. It is actually an older hybrid, registered in 2004. In Aussie, nearly everything in Odonts hinges on two sources. Either Sam Cowie brings a variety into Australia in flask and then grows them out for sale to wholesale outlets or Clive Halls at Mt. Beenak makes a few hybrids each year. Sam reads the Forum regularly so if he has imported any of the Sheila Anne clones, he can tell us. I'm sure your Burrageara Sunkissed 'Buttercup' came in through his nursery. But be sure, Sam will be bringing in the best of the new Intergenerics so you will soon find lots of modern varieties in the Lucky Country!

[Diane56Victor]

Sam Cowie aka Leaf and Limb? I have read his webpages and liked what I saw but noticed they are wholesale.

Will keep my fingers crossed I find some of the new Intergenerics.

Ive got 3 plants from Mt Beenak already,
Wils. Opalescent 'Lavender Light',
Wils. Caramel Confections 'Sweet Brown Sugar'
Onc. Heaven Scent 'Rainbow'
Just have to wait till I get back from my trip before I can order any more.

[Gary S]

I am sure Sam will let you know where your nearest retail outlet is or maybe a nursery that does internet selling.

[richardb]

Interesting that you have Wilsonara's Diane. As Mr Cym said earlier, Odontoglossums could be quite a challenge for you where you live. Up here in the UK I find that Wilsonaras thrive best at the cooler end of the Odontoglossum growing temperature ranges. My Wilsonaras grow in a cool greenhouse 8-28c with all the fresh air I can supply. All windows and door open March to October and my powerful Mistral fan shifting the air through - leaves and spikes sway in the breeze. Other plants like Vuylstekearas like it a bit warmer so grow in my warmer greenhouse 13 - 33c but still with plenty of air. The different conditions are determined by the hybrid composition of the variety.
Anyway, we do have a Worldwide group of Odontoglossum enthusiasts who link through the International Odontoglossum Alliance. If you look at the website www.odontalliance.org, part from newsletters and Journals, you will find lists of over 60 inter generic Odontoglossum hybrid types and their composition. If you look through that and investigate genera which make up the hybrids to find, perhaps, warmer growing parents you might identify hybrids better suited to your conditions. Sam is the representative for Australia so you will find him most helpful.
Hope that is helpful and enjoy your plants.

[Diane56Victor]

Thank you so much richardb for the information. Will check out the link you posted for sure!

I know I'm pushing my luck with this but my thinking was the winter overnight temps here might be too cold for the warmer growing types, other than bringing them indoors there isn't  much I could do and bringing them in would mean the need for bigger changes indoors to accommodate them. 

While the cooler growers might just be able to cope with the SA winter if I got them at a younger stage and I could more easily accommodate their needs for the summer.

Last summer was, apart from one horrendous day,  about 26C to 29C.
In hotter weather, I can, and have, flooded the paving below the shelves and also I have a mobile outdoor evaporative cooler which I'm prepared to use should it be needed.

South Australia is a very hot dry place but here in Victor Harbor it seems to have its own little micro climate. 
Im hoping this is the case and not just a seasonal anomaly as I haven't been here long enough growing orchids to be certain. 

As the crow flies I'm 1.5 klm from the sea, facing open hills. From the roughly North East (the facing hills) just about constant breezes, although in winter these winds can also be very strong. Still, I can deal with strong winds by either providing even more protection or moving the orchids to a more sheltered spot. I added shadecloth to this end of my shelving and not a single plant moved or fell over during Winter.

My plants are under a verandah on shelving which is sheltered on the NE end from the prevailing wind and one long side from the Western sun. While the plants do get some Western sunlight through shadecloth its not as much as one might expect as we are on a sloping block, the side fence and the neighbour's house give some protection till quite late plus where I have my orchids is set on the lower part of the block.

The verandah is solid roof type with colourbond and opalised panels which I was advised by grower in my club should be ok, ok for which genus remains to be seen but I've had Cyms. in flower, currently have Dens. in flower and Sarcs not too far behind so its all just trial and error at the moment.

I have a temp/humidity guage and this morning at 9.45am was reading temp of 16.5C with humidity at 64%, overnight was 4.1C with 10% humidity.

I have included some photos I took this morning so you can get an idea of my setup. Nothing flash, just a hobbyist setup.

Where the dog is and the rainwater tank behind him is the side that faces the open hills, the shadecloth blinds on the back of the shelves is the Western side. The sun sets before it goes behind the black and white house in the background. You can also see how low down the orchids are compared to to the rest of our block.

[Diane56Victor]

Sorry cant get that pic to post the right way no matter which way I turn it on my computer.

[wolfman]

My take on the "Odontoglossum drought" here in Oz is very JFK-like: "We didn't go into orchids because it is easy, but because it is hard !". Things will improve again, and the more folks we have who are interested in Odont.s the better. Sadly, after Mt. Beenak shut its doors Sam (aka Leaf & Limb) is the only one raising the flag from a commercial point of view.

Sam, you have a wholesale list that you can share with the forum ?

[MrCym]

Very unlikely! Sam is a major orchid wholesaler who ships by the truckload and not boxload. The reality is that the Australian situation regarding Odonts is that nobody went after Gerald McCraith, John Woodward or the Halls when they were moving back from the business. Cheats like Brett Moloney bring in utter junk in flask and peddle it to the unwary.
Nobody except Sam is bringing in my Odont Intergeneric flasks and he does this in quantity. He will pay royalties on the varieties he grows out so that helps keep me in business. It is not practicable for me to ship small quantities of flasks to Australia. After documentation and shipping and clearance charges the individual flasks would be over $100 USD each!