Oda(Prince Vultan 'Sue' 4n X Odtna Bragelonne) 'Showtime'

[MrCym]

Beautifully patterned but the lips has come narrower than one might have expected.

[richardb]

That is perfectly OK for me, Andy. That detailed patterning reminds me of my very early Odontoglossum days when a similar type flower is what drew me to the genus 40 years ago at Mansell and Hatcher.

[jjurlina]

I agree a hark back to the old odonts before hyhbridisers decised to change direction....

[wolfman]

This one reminds me of the good ole days (aka 45 + years ago) when an Odontoglossum was indeed an Odont., and not some Hawaiian or Taiwanese concoction of genera.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Oncidium intergenerics, just not all of them. They are on average tough as old boots, grow and flower well (even in the hands of totally inexperienced novices - which is a great way to get them ‘on the hook’).

I just don’t like the way these hybrids are made - every Tom, Dick & Harry is crossed with each other, and the resulting hybrids are being sold by the container to supermarkets and hardware stores. Commercially for sure a success; it’s just not the road I would want to take.

Looking at Andy’s new hybrid above I can only say that it has all the attributes I want to see in a contemporary Odont. hybrids - nice size, posture and number of flowers on a spike, overall the plant is compact and WT, so what else do we want from it ? In my view it is terrific !

[MrCym]

Correction if there was any misunderstanding. The pictured plant is a Bob Hamilton hybrid. Bob knows more about almost everything than l can ever hope to learn. His current work with virus-inhibiting media is epic. In his quiet way he is advancing orchid technology further than any current US academic!