My postings with no discussion stimulated…

[MrCym]

When l see this, compared to the number of readers of the post, it occurs to me that l well may be wasting time and money with the NHO Forum! My workload seems to be increasing and l’m thinking about areas where that might be scaled back!!!

[Gary S]

Well Andy, I consider myself as a regular contributor here on your forum, and I look at the forum just about every day, I have the time to do that, but also recognize other members might not have that luxury. Even I shake my head at times when I see no activity on the forum for days and sometimes weeks at a time. I do not know how many members you have on the forum in total, but when you look at it there are probably less than 10 regular contributors.

I know you have mentioned this before, but you are right in saying that you need to prioritize your time and as you get older you need to focus more on the core activities that you enjoy. I look forward to your photo's you post here and especially the forum notes that highlight orchid history.

So, I suppose it is up to the other members to participate more to ensure the viability of the forum.

Andy, the choice is entirely yours, I will certainly miss the forum if you decide to can it.

Gary.

[sabredance2]

You have considerably more reach on your Facebook postings, though obviously a majority of those are the "ooo ah" variety. Members such as Gary have interest and enthusiasm in hybridising trends, but his like are dwindling. There will come a time when the Cost outweighs the Benefits from a host's viewpoint.

[MrCym]

Graham, it's not so much the cost in money as the cost of time! We cannot keep up with the flask demands at present and our larger customers do require time. They ask many questions and that fortunately causes us to give them fairly elaborate answers. But all at the cost of my "typing time"! I hate using iPhones, fat fingers, so I must sit at the desktop of an evening.

Let me give you an illustration of how one thing leads to another..... I don't think anyone will deny that we were the first to explore hexaploid hybridizing in the genus Cymbidium. I know Phalaenopsis breeders did this decades ago, coincidentally, with Phal Cast Iron Monarch but we embarked upon a planned program. Naturally we tried 6n X 2n and 2n X 6n combinations. At exactly twelve attempts with a 6n Cym onto a 2n Cym, with not a single developed pod, I decided to put more time into deflasking seedlings! As I was doing this task just today, it dawned on me that I have never tried 6n X 6n crossings. So, in the interests of science, I went right out into the greenhouse and made 2 reciprocal hexaploid crossings! And of course, we will report our results on this Forum for the benefit of Cym growers in Bangkok or Brisbane. One certainly doesn't see simple research like this being carried out at any reputable University where orchid studies are in a sad void!I was so fortunate to have been able to study with orchid greats such as Holley, Mehlquist and Wimber academically and Hetherington, Holguin and Miyamoto in the orchid trade. Everything I now engage in reflects their generous additions to my orchid knowledge.

[Australis]

I don't think anyone will deny that we were the first to explore hexaploid hybridizing in the genus Cymbidium.... Naturally we tried 6n X 2n and 2n X 6n combinations. At exactly twelve attempts with a 6n Cym onto a 2n Cym, with not a single developed pod, I decided to put more time into deflasking seedlings! As I was doing this task just today, it dawned on me that I have never tried 6n X 6n crossings. So, in the interests of science, I went right out into the greenhouse and made 2 reciprocal hexaploid crossings!

I will be interested to hear the results of your 6n x 6n experiment. My suspicion is that it is the physical cell size that prevents 2n x 6n from working (whilst allowing 6n x 2n to work), so I would guess that, as long as the parents are compatible, 6n x 6n should work.

[MrCym]

We have only had success in Cymbidium by placing diploid pollen onto 6n plants so far. I am not so sure cell size is the issue especially as hexaploids are not easily visually distinguishable from tetraploids. I did see the odd hexaploid over the years due to over-cloning of cut flower triploids but I was never motivated to use any of them. Once we decided to explore hexaploids, we made specific triploid hybrids and treated them with Oryzalin. It has been almost a decade long process to date.

While we're at it, pentaploids are little studied also. I owned Flamingo 'Nobilior' 5n for a time and did some experimentation with it at Geyserland Orchids in NZ. Marian Lenfestey 'Splendens' was a well-known (and liked) pentaploid in Australia. it is likely extinct now as the owner, Doug Lancely, kept a very tight grip on it!

[fureten]

Andy
Maybe l can suggest you to use write function of WhatsApp if you do not use it.
When you type mesage there is second microphone under the greeen microphone.
When you choose it you can start to talk and it writes down everthing as text.
I learned it recently and it is very helpful

[MrCym]

I'll get tuition!!

[MrCym]

Well 66 reads and only four regulars responding ,does reinforce my comments.

[Murph]

It’s puzzling…

We have members from literally all around the world. We get the thrill of seeing the latest in new seedlings flowering for the first time. We can show off our own little favourites. And, there has never been a question that has not been answered. There are bright young grower/enthusiasts that add intelligent thoughts (and, occasionally robust debate Joshua).

We also see the start of new trends in breeding ( WT, 6n, and intergenerics etc.)
So, it’s all here on the forum but we just don’t seem to make traction…