Yang-Ji Apple x Hung Sheng General

[Clark Thomas Riley]

First bloom of Paphiopedilum Yang-Ji Apple x Hung Sheng General which is [philippinense x anitum] x [Saint Swithin x anitum], obtained from Ten Shin Garden Co. Ltd. at this year's SEPOS show
. Short time in culture, but very vigorous give 50% anitum!

 

[mrhappyrotter]

Very nice! Decent-ish lip color given that there's also quite a bit of philippinense in there. The petals are gorgeous, color and nice shoulders! And it's got obvious anitum / adductum influence.

This is off topic, but I see the faintest hint of a cycad in the background. Do you know what species that is? Maybe its the lighting or the fact that it's not the focal point of the photo, but it looks a bit different than Cycas revoluta in this photo. Was wondering if it was a species of Dioon or something else.

 

[Clark Thomas Riley]

Whoa! Good eye on the cycad. That's Dooon edule, a relatively common cycad from Mexico. I like it better than Cycas revoluta, finding it more graceful. My first encounter with Dioon edule was in a conservatory greenhouse in Chicago, which had a large fruiting specimen. I obtained it from a Florida nursery on eBay about 10 years ago. It puts out maybe two fronds a year. I'll post a better pict in a later reply.

 

[mrhappyrotter]

Whoa! Good eye on the cycad. That's Dooon edule, a relatively common cycad from Mexico. I like it better than Cycas revoluta, finding it more graceful. My first encounter with Dioon edule was in a conservatory greenhouse in Chicago, which had a large fruiting specimen. I obtained it from a Florida nursery on eBay about 10 years ago. It puts out maybe two fronds a year. I'll post a better pict in a later reply.

Awesome! I also find the foliage on these Dioon species to be a bit more pleasing than C. revoluta.

I grow a sister species Dioon merolae. I couldn't even tell it apart from D. edule to be honest, they're very similar in appearance to my eyes. My D. merolae only produces new leaves every other year in my conditions.

Supposedly they are marginally cold hardy in my area. I got my plant from Plant Delights Nursery which has trialed them outdoors year round. However, I don't keep mine outside year round, I grow it in a pot and it gets protected in winter. This is the PDN listing for reference https://www.plantdelights.com/products/dioon-merolae.

If I recall correctly, I saw numerous specimens of D. edule and/or merolae at the San Diego zoo a number of years ago when I got the chance to visit. They have so many amazing Cycads growing out in the open there, but obviously they've got the climate for that sort of thing.

 

[Ozpaph]

I didnt know what to expect - nice stripped dorsal (a bit pinched) and much darker petals than i expected.