Magic Lantern

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Happypaphy7

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This is (delenatii var. dunkel x micranthum) I purchased off eBay in early summer 2019.
It surprised me with an unexpected spike in the late fall and it is now in bloom! I knew it was near blooming size but it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless. :)
I'd say very nice first time bloomer!
The color is nice but only slightly darker than typical Magic Lantern. The inflorescence is very thin and rather weak unlike my other Magic Lantern.
The plant is about 8in from one end to the other. The leaves are meh~

The last two photos show my other Magic Lantern that normally blooms in the early summer is about to bloom again.
This one has such beautifully marked leaves!!

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What a wonderfully coloured ML - congrats with the flowering. We suppose, that the inflorescence will be more sturdily build, when the plant has grown further, don't we?

Thank you. I have no complaint. Very happy with this one. I have one more seedling from the same batch and that one has much narrower but beautifully marked leaves. I don't have much anticipation after seeing how this one has turned out. :)

Regarding the spike, time will tell, and I sure hope it will be stronger in the future. I've never had to stake my other two Magic Lantern or delenatii even when there were two flowers per spike. Delenatii needed just slightly help due to the weight of the flowers, but my old faithful Magic Lantern has such a thick spike everytime and it stays perfectly straight up.
 
ML is one of the few hybrids which I grow because it's wonderful....and the heightening of wonderful is excellent and yours is excellent. Congrats and good eBay bid.
 
Nice! To me, the biggest difference between this ML and one made with a standard delenatii seems to be the darker striations in the dorsal and petals and the darker staminode. Hope it gets a stronger stem on future bloomings.

My ML's are just starting to show signs of budding.
 
Nice! To me, the biggest difference between this ML and one made with a standard delenatii seems to be the darker striations in the dorsal and petals and the darker staminode. Hope it gets a stronger stem on future bloomings.

My ML's are just starting to show signs of budding.

True. The striations are a lot darker than typical ML.
What's interesting is though, you would expect to see some darker pigments on the leaves due to delenatii dunkel, but no. Both this and its sibling has no dunkel influence on their leaves. What a bummer!
 
Do you find the flowers are smaller with a cross made with dunkel compared to normal delenatii? I have some pollen from a great micranthum a friend gave me. I was going to put it on my vinicolor delenatii last time it bloomed but was afraid the flowers would be smaller. What are your thoughts?

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Do you find the flowers are smaller with a cross made with dunkel compared to normal delenatii? I have some pollen from a great micranthum a friend gave me. I was going to put it on my vinicolor delenatii last time it bloomed but was afraid the flowers would be smaller. What are your thoughts?

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Majority of delenatii dunkel flowers I have seen have been smaller than the standard variety, but the shape is the most distinct. Yours is a very good example of it. It doesn't look as full as the standard variety.
Sam at Orchid Inn has been breeding dunkel and standard variety in an effort to come up with larger flower with darker pouch. He is a professional with lots of experiences, so this alone says a lot about the characteristics of each variety.
So, in short, yes, I would say dunkel is typically smaller.

Now, if you are thinking of crossing those two in the pictures, I would say go for it.
Micranthum can help out filling the gap in overall fullness of the flower as well as the size.
You can't go wrong with Magic Lantern, and I really like those two flowers.
My Magic Lantern above isn't small compared to others I have seen.
 
Thanks Happyphaphy
The delenatii vinicolor had just opened when I took that picture. It was actually bigger and fuller a couple weeks later. When both flowered were open I took it to a judging center near me... it was a total disaster. This day at the judging center they were short judges and in a hurry. They compared my vinicolor to ‘Charlie’ AM/AOS which was a regular colored delenatii awarded in 2018. ’Charlie’ had a 10.8 cm NS. You know how it is... you can’t say anything. You gotta just sit there and watch them make the mistake. If I would have waited another week I could have taken it to the judging center I usually bring my plant’s to.
I’ll make the cross next time it blooms.
 
Thanks Happyphaphy
The delenatii vinicolor had just opened when I took that picture. It was actually bigger and fuller a couple weeks later. When both flowered were open I took it to a judging center near me... it was a total disaster. This day at the judging center they were short judges and in a hurry. They compared my vinicolor to ‘Charlie’ AM/AOS which was a regular colored delenatii awarded in 2018. ’Charlie’ had a 10.8 cm NS. You know how it is... you can’t say anything. You gotta just sit there and watch them make the mistake. If I would have waited another week I could have taken it to the judging center I usually bring my plant’s to.
I’ll make the cross next time it blooms.
Sorry to hear about the disappointing episode at the judging. I don't participate. I just enjoy my plants at home and show online. That's about it. :)
 

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