Doctor Doolittle is a cross of Inca 'Penn Valley' (for which see previous thread), and St. Helier, an Eric Young paph from Diversion x Greenstede. I am having alot of trouble finding Greenstede AM/RHS or 'Stonehurst' FCC/RHS. These are beautiful paphs with yellowish-orange base colors and spotted yellow dorsals. I think yellows with heavy spots are so within reach - it's something I'd like to get to at some point. There's been some progress already: Greenstede x San Francisco makes Kannami 'Mishima' HCC/JOS that I saw a picture of once, and it's close to the right colors. St. Helier 'Jersey' was recently awarded by one of the Japanese societies, and it's probably the parent used in this cross, registered by Orchids Royale in 1986.
Anywho one way to try to get some genes is to get the offspring, even if you can't get exactly the parent you want. This is a very large flower that has much better form when young. This flower's about 4 months old, and is pretty close to the last complex I'll be sharing with you all this season. I went through the greenhouse today taking off a few last flowers and this one amazed me with its keeping power. It's about 15 cm wide as well, blooming from a half dozen growths in an 8 inch pot - the benefit of Inca as a parent is rampant growth (and 4 cm larger than when awarded). Maybe next year I can share with you a better formed flower; interestingly enough this has never been a parent. I was a little nervous to pull the trigger this year - the flower form is just not quite there... It's award picture is much better; I'll see if I can flower it to those standards.
Anywho one way to try to get some genes is to get the offspring, even if you can't get exactly the parent you want. This is a very large flower that has much better form when young. This flower's about 4 months old, and is pretty close to the last complex I'll be sharing with you all this season. I went through the greenhouse today taking off a few last flowers and this one amazed me with its keeping power. It's about 15 cm wide as well, blooming from a half dozen growths in an 8 inch pot - the benefit of Inca as a parent is rampant growth (and 4 cm larger than when awarded). Maybe next year I can share with you a better formed flower; interestingly enough this has never been a parent. I was a little nervous to pull the trigger this year - the flower form is just not quite there... It's award picture is much better; I'll see if I can flower it to those standards.
