Inca is a cross of Chardmoore 'Mrs. Cowburn' FCC/RHS and Hellas 'Westonbirt' FCC/RHS made by H.G. Alexander near the end of his breeding career in 1948. He sold a few seedlings to Dr. Wilson's Penn Valley Orchids...it's so weird to think about plants coming across the ocean in a big boat rather than by air. I guess they still do - Taiwanese budded phals come by the cargo ship-load, but consider the differences in open-ocean shipping in the late 1940s versus today. Dr. Wilson got alot of RHS-awarded plants re-awarded in the US; he got the AMs of F.C. Puddle FCC/RHS and F.C. Puddle 'Superbum'. Anyways, this one seedling was pretty good and was awarded a low HCC in 1961. Dr. Wilson was adamantly opposed to HCCs, saying more than once that the AOS would improve its standing as an awarding organization by "getting rid of the HCC," so it should come as no surprise that it was re-awarded an AM (on a spectacular blooming, much more full than this blooming and really than any time I've flowered it) in 1974, which is some 13 years after its original award. I just love finding Dr. Wilson's plants...I like to try to preserve them before they go away. When he sold out, the plants went to Klehm Growers; Klehm had a fire recently...I wonder how many were lost. Hopefully I can get more "Penn Valley" plants...
In any event, Inca has an interesting breeding history. Its progeny are very much like Chardmoore, in that only a few have acheived any measureable success, but many have been awarded. Nice whites like Tomas Garcia, Porcelain Treasure, Autumn Snow have been awarded, as have non-whites like the bronzes Shawnee, Ogallala, Blondel, and Ranchero (yes Ranchero does have some modern progeny...like Railroad Ranch). The best offspring in my opinion is Nulight, which has been used by Klehm for a whole suite of offspring. Nulight 'Hampshire' HCC/AOS is one of those weird ones with an award but without it written down anywhere... There are lots of hybrids still being made with offspring from Inca, so we're definitely not done discussing its impact. Time will tell...
In any event, Inca has an interesting breeding history. Its progeny are very much like Chardmoore, in that only a few have acheived any measureable success, but many have been awarded. Nice whites like Tomas Garcia, Porcelain Treasure, Autumn Snow have been awarded, as have non-whites like the bronzes Shawnee, Ogallala, Blondel, and Ranchero (yes Ranchero does have some modern progeny...like Railroad Ranch). The best offspring in my opinion is Nulight, which has been used by Klehm for a whole suite of offspring. Nulight 'Hampshire' HCC/AOS is one of those weird ones with an award but without it written down anywhere... There are lots of hybrids still being made with offspring from Inca, so we're definitely not done discussing its impact. Time will tell...