With that said, my horrible, speciesist leaning starts to stir: why bother with this sort of hybrid, when both rothschildianum and wilhelminae in their own right are so much more beautiful? You could have had, yet, one more excellent roth clone, or two more wilhelminaes in the space, this plant occupies?! :evil: :evil:
Kind regards,
Jens
I completely disagree with you. William Ambler is a great hybrid that brings out the best of both species. You get the superb form, size and majesty of the rothschildianum parent and the dark chocolate colour, tall spike and well-spaced flowers of wilhelminiae. And the plant can be pretty compact as well. It is so easy to grow, certainly easier than the species. It is a worthy addition to any collection.
I think your dislike of these hybrids has nothing to do with beauty and all to do with philosophy. It makes no sense to say that you love both the species but the intermediate hybrid is unattractive. The hybrid is a variation of the same thing combining the best attributes of each species. I can understand you not liking the look of complex hybrids as they are far removed from the species. But a primary hybrid like this is little removed from the species. If this was a natural hybrid would you still dislike the look of the flowers?
Here is my other William Ambler ('Karob') where the flowers present a bit better in a photo and my wilhelminiae that unfortunately is in the great glasshouse in the sky (much harder to grow). I love both. I can't see why you would think the wilhelminiae is much nicer. They are different enough to warrant growing both. The wilhelminiae is cute but the flowers are very tiny. I have 80 rotshchildianum (most are seedlings), so I can have bench space for other things as well.
Creating such a hybrid as William Ambler can lead to other wonderful crosses -
Paph William Ambler x sanderianum
http://www.slippertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28738
http://www.slippertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14720
Paph William Ambler x rothschildianum
https://www.facebook.com/SlipperOrc...888101571979/1751263904940599/?type=1&theater
If I was just restricted to multi-floral species, it would be a less interesting hobby. There aren't a lot of options. Growing hybrids greatly expands my collection enabling me to grow a greater variety of morphologically different Paphs. Some of the hybrids produce flower traits that are just not possible in the species alone.
In the end, I would prefer to be in my shoes where I get enjoyment out of growing hybrids. There is nothing positive to be gained from disliking things.
