Whats not in bloom?

[Marco]

I left all of my neos to my mother for neo sitting for 2 weeks while i was away in Japan. I bought her a test subject back in may and it survived up until November so i figured she can handle 40+ neos. Luckily no casualties. Unfortunately, almost all my phals died about a week after I got back. Anyway i digress here are some of my favorite out of blooms.

seiou-nishiki - One of my favs because the largest growth is half yellow half green. I received it as a single fan. It recent sent out an offshoot. The offshoot looks like it might be a half/half as well.
seiou-nishiki (青王錦) - 02 - 01.06.17 by Marco, on Flickr

kujaku nishiki - I like this one because it stays small. I think someone told me that one of the parents of this variety is a bean leaf.
kujaku nishiki (孔雀錦) 01 - 01.01617 by Marco, on Flickr

nishidimiyako - inconsistent variegation fan over fan
nishidemiyako (西出都) - 03 - 01.06.17 by Marco, on Flickr

seikai - curvy bean....i wish this one bloomed for me already.
seikai (青海) - 01 - 01.06.17 by Marco, on Flickr

daishogun - variegated bean
daishougun (大将軍) - 01 - 01.06.17 by Marco, on Flickr

kuroshinju - bean
kuroshinju (黒真珠) by Marco, on Flickr

 

[NYEric]

Nice, what happened to the Phals?

 

[Happypaphy7]

Great photos!
They look fantastic!
Do you change the moss every year??

 

[Marco]

Eric - Left them to close to an open window. Neos were able to take the cold. phals were purple in the face in the morning.

Neil - Thanks - Yes I try too change the moss every year. However, for those where I feel that the moss is packed to tight, I try to change sooner than later. Under my conditions, wet feet in excess of 3 days seems to increase chances of root rot exponentially. That's when i realized how important the air pocket in the middle of the mound is extremely important.

less root = less surface area to absorb moisture = need more air pocket space
more root = more surface area = can have less air pocket space

 

[NYEric]

OK, sorry to hear that about the Phals. What makes them good indoor plants is that they like warm and not too bright, like most domiciles.

 

[Happypaphy7]

Yep. My very first phalaenopsis as a little kid was a small seedling for $10, which was considered rather expensive at the time for a tiny plant.
Well, i had it too close to a window (closed) one winter night and it turned into a mushy mess the next morning.

By the way, where do you mostly get your neos from?
Satomi? Orchid Web? NWO? Others?

I almost had a chance to get a division of manjushage from Satomi on eBay.
I got outbid at the last few seconds by just two dollars!!!!

The quest remains.

I have read that manjushage breeds true and there are more common and cheaper in South Korea, but the flowers might be smaller.

 

[Marco]

OK, sorry to hear that about the Phals. What makes them good indoor plants is that they like warm and not too bright, like most domiciles.

I know totally rookie mistake! I'm ashamed of myself!

By the way, where do you mostly get your neos from?
Satomi? Orchid Web? NWO? Others?

I almost had a chance to get a division of manjushage from Satomi on eBay.
I got outbid at the last few seconds by just two dollars!!!!

The quest remains.

My plants are mainly from Satomi. Of course a do have a few from OL NWO and friends and such. I just find that Satomi has very reasonable prices. Although, OL has extremely health plants. Almost all the plants I received from Jason grow like weeds. NWO, I haven't ordered from for a while because i don't believe Kristen has refreshed stock.

I think most of the manjus floating around in the US were originally sourced from south korea. they seems to be extremely slow growers and not the easiest. I had three one dies because i received it in beat up shape and never recovered. One is from Ernie and one is from Satomi. Prices on this variety seem to be decreasing over time compared to when i first heard about them years ago.

 

[Happypaphy7]

Also, if you don't mind, can you share how long you've had these guys and how slow they are?

My Kinrokaku, which is supposedly a entry level tiger leaf variety, has grown one leaf on the main growth and added one tiny new growth.
Very slow!
The roots seem to grow much faster.
The plant is also showing a spike for this year.

My big Amami strain is growing faster of course but it is also a decent sized clump.

All the little seedlings of pink flowered variety from a flask two years ago have been frustratingly slow but finally picking up some speed.
Same story with neo primary seedlings have been somewhat faster.

I just bought a 4 growth division of Shutennou ( their CCM awarded clone) just recently and I'm super excited about it!

 

[Happypaphy7]

Regarding manjushage, I did some digging and it says the original one was from South Korea, but from a Japanese strain.
The story goes, that one of the Amami Island neo imports into Korea showed mutation where the flowers had three spurs.
Large plant with large flowers.

They were making headlines of course. Then began to travel to neo lovers in Japan. Divisions are still rare and pricy.

Then they were able to seed propagate manju in South Korea and brought the price way down. This was around 2005-2008 it seems.

The thing is, any online vendors in Korea I searched had zero stocks to offer.
Hobbyists still love them of course, but divisions do not show up very often.

I tracked Satomi's eBay sale history of manju.
There were three in the last quarter.
The first one, a single growth, judging by the photo, was not in that great shape.
The second one was two or three growth version, was good. I actually wanted this but got totall side tracked at the theater.
The third one, a single growth, looked healthy and if I'm not mistaken, it had a start of a spike! I got outbid on this one.

 

[Happypaphy7]

Then there was this pink "manju", a mutation from Shutennou, but the vendor was upfront about the fact that the shape is unstable at each flowering.
I confirmed this with Korean hobby website

 

[Happypaphy7]

I am having two shelves customized on my kitchen window on its upper level so I could put some neos there. so excited but at the same time, I feel like I'm turning into that plant crazy person. lol

 

[Marco]

Relatively in terms of overall growth rate, I would say that the nishidemiyako and kuroshinju are probably the quickest growers and take 1 & 2. Surprisingly, i would place daishogun third. I thought the daishogun would grow the slowest out of all of them with it being only 2 growths. kujaku nishiki and seikai would have to straddle 4th and 5th. Seiou-nishiki would have to go last. I wouldn't say the seiou-nishiki is comparable to the other because I received it as a small near to mature growth.

Photos always help.

kujaku nishiki - NWO

Put out one new growth since purchase.

photo from 09.2015 - purchased
kujaku nishiki (孔雀錦) 01 - 09.12.15 by Marco, on Flickr

Now
kujaku nishiki (孔雀錦) 01 - 01.01617 by Marco, on Flickr


nishidemiyako - SE

Put out maybe 2-3 new growths since purchase?

10.2015 - couple of months after I bought it
nishidemiyako (西出都) 02 - 10.29.15 by Marco, on Flickr

now
nishidemiyako (西出都) - 03 - 01.06.17 by Marco, on Flickr

seikai - NWO

No new growths since purchase...unfortunately...but has grown..

The three bottom most growths show the most noticeable change. You can see these three growths on the 06.2015 photos. The first of the third growth is the toughest to see on the 06.2015 photo. Its just a small nub on the bottom left of the biggest growth. I love this little one I always try to take photos on the same angle.

06.2015 - about a month after purchase
seikai (青海) 01 - 06.20.15 by Marco, on Flickr

now
seikai (青海) - 01 - 01.06.17 by Marco, on Flickr

daishogun - SE

Acquired at 2 growths. Second growth in the first photo was just a small nub behind the large growth.

04.2016 - purchased
daishougun (大将軍) - 01 - 04.01.16 by Marco, on Flickr

now
daishougun (大将軍) - 01 - 01.06.17 by Marco, on Flickr

kuroshinju - NWO

Put up maybe 203 new growths?

09.2015 - purchased
kuroshinjo (黒真珠) 01 - 09.12.15 by Marco, on Flickr

now
kuroshinju (黒真珠) by Marco, on Flickr

Seiou nishiki - SE

09.2015

seiou nishiki (青王錦) 01 - 09.06.15 by Marco, on Flickr

now
seiou-nishiki (青王錦) - 02 - 01.06.17 by Marco, on Flickr

 

[Lanmark]

Oh, I love the before and after shots of each plant, Marco! Great idea to help document your progress.

Happy, as for the pink "manju" you speak of ...well, that's a bit of a stretch. Yes, it is a mutation from Shutenno but no, its lineage isn't affiliated with that of Manjushage. You are thinking of Hanakanzashi and/or Benikanzashi. Their floral form/appearance is actually quite different from that of Manjushage, and the extra one or two spurs which appear from time to time are not placed nor positioned like the Manjushage's are. Often these extra spurs do not develop or lengthen fully either.

Okheon of Barampung in South Korea has developed two Manjushage hybrids now, one with yellow three-spurred flowers, Kibana Manjushage 黄花曼珠沙華, and one with pink three-spurred flowers, Mangekyo 万華鏡, both of which look much like Manjushage in flower form.

There is also a Korean variety called Tamakouro 玉香爐 which is more compact than Manjushage and carries clusters of upward-facing three-spurred white flowers whose spurs are of medium length. There is a tendency toward slight pink edges on the petals in good light. It's really quite nice. Pricey too!

 

[Marco]

I am having two shelves customized on my kitchen window on its upper level so I could put some neos there. so excited but at the same time, I feel like I'm turning into that plant crazy person. lol

Please post photos when the shelves are up!

 

[naoki]

All very nice, Marco! Kujaku-nishiki is particularly nice. It has Chirifu (scattered variegation), right? I didn't know about it, so I tried to look it up, but not much info other than it is Korean crossing.
It looks like that Seiou-nishiki gradually became Genpei (half and half). It will be interesting half the new growth look like. I've heard that Genpei isn't stable in most cases.

 

[Erythrone]

Your plants are stunning!!! Very well grown!

 

[abax]

Lovely plants in or out of bloom. The bean leaf appeals
to me the most.

 

[Happypaphy7]

Yes, I know. Sorry about the confusion, but I used the name manjushage just to refer to the flower shape. The variety I meant was Hanakanzashi.
All the features you describe about it is indeed clearly and honestly described in both Korean and Japanese vendors' pages, which is good so you won't have surprises. haha

I would love to have a piece of the large original manjushage.

Oh, I love the before and after shots of each plant, Marco! Great idea to help document your progress.

Happy, as for the pink "manju" you speak of ...well, that's a bit of a stretch. Yes, it is a mutation from Shutenno but no, its lineage isn't affiliated with that of Manjushage. You are thinking of Hanakanzashi and/or Benikanzashi. Their floral form/appearance is actually quite different from that of Manjushage, and the extra one or two spurs which appear from time to time are not placed nor positioned like the Manjushage's are. Often these extra spurs do not develop or lengthen fully either.

Okheon of Barampung in South Korea has developed two Manjushage hybrids now, one with yellow three-spurred flowers, Kibana Manjushage 黄花曼珠沙華, and one with pink three-spurred flowers, Mangekyo 万華鏡, both of which look much like Manjushage in flower form.

There is also a Korean variety called Tamakouro 玉香爐 which is more compact than Manjushage and carries clusters of upward-facing three-spurred white flowers whose spurs are of medium length. There is a tendency toward slight pink edges on the petals in good light. It's really quite nice. Pricey too!

 

[Happypaphy7]

Please post photos when the shelves are up!

My plants look nothing like yours, though. oke:

Thank you for the reply with photo documentations. very nice photos and great looking plants!

You should run the routine of how you take care of your neos, too, when you have time.

Everytime I go on vacation for long, my neos shed leaves and look terrible.
It is truly a long hard work to have a well-grown neo specimen.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Nicely grown Marco. I don't even try to grow warm type phals anymore since winter is the death of them. Of course I can grow P. japonica outside here year round though.

The benikanzashi/hanakanzashi/oiran forms are really hard to distinguish, if that's really even possible. None are reliably three spurred from what I've seen and heard - first time flowering seedlings in particular. I've got a few oiran seedlings coming up now, but probably they are still several seasons away from flowering - neos are painfully slow from seed, at least the way I grow them.