# A couple of triploid Fritz’s.



## monocotman (Nov 22, 2020)

These are two siblings from the same cross, flowering for the second time, so approaching full size but not quite there yet.
The parents are besseae ‘rob’s choice’, a tetraploid clone and kovachii ‘Tesoro morado’. There was some doubt as to whether the kovachii clone was also a tetraploid but it is now thought to be diploid so the seedlings from this cross are triploids.
First up we have a photo of both plants in flower.


You can see quite a difference in the flower quality, both in colour and shape.



This was evident last year when they both flowered for the first time. Both keep their flowers flat through their life.
This is the better clone. It’s only on day 3 of opening so may increase in size a bit. It’s currently 4.5 inches across and probably of award quality although in the UK, the EYOF have set the bar pretty high for phrags.
David


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## mrhappyrotter (Nov 22, 2020)

That is a very nice clone, and I also bet it's awardable. Good luck if you go that route.


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## monocotman (Nov 22, 2020)

thanks, it may be. The ones awarded in the UK have all been from the EYOF and paler coloured, probably because they are diploid so have a single shot of besseae. This has two. It may be worth presenting it on its next flowering, if we ever get over COVID.
david


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## lanthier (Nov 23, 2020)

Gorgeously grown David!!!! I would love if my Fritz would ever grow so well.... I should just pitch the one I sourced and get another.....


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## NYEric (Nov 23, 2020)

Yay besseae hybrids. The increased ploidy is obvious. When they get big like Marique's plants they will be spectacular and the redder than normal color will be a plus.


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## monocotman (Nov 23, 2020)

Ianthsir,
if you want to find the best Fritz Schomburg clones, watch out for the triploids. The will be made with a tetraploid besseae. The increase in ploidy means thicker leaves and flowers and that produces petals that do not reflex. On top of that, the double dose of besseae produces a redder colour,
David


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## terryros (Nov 23, 2020)

David, I have a plant from this Orchids Limited cross that has become two plants. Mine bloomed first in March of 2017 and is now on its fourth blooming. The shape is like your second plant but I think yours is a little redder. My largest horizontal natural spread has been 12.0 cm. I have seen a few others at Orchids Limited and I think your second one is right up there with the best.


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## cpmaniac (Nov 23, 2020)

Gorgeous flower. I have one from that cross that has bloomed the past three seasons. Yours has better color. I also have the reverse cross with besseae 'Rob's Choice' as the pollen donor. It hasn't bloomed yet, but I read the blooms are superior when the tetraploid besseae is the pod parent.


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## ScientistKen (Nov 23, 2020)

Nice blooms and very well grown, too!


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## monocotman (Nov 24, 2020)

Terry,
good to know that the plant may yet improve. How big was the plant that produced 12 cm flowers? This one is about 40 cm across so not that big.
My iPad over emphasises the red in the flower, it’s a bit more pink than shown.
David


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## monocotman (Nov 25, 2020)

ive tried to take a photo with a representative flower colour as the iPad always overemphasises the red plus the colour always fades a bit as the flower grows in size.




The colour in the first image is close to true.
The flower has set at a shade under 11.5 cm across.
Anyway I am super happy with this clone. For me it is about as good as Fritz gets,
David


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## Djthomp28 (Nov 25, 2020)

I agree! Yours there with the as good as it gets Fritz Schomburgs. Truly wonderful.


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## DrLeslieEe (Nov 29, 2020)

Looks fantastic, like a fat Jason Fischer (shhh don’t tell him I said so lol).


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## monocotman (Nov 29, 2020)

Thanks everyone. Neither are full sized yet!


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## Ozpaph (Nov 29, 2020)

spectacular


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## monocotman (Nov 29, 2020)

So a final couple of shots after the flower has been open over a week. No reflexing of the petals. NS is 11.5cm and the colour is this lovely orangy red.





David


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## terryros (Nov 29, 2020)

David, that looks just like mine now and I think the plant looks very similar. The leaves of this cross are pretty wide so the plant is more compact because of the polyploid nature. I also like that the blooms open on a shorter spike with my plant and it looks like that is true with yours as well. I think this is about as well as the combination of besseae and kovachii can do. I don’t think Fritz Schomburg could ever be red.


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## monocotman (Nov 29, 2020)

Thanks Terry, I was hoping that this clone would increase in size next year as it’s only about 16 inches across on this growth, but maybe it won’t.
I agree that the polyploid nature of this cross produces a very neat looking plant with a nice flower spike.


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## TrueNorth (Nov 29, 2020)

Beautiful and beautifully grown!


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## kitfox (Nov 29, 2020)

My FS is in spike now...I fear you have set a standard that I will find unattainable... Well grown example of some awesome genetics.


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## terryros (Nov 29, 2020)

That is an interesting issue others have noted periodically. From the beginning of importation of orchid species, it was obvious that some plants were markedly superior to others and some of the time it turned out decades later that the reason was polyploidy. We can’t expect a diploid species or hybrid to perhaps compete with polyploid versions. Yet, the award standards don’t care, so the polyploid plants usually win. Until there is a confirmed tetraploid kovachii, a triploid FS is a far as it can go. Someone is going to take a diploid cross using very good besseae and kovachii and then convert it chemically in the lab to produce full tetraploid plants. It will be very interesting what these look like. They could be better than our triploid versions.


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## monocotman (Nov 30, 2020)

Terry,
according to Popow he was selling tetraploid Fritz last autumn, probably by using this method.
His web site showed some plants with excellent blooms.
I bought one and flowered it in the summer, it’s the one with the purplish flowers. They were big but the petals reflex after a time. 
The growth is very vigorous and the flower stem produced two branches. For me, the jury is still out as to whether it is a tetraploid.


David


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## terryros (Nov 30, 2020)

That is believable as a tetraploid! Did you measure the width of this one? It "feels" bigger in the picture.


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## monocotman (Nov 30, 2020)

It is bigger than the other clone, maybe by 1 cm, it’s 12cm plus.


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## NYEric (Dec 1, 2020)

Thanks for sharing.


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