# Paph kolopakingii var topperi



## emydura (Dec 24, 2013)

Well, it is Christmas morning here, so Merry Christmas to everyone. Just waiting for people to get out of bed so I can open my presents. 

Well have all my Christmases come at once. After many, many years of growing, I have finally flowered my kolopakingii and here it is. I'm pretty rapt with it. This one originated from Sam TSui.

I shouldn't have to wait too long to see it flower again. The new growth is powering along. This species is a really fast grower once it gets going. 


Paph kolopakingii var topperi ('Jeanie' AM/AOS x 'Andy')


----------



## NYEric (Dec 24, 2013)

Merry Xmas to you and yours'. Thanks for sharing this beauty with us. Excellent photographing also.


----------



## Rick (Dec 24, 2013)

This is a big beauty Christmas present!!:clap:

Way to go David!!

What's the leaf span of this plant?


----------



## jimspaphs (Dec 24, 2013)

you are having a happy Christmas,the Paph is outstanding.


----------



## billc (Dec 24, 2013)

I like the distinct veining on the pouch! Beautiful blooming.

Bill


----------



## wjs2nd (Dec 24, 2013)

Beautiful blooms!! Merry Christmas to you.


----------



## emydura (Dec 24, 2013)

Rick said:


> What's the leaf span of this plant?



72 cm (28 inches). It is going to take up a lot of room when it matures.


----------



## eggshells (Dec 24, 2013)

Merry Christmas indeed. Nice one. I love kolopakingii and I have this variety. Im adding the regular colored one and the alba version next! 

How wide is the leaf?


----------



## Rick (Dec 24, 2013)

emydura said:


> 72 cm (28 inches). It is going to take up a lot of room when it matures.



Yes, they can fill a bushel basket.

I have a seedling pushing that size now, but only 3 (maybe 4) years out of flask. How long did this one take to get with it?


----------



## emydura (Dec 24, 2013)

eggshells said:


> Merry Christmas indeed. Nice one. I love kolopakingii and I have this variety. Im adding the regular colored one and the alba version next!
> 
> How wide is the leaf?



You must have a lot of room. 

The leaf is 10cm (4 inches) at its widest. They are certainly big chunky leaves.



Rick said:


> Yes, they can fill a bushel basket.
> 
> I have a seedling pushing that size now, but only 3 (maybe 4) years out of flask. How long did this one take to get with it?



That sure is fast Rick. A lot faster than me. It was quite an advanced seedling when I got it but nowhere near flowering size. Maybe 2-3 years out of flask. I got it off P&R Orchids for $45. I would say it has taken me at least another 6 years to flower it. Like a lot of my plants it was growing slowly until 2-3 years ago where it took off.


----------



## theorchidzone (Dec 24, 2013)

Very beautiful, and a very good crisp photo.
Any photography tips?
kolo's get so big, I feel like you should hang Christmas ornaments on the spike like an X-mas tree.
Thanks for the photo!


----------



## emydura (Dec 24, 2013)

emydura said:


> Y Maybe 2-3 years out of flask. I got it off P&R Orchids for $45. I would say it has taken me at least another 6 years to flower it. Like a lot of my plants it was growing slowly until 2-3 years ago where it took off.



Let me revise that Rick. P&R Orchids were still going round when I bought this and they closed at the end of 2006. So lets say I got it off them a year earlier. That would make it a minimum of 8 and half years. The plant itself would be probably at least 11 years old.

I'm not surprised you are growing them so fast. In the right conditions this species is a rapid grower. It took me a long time to get those conditions right though.


----------



## emydura (Dec 24, 2013)

theorchidzone said:


> Very beautiful, and a very good crisp photo.
> Any photography tips?
> kolo's get so big, I feel like you should hang Christmas ornaments on the spike like an X-mas tree.
> Thanks for the photo!



Thanks John

I took a bit more effort than usual to photograph this one. Even pulled out the Nikon D800 instead of the usual D200. It was shot with the sharp Nikon 60mm macro lens. 

Tips - for sharp photographs. Always use a tripod. I also used a shutter release cable and lock the mirror. The first photo was shot at F11 and the 2nd F14, to ensure everything was in focus. 

These were all shot with natural light outside. I don't use flashes or lights. The big issue can be wind. 

This species photographs best if you get well below the flowers and shoot upwards as the dorsal doesn't open up much. It is a challenge getting the black background in place though as it needs to be so high.


----------



## Erythrone (Dec 24, 2013)

Merry Christmas David! And thank you for the wonderful picture!


----------



## naoki (Dec 24, 2013)

Stunningly beautiful plant and photos! I've never grown this species, but does it always have the stripy leaves (multiple lighter-colored veins)?


----------



## quietaustralian (Dec 24, 2013)

Stunning!


----------



## Justin (Dec 24, 2013)

wonderful christmas gift!


----------



## Ozpaph (Dec 24, 2013)

stunning plant and well grown and great photos - Merry Christmas!


----------



## Rick (Dec 24, 2013)

emydura said:


> Let me revise that Rick. P&R Orchids were still going round when I bought this and they closed at the end of 2006. So lets say I got it off them a year earlier. That would make it a minimum of 8 and half years. The plant itself would be probably at least 11 years old.
> 
> I'm not surprised you are growing them so fast. In the right conditions this species is a rapid grower. It took me a long time to get those conditions right though.



I went back and checked my records too. It came out of flask in Feb 2008 so actually coming up on 6 years OOF But referring back to your comment on right conditions, the first 3 years were pretty much wasted, and this is one of the first paphs that got the basket treatment in Dec 2010. At the time it was maybe 5" tall with nubs for roots. It went wild when I started low K in 2011, and ended up passing a better sib that was still in a pot (since reset into basket, and catching up). 

The original breeding was a ST collaboration with Tadd, who had pollen access to a monster Jo Levy clone 'Magnifico'. So I hope to see flowers this spring.


----------



## emydura (Dec 24, 2013)

naoki said:


> Stunningly beautiful plant and photos! I've never grown this species, but does it always have the stripy leaves (multiple lighter-colored veins)?



Yes, it is heavy veining. Given it is the only one I have I'm not sure how typical this is. It is generally heavier than most of my other multi's. My Bel Royals (kolo x roth) also have pretty heavy veining so maybe it is normal.


----------



## Spaph (Dec 24, 2013)

Amazingly grown and photographed, what a Christmas present!:clap:


----------



## Leo_5313 (Dec 24, 2013)

Merry Christmas! This is outstanding. I love it.


----------



## eaborne (Dec 24, 2013)

Outstanding!


----------



## mrhappyrotter (Dec 24, 2013)

Those are impressive photos. Good job. I love kolopakingii, and I'm envious of anybody that has room to grow one, can grow it well and manage to flower it. Something about the flowers -- I just think they're neat.

Kolopakingii is a really impressive species, and it seems like it's highly variable, too. The v. topperis I've seen seem to be smaller (that's a relative term) in terms of foliage, produce slightly fewer, lighter colored flowers and the fragrance is sort of musty reminiscent of cat pee but not entirely unpleasant.

The "standard" kolos I've seen seem to have noticeably larger foliage, in some cases I'd say massive, have more flowers with muddier or more tan/brown color, and a fragrance that was a bit sweeter and reminded me a bit of honey or molasses.

I'm wondering if those are the qualities that are used to distinguish the varieties.

Out of curiosity, is your plant fragrant?


----------



## JeanLux (Dec 25, 2013)

Happy Holidays David!!!! Your kolo is an extreme Beauty!!!! Jean


----------



## Trithor (Dec 25, 2013)

A real treat to open this thread and see these fantastic pictures of a superb kolo. A Christmas gift to us all! Thank you.
Merry Christmas everybody.


----------



## 2Toned (Dec 25, 2013)

That's an amazingly beautiful gift, David. Bet it's got you beaming


----------



## Carper (Dec 25, 2013)

Absolutely fabulous bloom with 6 flowers as a start is just great. I purchased a NBS plant last year from Sam (kolopakingii var. topperi x sib (Jeanie’s Green Giant x Jamboree) which in 12 months I,ve had to pot on twice. It,s going for it and just filling the pot again. No new growth yet but at a lspan of over 80cm I'm hoping it won't be long. I'm going to be well pleased if it's similar to yours.

Gary:clap:
UK


----------



## Stone (Dec 25, 2013)

What everyone else said....Fantastic!


----------



## emydura (Dec 25, 2013)

mrhappyrotter said:


> T
> Out of curiosity, is your plant fragrant?



If I put my nose right up against the flower there is a mild fragrance. Certainly not strong or offensive. I don't have a good nose for these things though.



Carper said:


> Absolutely fabulous bloom with 6 flowers as a start is just great. I purchased a NBS plant last year from Sam (kolopakingii var. topperi x sib (Jeanie’s Green Giant x Jamboree) which in 12 months I,ve had to pot on twice. It,s going for it and just filling the pot again. No new growth yet but at a lspan of over 80cm I'm hoping it won't be long. I'm going to be well pleased if it's similar to yours.
> 
> Gary:clap:
> UK



That is already bigger than mine Gary, so it couldn't be possibly be that long. Look forward to seeing it in flower.

One thing that amazed me with this species was that it took 3 flowering sheaths before I saw a spike. It dragged on so long I was wondering whether I was ever going to see any flowers.


----------



## GuRu (Dec 25, 2013)

These flowers, the well grown plant and last but not least teh beautiful photos - what a great show altoger. 





 Unfortunately photos of this species are very rare here the more I enjoy them.


----------



## AdamD (Dec 25, 2013)

Beautiful blooming and what a Christmas present indeed! This is my favorite species and it looks to be a promising clone. Well done. Beautiful photography as always. Thanks for brightening our Christmas morning!


----------



## SlipperKing (Dec 25, 2013)

Congratulations David. I'm happy to see the third sheath was a charm and that you had patience to wait on it! At times its like time stand still.
High quality flowers for your effort as well. Santa has been good to you!
One thing I find really cool is the black warts/bumps on the petals. They're huge compared to any other markings on the flowers.


----------



## SlipperFan (Dec 25, 2013)

Beautiful plant and photos -- one of the nicest kolos I've seen.


----------

