# Kibana Fuuran



## KyushuCalanthe (Jun 6, 2011)

Can't take credit for this since I just bought it, but I do love it! Flowering a full month ahead of true _N. falcata_ tells the tale of this beauty - a hybrid. Gotta love it anyway!


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## SlipperFan (Jun 6, 2011)

That's really a deep yellow -- I suspect quite uncommon.


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jun 7, 2011)

Not as uncommon a color as you might expect Dot. The deeper orange-yellows are favored over the more lemony ones and much more than the pale ones. I love the long spurs on this one, making it look like a true, full-blood Neo. Some of the named varieties carry a silly price tag. I just bought this one as an unnamed Kibana (literally "yellow flower") and didn't have to empty the vault to get it. 

Yubae is a very interesting orange-red form that is pricey indeed, but unique in its color and also has larger flowers - maybe there is something other than Ascocentrum in that one. I haven't spilled enough blood to buy that one yet though...


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## goldenrose (Jun 7, 2011)

:drool: WOW! Purrdy!


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## Hera (Jun 7, 2011)

Wow, cool color and nice blooming.


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## etex (Jun 7, 2011)

Love this one-great color, shape, and generous blooming!!


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## Jorch (Jun 7, 2011)

Very nice acquisition! Interestingly, there are quite a few early bloomers shown here lately. Of all my neos, Kibana usually blooms in the later part of neo season along with the true species (and other color forms). Now I just have to wait for my Ascofinetia Twinkle to flower to see the differences (or similarities) between it and the Kibana


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## Heather (Jun 7, 2011)

Very cool! Love the color.


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## Lanmark (Jun 7, 2011)

Simply stunning! :drool:


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## Erythrone (Jun 7, 2011)

Fantastic!!!


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## hchan (Jun 7, 2011)

Lovely, I'm a recent Neo convert and might look at some of the hybrids soon.


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## NYEric (Jun 7, 2011)

Dude! That is fantastic and I don't know anything about neos! I gotta get one!


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## SlipperFan (Jun 7, 2011)

KyushuCalanthe said:


> Not as uncommon a color as you might expect Dot. The deeper orange-yellows are favored over the more lemony ones and much more than the pale ones. I love the long spurs on this one, making it look like a true, full-blood Neo. Some of the named varieties carry a silly price tag. I just bought this one as an unnamed Kibana (literally "yellow flower") and didn't have to empty the vault to get it.
> 
> Yubae is a very interesting orange-red form that is pricey indeed, but unique in its color and also has larger flowers - maybe there is something other than Ascocentrum in that one. I haven't spilled enough blood to buy that one yet though...



Hmmmm -- yellow is very uncommon around here, and when you find one, the price is outa sight!


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## Lanmark (Jun 7, 2011)

SlipperFan said:


> Hmmmm -- yellow is very uncommon around here, and when you find one, the price is outa sight!



...and of course as luck would have it, yellow is my favorite color when it comes to flowers.


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## W. Beetus (Jun 7, 2011)

Stunning blooms!


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## tenman (Jun 7, 2011)

Nice color. I'm not familiar with the genus name 'Kibana'. What other genera go into making this hybrid?


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jun 8, 2011)

tenman said:


> Nice color. I'm not familiar with the genus name 'Kibana'. What other genera go into making this hybrid?



Kibana is of course not a genus name, just a name for a yellow flower in Japan. Fuuran likewise isn't a species, but the Japanese name for Neofinetia falcata. The exact ancestry of these is questionable - there definitely is Ascocentrum in there, but in what measure exactly, who knows. There are a number of named clones of these, but at this point everyone agrees they are not strictly speaking Neofinetia.


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## JeanLux (Jun 8, 2011)

Interesting color!!! Jean


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## Gcroz (Jun 8, 2011)

Lovely!


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## Lanmark (Jun 8, 2011)

Methinks you should export that plant to me!


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## NYEric (Jun 8, 2011)

I have some from Parkside that say 'yellow form', I wonder if this is the same?


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jun 8, 2011)

Definitely Eric. BUT, not all yellow forms are made equally. Many are far more pale, that is why folks buy the pricey named ones like Kikutome and Ogonmaru that are proven dark types. Also, if you have seedlings of them, then be prepared to wait - slow as drying paint to get them up to flowering size.


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## SlipperFan (Jun 8, 2011)

KyushuCalanthe said:


> Definitely Eric. BUT, not all yellow forms are made equally. Many are far more pale, that is why folks buy the pricey named ones like Kikutome and Ogonmaru that are proven dark types. Also, if you have seedlings of them, then be prepared to wait - slow as drying paint to get them up to flowering size.



I didn't want to hear that.


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## biothanasis (Jun 9, 2011)

Great colour!!!!!


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## NYEric (Jun 9, 2011)

I never used to be able to keep things like neos and sedeira japonica alive. I added a fan and stopped worrying about them and they're all (4) alive and growing!


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## SlipperFan (Jun 9, 2011)

NYEric said:


> I never used to be able to keep things like neos and sedeira japonica alive. I added a fan and stopped worrying about them and they're all (4) alive and growing!



 Sort of like a watched pot never boils.


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## NYEric (Jun 10, 2011)

Maybe.  If I have any money left over from my Peruflora order, my order from Lee at Classic orchids, and the Shorefest, maybe I'll get another.


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jun 11, 2011)

NYEric said:


> I never used to be able to keep things like neos and sedeira japonica alive. I added a fan and stopped worrying about them and they're all (4) alive and growing!



The trick with these is to avoid over watering. They both like a strong seasonal change too. Personally, I do better growing Sederia on a mount than in a pot. They can take remarkably cold temperatures and not only survive, but flower. If you coddle them, they won't do as well.


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## Lanmark (Jun 11, 2011)

KyushuCalanthe said:


> The trick with these is to avoid over watering. They both like a strong seasonal change too. Personally, I do better growing Sederia on a mount than in a pot. They can take remarkably cold temperatures and not only survive, but flower. If you coddle them, they won't do as well.



Thank you for reiterating the best advice regarding these plants! :clap: I say it over and over again: "Don't overwater your Neos!" but inevitably it happens and roots get rotted.  The advice about a strong seasonal change is true as well, of course, but it is something not as easily accomplished by those who garden indoors. A bright, cool windowsill in winter with very little added water and a lot of patience will see these plants through the winter and into a floriferous summer! I concur that mounting Sedirea japonica is far better than growing it in a pot.


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## Heather (Jun 11, 2011)

Just FWIW, in Sacramento, I leave my Neos and kingianum outside unless it goes below 30° at night and pretty much ignore them. Water maybe every 2 weeks, but not if it's raining, then I just watch them and let them be. They seem to do just fine.


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## myxodex (Jun 12, 2011)

Nice clean yellow, I'm jealous ! I have a Kouhou which has somewhat dirty orange flowers,... although it does grow like a weed, throws multiple spikes with many flowers and has a good fragrance. I much prefer the clean bright yellows. Thanks for posting.


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## Roth (Jun 12, 2011)

SlipperFan said:


> Hmmmm -- yellow is very uncommon around here, and when you find one, the price is outa sight!



Yes, go to Gangdong-Gu, Seoul, there is a flower market next to the flower research center. Buy whatever expensive neofinetia you want, maximum price 10US for big clumps. Sediera with the small round leaves, less than a dollar blooming size. Variegated sedirea, medium big plants of the Japanese type (bigger leaves) 2-4US. Impressive how many Japanese traders were there to buy wholesale and order plastic tags with Japanese names each time I visited...

In the south, I visited a grower with some hundreds square meters of dendrobium moniliforme. All mixed, all sizes, leaf pattern, flower colors, big, etc... seed grown and tissue cultured, some cutting of backbulbs, no name. He was putting many japanese tags, and sorting out the plants according to the Japanese order, with nice names. Sold by pot size, 4cm, 8cm.

They have been tissue cultured and seed grown in Korea for years, as well as in China. All this story of neofinetia, dendro moniliforme, cym. goeringii is just a form of scam to put high price tags on cheap mass produced plants.


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## Lanmark (Jun 12, 2011)

Yes, there are crooks amongst the growers and the dealers. Sedirea plants, for example, treated with temporary-acting dwarfing hormones to scam buyers into thinking they are the real thing is a sad fact of life. Sweeping statements about all Neos, D. moniliformes and C. goeringii plants being cheap products of a scam, however, aren't really helpful nor completely true. There are many reputable production houses for these plants which produce quality plants by means of seed production and division. Tissue culture is frowned upon, at least when it comes to Neos, but we know that it happens. The cheap mass production of collectible Asian orchid plants is something which has been deliberately kept from public view.

Shining a light upon these problems, when done responsibly and documented for purposes of veracity, can help to expose the fraud and corruption and help to make buyers more aware and cautious when making their purchases. Ask questions if these things really matter to you, and demand that the seller give you more than lip service when it comes to providing you with quality plant products.

Reports of bad business practices framed in bitterness and couched in terms of hearsay tend to make these stories, even when they are true, end up being discounted in the minds of those who truly want to believe they have access to the best plants. The quality of the end product is what matters most to those of us who collect and grow these plants.

As with any new and popular product, prices will be higher at first but then decline as availability increases. There will always be new and exciting varieties being introduced into the marketplace. This feeds the demand for new plants and pushes the business forward from year to year. It's a given that the end cost to consumers is always going to be higher than the cost of production and higher than the wholesale cost to the dealer or middle man. This is the way of capitalism. It does not necessarily indicate corruption.

It is also wise to take note, however, that Asian production of consumer goods, including orchids plants, definitely has some notorious hurdles to overcome when it comes to issues of integrity, quality, consistency, disease control and so forth. I hope that pressure from consumers and investigative documentative reporting by qualified individuals will help to steer things in a more reputable direction as we move forward. Any volunteers? :wink:


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jun 12, 2011)

Nicely put Mark, thank you.


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