# Breeding brightly coloured Paphs - which species as parents?



## Delilah (Nov 2, 2013)

I have seen photos of stunning show Paphs in all kinds of bright colours - pinks, yellows, etc - instead of the more common maroon, green and white. As a long term project, if I were to dabble with crossing fairly resilient species to see if I can produce some cheery colour forms, which species do you think are my best bets to use as foundation stock?

e.g. Paph. delenatii is definitely on the list. What else?

Thanks


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## NYEric (Nov 3, 2013)

There are basically only 6 color Paphs: yellows, reds, whites, browns, greens and vinicolor. What colors would you like to make? For an idea of hybrid trends refer to slipperorchidinfo.com


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## Ozpaph (Nov 3, 2013)

you need to study an awards magazine then use Orchid Wiz to see if the cross has been made and what it turned out like.
don't try to re-invent the wheel - it will still be a wheel.


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## NYEric (Nov 3, 2013)

A lot of crosses have no awards! And Orchidwiz is not free! oke:


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## Delilah (Nov 3, 2013)

NYEric said:


> There are basically only 6 color Paphs: yellows, reds, whites, browns, greens and vinicolor. What colors would you like to make? For an idea of hybrid trends refer to slipperorchidinfo.com



Seems to me there are pinks too, which I am most keen on. Re slipperorchidinfo.com....OMG :drool: Bleepin' fantastic photo guide to hybrids! 

Thank you :smitten:


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## mrhappyrotter (Nov 3, 2013)

Definitely delenatii for the pinks. Armeniacum for the yellows. But those probably go without saying. Just don't mix their genes, the offspring end up white.

For multiflorals, stay away from philippinense. The yellow lip tends to produce muted colors in the hybrids. It's one of my favorite species, but if you're going for color, it's not the best parent.

Adductum, anitum and wilhelminiae tend to produce dark colors in multiflorals, so those are all great choices. And paired with roth, you can get some stunning results. But of course, dark isn't necessarily the same as bright.


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## paphioboy (Nov 3, 2013)

Depends on which species you have to work with. Some species like niveum bring out pink colours when crossed to multiflorals (e.g. x philippinense = Vipanii). Ross Hella also did a nice cross of Mary Dzilla (complex) x niveum, the end result being quite pink. It is somewhere in this forum.. Also depends on dominance of the parents and inheritance of colour traits, which I do not think is a definite thing in paphs.


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## Ray (Nov 3, 2013)

I am fond of hookerae crosses.


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## atlantis (Nov 3, 2013)

And what about the shape? oke:

A pink ogre is not a beautiful ogre. 

What makes a Paph. interesting is a combination of both shape and colour (at least this is what I think...)


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## reivilos (Nov 3, 2013)

Go for the full red wheel. You'll get rich!


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## paphreek (Nov 3, 2013)

henryanum tends to make bright colors. It's pink pouch can dominate many crosses and while the dorsals tend to be green, it is a very bright green, generally with spots. Also, like Paphioboy states, niveum can sometimes spread the red pigment on a white background to produce pink.

Here's an example of henryanum in both parents influencing color. Paph Mary's Little Leopard.




Here's an example of what Paphioboy is talking about: Paph Little Bright Eyes (niveum x Mary Zdilla)





Here's another flower with some interesting color. The shape's not great, but I like the pastel shades of yellow and pink I've been seeing in this cross. Paph Dooesedoowe (concolor x Hellas) The subtle colors don't come through well on the picture


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## TyroneGenade (Nov 3, 2013)

Ozpaph said:


> ...don't try to re-invent the wheel - it will still be a wheel.



Other than a handful of clones, most of the original species x species crosses that underlie the modern complexes do not exist. The 2nd and 3rd generation crosses are totally gone. 

I think if you dabble with some good villosum, charlesworthii, spicerianum, druyri and insigne clones you could remake some very colorful an resilient plants. Whether anyone else would want them is an open question...

If you want BIG ROUND complex types, then there is no point in starting with species. You need to pick up some good breeders.


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## paphioboy (Nov 3, 2013)

Thanks, Ross. Your pics are a good refresher  I hope you still have those wonderful crosses and are making more...

Some Maudiae/barbata section species also contribute to very colourful flowers on compact plants. Notably appletonianum/wolterianum (Robert at Orchids Limited has shown some very nice crosses with this) and acmodontum.


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## Ozpaph (Nov 3, 2013)

NYEric said:


> A lot of crosses have no awards! And Orchidwiz is not free! oke:



True, but those worth remaking are likely to have been awarded. Flasking and waiting for 5yrs for seedlings to flower 'costs' a lot more if the progeny are poor quality.
I believe if you're going to hybridise then do your homework and increase the chances of a good outcome.


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## NYEric (Nov 4, 2013)

Any cross w/ niveum is a good one.


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## Dido (Nov 4, 2013)

NYEric said:


> Any cross w/ niveum is a good one.



can only second that


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