K, maybe this will work?
Cattleya Bob Betts ‘white lightening’
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So...no connection to the Huntington in LA right?
SouthPark
Well-Known Member
The link works for me MM. Could try this link too: click here
David, I think 'White Lightning' must have been mericloned one or more times to be as available as it is. Mericlones all get to still carry the cultivar name, even though they may vary somewhat from the plant that is cloned, depending on how the genes behave during the cloning. The original 'White Lightning' cultivar may or may not be alive.
SouthPark
Well-Known Member
True ...... I think that in general ..... a mericloning process is supposed to yield results, where most of the member results are 'clones' (exact dna match with the 'original'). But there may be members that won't have exact dna match ----- in which case those particular members aren't 'clones', since a clone will have exact dna match. The issue is there appears to be no cheap, reliable/accurate dna test for orchids and also maybe no database containing dna information about the original. So there's the problem of uncertainty.
Correct. No connection.
Terry, thanks for the info.
concerning mericloning, there are differences in the outcomes depending on just how you perform the task.
The best mericlones are when you just take the apical meristem and allow it to grow on agar. By adjusting the medium with hormones, you can get several new shoots to develop.
At no point does the meristem go through the ’callus formation’ stage, it just grows new shoots.
These are the best ones, it is basically like dividing, but the yield of plants is low.
Another way is to take the meristem but adjust the medium so that a blob of undifferentiated cells called a callus forms and grows. This yields many more plants but some of them will not be identical to the original. This is because during the callus formation, there is unchecked cell division and this allows errors to creep into the process.
Many will be ok and indistinguishable at flowering from the parent, but a few may not.
So if you have the chance, view a group of meristems in flower and pick the best one. Sadly, this is not always possible.
It is not unheard of for people to meristem a meristem if the clone is very popular. This can again result in errors and increases the chance of plants varying from the parent.
concerning mericloning, there are differences in the outcomes depending on just how you perform the task.
The best mericlones are when you just take the apical meristem and allow it to grow on agar. By adjusting the medium with hormones, you can get several new shoots to develop.
At no point does the meristem go through the ’callus formation’ stage, it just grows new shoots.
These are the best ones, it is basically like dividing, but the yield of plants is low.
Another way is to take the meristem but adjust the medium so that a blob of undifferentiated cells called a callus forms and grows. This yields many more plants but some of them will not be identical to the original. This is because during the callus formation, there is unchecked cell division and this allows errors to creep into the process.
Many will be ok and indistinguishable at flowering from the parent, but a few may not.
So if you have the chance, view a group of meristems in flower and pick the best one. Sadly, this is not always possible.
It is not unheard of for people to meristem a meristem if the clone is very popular. This can again result in errors and increases the chance of plants varying from the parent.
David, just press the 'Free'-option and accept the European dataregulation clause, and you get access to the article in the link!
Sorry, first saw the continuation of the thread, when too late!
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Pete, thank you for the little nice piece of orchid history!
Hi David,
I believe there is a high likelihood that it is a mericlone. I have a very distinct memory of seeing row after row of C. Bob Betts ‘White Lightning’ in 10-inch pots at Orchids by Hausermanns in Illinois in 1979. It was an experience that literally changed the course of my life. My recollection is that they had cloned them. Bob Betts was a highly awarded cross, with interesting twists its parentage (another story), but White Lightning was not an awarded clone. I suspect that there were simply too many other sibs that were considered outstanding by AOS judging standards. I recently spoke to Matthias Seelis of Shogun Hawaii, who has amazing legacy cultivars of C. Bow Bells, one of the parents to Bob Betts. He casually mentioned that there are a lot of excellent Bow Bells out there that were never shown to AOS judges. I‘m sure that is true of Bob Betts, as well.
There is a lot of history of these crosses available in books such as American Cattleyas by Courtney Hackney, Home Orchid Growing by Rebecca Northern, and I would suppose the Chadwick books (I have pre-ordered the 2nd edition, but never saw the first) and others. Chadwick’s website (which you turned me on to) has all of Art’s blogs on there and I know there is one on Bow Bells, but I am not sure about Bob Betts. The AOS website has a July 2019 Webinair on the Story of White Cattleyas, which is quite good. I am not sure whether you have to be a member to view it, but AOS membership is worth the price.
The story of ’White Lightning’ may be lost to time, but if it reveals itself, please share it with us.
Best regards, Kate
Great information, Kate.
David, seems to go with the non-apical meristem approach to get a lot of plants, so there could be detectable variation in the plants and flowers of 'White Lightning' that we all purchase.
David, seems to go with the non-apical meristem approach to get a lot of plants, so there could be detectable variation in the plants and flowers of 'White Lightning' that we all purchase.
Terry,
the one that showed this up was the old Vulstekyara Cambridge ‘plush’. It was mericloned so many times that the last plants bore little resemblance to the first.
Kate, thanks for the information. Interesting. I think that for both Bob Betts and Bow Bells, there were so many outstanding clones that after a time, more awards were unnecessary.
the one that showed this up was the old Vulstekyara Cambridge ‘plush’. It was mericloned so many times that the last plants bore little resemblance to the first.
Kate, thanks for the information. Interesting. I think that for both Bob Betts and Bow Bells, there were so many outstanding clones that after a time, more awards were unnecessary.
Just-passn-thru
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My coveted specimen...
Bob Betts' White Lighting
Ready to display its Majestic Heritage , started to open & 4 more Spikes on the way.
This beautiful Orchid will keep my spirits up this winter. ☃
Will keep you posted on the way to its bloom.
SouthPark
Well-Known Member
Beautiful! The writing on the tag is getting wiped. It is LightNing .... not Lighting.
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Just-passn-thru
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I hate auto correct, it's Lightning sorry,
Orchids by Hausermann,
I'm new to slipper orchid culture and other species. Except Cymbidiums.
This pandemic has brought my interest to a rather extreme and addictive level.
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Just-passn-thru
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Not an orchid purists, just enjoying my new passion.
Bob Betts White Lightning
In the process of opening. Today's suprise ! Tomorrow fully open.
4 more spikes in the process. I'm so enjoyed to have nurtured my first Cattleya to bloom .
My paph. Fairrieanum ...
Ready to open.
Looking forward to see the lightning fully opened, even though I find it very nice as it is!
Pls, keep us posted about the fairrie, too!
Pls, keep us posted about the fairrie, too!
Just-passn-thru
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Film at eleven
Thanks...
Kate, I just checked with Hausermanns about white lightning.
They told me that they don’t know the origin of the clone, whether it’s an original from the 50’s or a more recent plant.
Whatever it is, it’s a beast of a plant. It’s vigor is like nothing else I’ve grown.
David
They told me that they don’t know the origin of the clone, whether it’s an original from the 50’s or a more recent plant.
Whatever it is, it’s a beast of a plant. It’s vigor is like nothing else I’ve grown.
David
Just-passn-thru
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Definitely a beast , we need a lot of space for this giant.
