One doesn't have to like all Paphs all the time. It is okay to have favorites. (in fact it is even okay if someone likes a plant that is not a Paph) I used to dismiss white Phals as boring. Then I was forced to do judging at a spring show of white Phals. Had to pick the best of class from 35 or so white Phal entries. I had to REALLY look, out of fairness to the registrants. Listened to Herman Pigors point out the merits of the 5 or so best, then voted. To this day I now keep one white phal in my collection, because they represent the peak of the breeder's art. Similarly i did not think much of Hellas. Until I saw a well grown division of Hellas 'Westonbirt', it was a plant owned by Warton Sincler before he got out of the business. A 3 growth division of Hellas that was so well grown it REQUIRED a 1 gallon nursery can as its pot. The flower was enormous. Exquiste, sunset colors and full flat shape. Again, 20 generations or more removed from Paph villosum and an exquisite representation of the breeders art. A well grown complex is a wonder of architecture. Sadly, few people grow them well. I have a few and when my culture is not up to par, it is embarrassing to see how aweful that division of Winston Churchill 'Redoubtable' can be. But when you get it right they are fabulous.
Jon pointed it out, really very few Paphs, (species or complex) are "Pretty", they usually are fascinating, but not often "Pretty". If you want "prettty", you grow Cattleya or Phal. If you like intricate architecture you grow Paphs, they are the abstract sculpture of the orchid world. Paph appreciation is more similar to appreciation of sculpture than paintings. Cattleyas with their colors and texture are more like paintings. Color compostition is the key with Catts.
I used to be a species snob, and species often are my favorites, but I have come to appreciate the breeder's art. And respect the effort that it requires. Consider this, most complex crosses produce very few truely exceptional seedlings. The awarded ones are the one in a hundred or one in a thousand out of a particular grex. FCC's are definitely one in thousands. Many crosses yeild no progeny of award quality. A good complex is a rare thing indeed. The bulk of complex seedlings end up compost. The good ones are great. While we don't have to like everything, I do love my half dozen awarded complexes. Each a sculptural monument to the breeders art.
Leo
