Is $700 a year on orchids a lot?

[DrLeslieEe]

Yep! But in some cases, you increase your chances for luck…. I asked Hadley Cash, after a Paph presentation (where he showed incredible new things for the first time), what he had on his sales table that that he’d shown a photo of in his presentation. I got the last seedling he had of Paph (Alex Szabo ‘Pure Gold’ x Hsinying Gold ‘Monarch’). He told me Harold Koopowitz had visited his greenhouse and suggested he cross those two plants! Well, that was a no brainer!! So my seedling is the one Hadley said is a solid AM on its first bloom! And when I sent him the pollen, he used it and registered the cross as Sunlight Serenade. I had to name my plant for him to use the pollen. I named it ‘Elation’ because I didn’t know much at that point, (and still only know a bit more) but when I saw the flower, I knew it was special. So certain breeders use exceptional parents and that definitely increases your odds, but there still is an element of ‘crap shoot’ with seedlings.
I have one of Hadley’s remakes of Paph Austin Cash. Probably another year from blooming and I almost killed it and had to rehab it, but I eagerly anticipate it’s first bloom. Patience!!!
Funny thing is, I’m not a gambler and hate that type of thing, can’t stand Las Vegas. But on a bet with those odds, I’ll jump.

Wow just amazing you have Hadley’s plants. He used such good breeding stock that almost all are award quality. What a guy!

 

[southernbelle]

Wow just amazing you have Hadley’s plants. He used such good breeding stock that almost all are award quality. What a guy!

Leslie, his wife is selling his collection of pollen. There are 3 posts about it on his FBook page. Here’s a screenshot of the first. She also provides a list

 

[DrLeslieEe]

That’s wonderful she’s doing that.

I don’t grow complexes though. It may help others who do,

 

[big923cattleya]

Well, good parents along with good genes should improve the chances of getting things awarded. No doubt about it.
Several people claim to get good results in careful seedling selection. You know the one involving Cattleyas. Select the shorter, fuller, robust, slower growing fat little seedlings as those
May have award potential. I have done this several times and it does work to some degree. But nothing can be guaranteed.
All of my flower quality awards have been random purchases. Each and every one! I have not selected anything in bloom from a sales table and then get it awarded later on. All awards were granted after I bloomed things myself.
But I do think culture can play a huge part. I can’t remember how many times a person has asked me why their flower, always a mericlone, does not look like the picture from a catalog? And I look at this poorly grown plant with a horrible root system, weak growth, and who knows what else and when I suggest culture, they rant about being ripped off because they were sold a bad plant. It couldn’t be their culture! They have been cheated some how!

 

[tomp]

It’s a simple formula:
1 part good genes + 2 parts very good culture + equal parts timing and luck = maybe

 

[Nelson Wong]

So... I am curious... What are some good resources out there for how to DIY pollinating Paphs, growing from seed, flask, compot? I am, By no means a professional, but I would like to try just for fun to self-pollinate.

WYI - I used to be a fish breeder between 12yrs old to 18yrs old, so having good stock, breeding, nurturing, and raising/maintaining a good line and gene is always in the back of my mind.

 

[Ernesto]

So... I am curious... What are some good resources out there for how to DIY pollinating Paphs, growing from seed, flask, compot? I am, By no means a professional, but I would like to try just for fun to self-pollinate.

WYI - I used to be a fish breeder between 12yrs old to 18yrs old, so having good stock, breeding, nurturing, and raising/maintaining a good line and gene is always in the back of my mind.

hey Nelson, glad to see a fellow fish breeder turned orchid grower here! I bred show bettas in college and kept it going til about 2021. got into growing slipper orchids and eventually the genetics bug latched onto that hobby too. this forum offers a lot in the Breeding and Production section, and in addition to that I followed Here But Not’s flasking tutorial as a good starting point. I just deflasked my first seedlings whose parents i flowered, pollinated, and whose seeds i flasked myself. DIY Paph breeding can be done! just takes picking the brains of knowledgeable folks and some thorough planning on your part.

 

[Guldal]

700$ a year...I know people who could easily spend that amount on 12-20 bottles of good Amarone... and I know for sure that those bottles wouldn't last for a year, more probably a couple of months at the most....
In that respect, and for a person whose prefered drug/stimulant is tea, 700$ spent on orchids are 700$ well spent...no detrimental effects to your health, no headache the day thereafter, and you have a lot of beauty in your life, when the others have washed away every single drop of wine!