Paph. rothschildianum 'Black Eagle' x 'Knight Challenge' SM/JOGA - #2 - big spread

[Tom Reddick]

Another of these has bloomed - rothschildianum 'Black Eagle' x 'Knight Challenge' SM/JOGA

Again not the biggest dorsal at 4.4 cm, but the color is good and those petals! First bloom plant and they are 27cm wide and still growing- though I think about done. The flower has been open 3 days. The stiff and near pristine presentation is really cool. Just one flower here, but even though the single growth is large- the small number of leaves and the general look of the plant suggest this one will get quite large and is in fact still very, very young.

A keeper for sure.

 

[big923cattleya]

I like it too. For a first time bloomer, there is a load of potential there. The dorsal may only be 4.4 cm. wide but I seem to see a dorsal and synsepal that are harmonious. This is a comment that I am hearing more and more at the judging table. Are they essentially mirror images of each other?? Yours are it seems to me. When you get a Roth in front of you and the synsepal is marked differently, or the markings are not the same as the dorsal, it is easily noticed.
The stripes on the dorsal seem very clear. That for me is another plus.
I think of these plants being like a Labrador male puppy, he needs time to build up strength, to fill out his frame so those “big puppy feet” seem in proportion. Imagine this Roth with the strength of two or three years of growth behind it!

 

[Bob in Albany N.Y.]

That one seems to have it all. The additional flowers will come with maturity.

 

[Justin]

Very nice! Impressive stance.

 

[Murray F]

Nice one

 

[Tom Reddick]

I like it too. For a first time bloomer, there is a load of potential there. The dorsal may only be 4.4 cm. wide but I seem to see a dorsal and synsepal that are harmonious. This is a comment that I am hearing more and more at the judging table. Are they essentially mirror images of each other?? Yours are it seems to me.

I had not considered that- my focus had been on the wonderful stance of the petals, but now that you mention it- yes there is very good dorsal and synsepal symmetry here and that does contribute to the immediate positive feeling I have just looking at the bloom.

From a judging perspective, I am curious- is that comment driven by aesthetics primarily or is there also a concern about some of the issues being discussed here in other threads where plants like Sunlight Sky Roth with massive dorsals are being passed off as rothschildianum?

Either way, I like this more and more every morning I wake up and look at it. With several growths and really strong full spikes, this could be quite the plant in time.

 

[BrucherT]

I love it so much. Something about its exuberant stance reminds me of Mart Tyler Moore tossing the hat. I would like to see it with my jungle plant.

 

[big923cattleya]

Here are a couple of images showing my plant carts that house my orchids through the winter

 

[Tom Reddick]

Those are some happy plants! I am glad to see photos of your setup because I have been struggling a bit with my recent switch to T8 Daylight bulbs. At first, as with the T12s I used before, I had 4 bulbs per shelf and Paphs 6-8 inches away. It did not have much of a visible impact, but then last fall when I started blooming standard Cattleyas under 4 bulbs with the tips of the pseudobulbs about 2-3 inches from the lights, I got nervous and cut back to 2 bulbs per shelf except on the top shelf where the compots were 12-15 inches from the light.

The kovachii changed very quickly- and stopped bleaching and losing leaves. Everything else seems just fine, so evidently I had too much light. I never thought T8s were more powerful than T12s, but maybe the technology changed and overall they were all getting brighter? No idea, but so far things are better now that my lighting is more like yours.

 

[big923cattleya]

So glad if those pictures helped you!!

 

[big923cattleya]

I have looked around for light meters and they are difficult to find. I settled on one from e-bay that was around $20. I could have spent hundreds.
The meter I have is somewhat inadequate or inaccurate, take your pick. However, I am just using it for comparison. I feel that it reads the intensities a bit too low. But it does give me a baseline from which to compare.
The T-5 tubes that I have seemed to be as strong as they were back in the Fall of ‘18 when I bought them. There seems to be no noticeable drop off in intensity.
But honestly I rely on leaf color. If the leaves produce a vibrant green, I figure that things are as they should be. No yellow green color which would be indicative of too much light. There are really no leaves that are too dark of a green color either. They just look good under lights. I remember the old days of shop lights, rounder fluorescent tubes of cool white, warm light and special plant light bulbs, and those did decline in intensity. You could see it.
I think these are rated for 50,000 hours or something ridiculous like that but mine average 11 hours a day, times 365 days in a year.

 

[southernbelle]

Sounds like you have LED lights and a light meter that does not read the LED spectrum. If your lights are LED, it takes an LED light meter to read the spectrum. On a PAR meter, it’s a +-20% over-read, if not an LED PAR Meter. Just be aware so you know, I’m afraid you wasted your $20.
LED meters are considerably more expensive. Here’s a reliable LED meter:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07HRYK9V2?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

[Tom Reddick]

This looks promising. Will this also work on T8 flourescent bulbs? I have not had any luck getting a light meter to work with them either.

 

[Linus_Cello]

Here’s a reliable LED meter:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07HRYK9V2?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Anyone have thoughts about this (Reed) vs a Apogee MQ200?

 

[NEslipper]

Any blooming roth is a great roth. Really like the stance as well, congrats!