Paph. Susan Booth

[2Toned]

This clone is currently listed on eBay. May I ask for a critique, please?

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/1/1/0/3/2/9/webimg/723922795_o.jpg

 

[Trithor]

It looks to be a young plant with a two flower count as the bottom bloom is almost certainly not on the same spike. A good representative clone typical of the cross, with an above average dorsal. The newer clones starting to be seen are somewhat darker with more heavily marked dorsals and solid pouch colour (need to ask if those clones do not have a wilhelminae influence, or are SBx with William Ambler - probably me being overly suspicious). It looks to be a true SB.

 

[Ozpaph]

I saw that - very pale colour and too expensive despite the 'HCC'.
Im not bidding/buying.

 

[SlipperKing]

That's a tough picture to get a good feeling for the flower quality. Can't tell if the dorsal is cupped forward for sure or not. It is IMHO a true Susan Booth. It looks very much like my plant. Gary has better eyes then me, I can't see any spike for any of the flowers! With that said, if it truly is a HCC clone then it must have some above avg qualities. The bottom out of focus flower looks to be fine presentation-wise. The overall picture is not portait quality so the pale image can be misleading. If you got the money then burn some baby!

 

[emydura]

I have seen it to. I'm actually keen on getting a division of that clone but there is something not quite right about this plant. Firstly it is an AM awarded clone not a HCC as advertised (see link). So it is puzzling how the seller would not know this.

http://www.orchidsaustralia.com/award_display.asp?award=792

Secondly that flower just doesn't seem right. Here is a photo of the awarded plant. Terrible photo but I had to photograph it from a book. The photo from the advertisement looks a bit different although I notice there is a lot of similarities with the curls in the dorsal which is a distinctive feature of this clone so maybe it is the same plant. Possibly it is just a really poor flowering.





My Susan Booth 'Paracombe' comes from the same flask as 'Highercombe'. They both come from Dean Johnstone. The 'Highercombe' clone is way better than mine, but you wouldn't know it from the photo provided. For $350, I want more certainty.


Susan Booth 'Paracombe'

 

[Ozpaph]

David, your book photo and the eBay photo dont look similar to me
I would ask the vendor to confirm the name, photo and provenance before buying.
Id have 'Paracombe' any day!

 

[quietaustralian]

There was some talk about this on one of the facebook Paph forums. The plant was awarded a HCC and later an AM. Sue didn't realise that the award was upgraded.

 

[SlipperKing]

Clearly the 'Paracombe' clone is superior the other. The pouch is solid. The petals are much more colorful for 2/3's their lengh.
Now for the AM clone, I think the book PIC and the Ebay listing are the same. Two different angles the pictures so it makes it hard compare all parts. The dorsal's unique shape confivences me. David, from the book PIC can you tell if the pouch is solid? I can see the pedals in both look the same.

 

[emydura]

Clearly the 'Paracombe' clone is superior the other. The pouch is solid. The petals are much more colorful for 2/3's their lengh.
Now for the AM clone, I think the book PIC and the Ebay listing are the same. Two different angles the pictures so it makes it hard compare all parts. The dorsal's unique shape confivences me. David, from the book PIC can you tell if the pouch is solid? I can see the pedals in both look the same.

Rick - from the book the pouch doesn't look to be solid. The bottom of the pouch looks white. A flash was used though. It is also a pretty ordinary photo which doesn't do it justice I think. Dean Johnstone told me there were two standout clones from the flask - 'Highercombe' and another one - both were awarded. He said 'Paracombe' was nice but clearly not as good. It was awarded with 5 flowers whereas I have only ever got 3. I was in Sydney at an orchid fair a few years back and Dean was trying to sell a division of 'Highercombe' for $750. So $350 is a bargain in comparison.

I will say for an AM awarded clone the dorsal has some floors and the petal stance is not great. Maybe we just haven't seen a good representative photo of it yet. The dorsal on mine seems a lot flatter.

Interestingly, here is a photo of Susan Booth 'Highercombe' which belongs to a local grower who bought it directly off Dean Johnstone. It won Grand Champion at our show with this flowering. But the dorsal doesn't have the characteristic curl like in the awarded photo. Roy (SlipperTalk member from Melbourne), who said a local grower has this clone, was adamant that it couldn't be 'Highercombe' because of this. In fact, Roy thought it was better than 'Highercombe'. It looks a lot like 'Paracombe'.

 

[2Toned]

Thank you

Just a quick thank you to each of you for prompt responses and for sharing your knowledge and experience with this clone.

Merry Christmas to all.

Tony