CSA-Journal-2016-04

cymbidium species it ranks 5th in the number
of progeny with 11,126 as of 2014. Only
Cymbidiums insigne, lowianum, eburneum,
and grandiflorum have more. Surprisingly,
the RHS lists sanderae as 11th in the number
of progeny.
Now the big question: what is the
difference between parishii and sanderae?
Some say it is how the flower spike is initiated,
that one starts the spike in the leaves
and the other starts its spike at the bottom
of the bulb. After talking to several experts,
I found that the general opinion is that
they both will spike either way. The biggest
difference that I have seen is that Sanderae
will have more than 10 flowers per spike,
and parishii 4 -5 flowers on a spike, but of
course the number of flowers on a spike can
be dependent on many conditions. The
lips may be different, but that is also known
to come from diversity. Additionally it is reported
that the flower segments fold back a
bit more on a parishii. Other than
that, one cannot tell them apart.
Truth be told most of the
older plants in culture now are
either sib crosses or divisions of
the original plant that Mrs. Menninger
rescued back in the ‘60s.
So what makes this species
valuable as a hybridizing parent?
For a start the inflorescence presentation
is arching which makes
for a good flower display. Its color
is not dominant, allowing offspring
to carry other color flowers.
It improves the red markings
on its progenies’ lips, and overall
seems to improve the appearance
of the plants. Finally the progeny
will tolerate a slightly raised
growing temperature.
Some of the older primary
hybrids are still being used and
re-made. Cymbidium Dryad, insigne crossed
with parishii [1914 Holford] was used
many times and is still being shown in its
4n version. Cymbidium Garnet, parishii
crossed with lowianum [1915 Holford] is
being remade in a tetraploid version, as is
Cymbidium Sea Mew, which is made from
crossing parishii with iansonii.
Now let us look at the last 40 years
of primary hybridizing of these species. I
would have to say that New Horizons, Geyersland,
and Featherhill are the firms with
the most success from crosses made with
these species. The primary hybrids include:
Hugh Gordon made with alifolium [Featherhill
1979]. Devon Parish made with devonianum
[Geyserland 1983]. Herbie Poole
made with hookerianum [Geyserland 1989].
Herbert George Alexander made with tracyanum
[AOS, 2001]. Canal Parish made
with canaliculatum [New Horizon, 2011].
Cymbidium Dryad
Photo courtesy W. Caughlan
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