For anyone with any of the new OZ bred besseaes that are bloooming out - could you post or email me photos of the best bloom in you opinion? I'm curious to compare the blooms to my own, and also, need "expectation" photos for the database. I finished the photo/movie section a few minutes ago, but would like to include these new crosses. They're the only ones now that I'm missing.

Crosses I am looking for are:
'Haven' x 'Smokin'
'Smokin' x 'Colossal'
'Big Boy' x 'Colossal'

Or anything with one of those parents.

Thank you!

I've got one in bud from Orchid Inn, I believe it's Haven x Smokin...but I could be wrong (I just grabbed the one with the widest leaves). I believe he was selling all three and I know others that bought some of them, I'll see if I can get photos when they bloom from friends at our Christmas party. (I'm still partial to my 4n from Orchidview...but I wanted another 4n besseae to cross it with)

Jon

Dear Heather
I can poss. find photos of Phrag bessae from the Eric Young Orchid Foundation. I know I have one of a whole bench full somewhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :clap:
I leave for two weeks at the English nursery on Tuesday and I may find it hard to find time to get online for a while.

We had a superb weekend at the Slipper Forum! I promise to send a report soon and probably one from the British Paph. Soc. meeting on the 19th( unles you are coming afterall????????) :shock:

Gee!!! I do wish the US was metric???????????
In Europe we get 10 days in a week!!!!!!!(Well it does seem like it???!!!)
Hope I have done this right to go on the chat line?? :evil:
Paul
RATCLIFFE :lol:

I've got one in bud from Orchid Inn, I believe it's Haven x Smokin...but I could be wrong (I just grabbed the one with the widest leaves). I believe he was selling all three and I know others that bought some of them, I'll see if I can get photos when they bloom from friends at our Christmas party. (I'm still partial to my 4n from Orchidview...but I wanted another 4n besseae to cross it with)

Jon

Thanks Jon, that's exactly what I'm looking for, so I'd love to see it when it blooms. Mine have super wide leaves in that cross also.

We had a superb weekend at the Slipper Forum! I promise to send a report soon and probably one from the British Paph. Soc. meeting on the 19th( unles you are coming afterall????????) :shock:

Paul, if you'd like to pay my way, I'm more than happy to attend! :D
Heard good things so far about the Slipper Forum, but would like to hear more from you and also about the British Society meeting. Have a great trip.

I bought two crosses, only the Haven x Smokin has bloomed. i will attach the picture

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c27/orchidfever123/pbesshavxsmok.jpg


It had a 7+cm spread, not bad for a first bloom.[/img]

ok that just about blinded me!!!!

like staring at the sun...


nice one Orchid-Fever


cheers
tim

Thank you! Keep 'em coming!

WOW!!! That's really red!!! Beautiful!!!

:-dance: Thanks we get to see real nice pictures like the one just posted .
they DO really get you Billie

Heather

I have:
besseae var. flava
besseae 'Bleeding Heart' X 'Collosial'
besseae 'Haven' X 'Smoken'
d'alessandroii

These are all in bud now. I had a besseae 'Terry's Choice' but in knocked the bud off just before it was ready to open. These will be my first besseae blooms ever.

The only besseae I have ever seen in bloom was one at Housermann's which I fell in love with. When I asked the price I was told it was $750.00. They had a smaller one for $500.00. Needless to say, I didn't buy either of those but he did find me a seedling (sort of, it had hair like roots) which I bought for $35.00. It still only has 2 tiny leaves.... but, it is still alive. That was last Feb. The variety is 'Fox Croft' X Fox Fire'.

Grandma

Excellent, Gram! I look forward to seeing all of your's also!

Hi Grandma,

Heather has been prodding me :poke: , and I've finally caved in and bought a "Raven X Smokin" from Mountain Orchids in Vermont. (They had a sale that I could not resist.) It should come in spike, so I am very excited, and hope to be able to post photos of it.

I had never seen one in bloom until the MOS Show about 1.5 months ago, when I met Heather. I was amazed at how small and delicate they were. Still, they were enchanting. I don't think I had ever seen such vivid red colors!

I can't wait to see your photos. Is the besseae var. flava the yellow one?? Is the d'alessandroii a variety of besseae or a clonal name?

Congratulations to you and Heather for all your buds! It is going to look like a "besseaefest" around here with all the photos.

I can't wait!!!! :Party:

PS: does anyone have photos of besseae growing in the wild??? I think that a *few* of us would love to see photos!

Just arrived in the post today from Mountain Orchids. I was expecting 'Raven' x 'Smokin,' but got 'Big Bob' x 'Colossal.' I was really happy to see it in bloom. :Party: :Party: Instant Gratification, and I see now why these guys grow on you. This particular bloom is more of an orange/red with some hint of yellow near the pouch. I like it. It has really round petals. mMaybe the dorsal could be a bit rounder, but I'm not complaining.

http://pic17.picturetrail.com/VOL796/117745/8518795/118932672.jpg

Sorry that the photo is blurry. It was dark when I got home today!

Susan, now that is what I call a besseae! I love the big round petals. BEAUTIFUL! Please post another photo in the Phrag gallery if you can. It is just gorgeous!

Oh great, thanks Susan!! I have one of that cross in bud and at least one other not there yet. Can't wait to compare!
Looks like that may be the first bloom - can you tell?
The dorsals on my first ones have been small like that but improving on subsequent buds. Please post again when it is
brighter, and maybe the next bloom? I know, I'm a pest!

Super round petals though! I have three opening tonight - 'Inca Sun' x 'Orange Circle' (from OL) is looking good
but not from this breeding strain. Not as large/roung petals, smaller blooms. 'H' x 'S' #1 bud 3 - looks huge and no
deformation. 'H' x 'S' #2 bud 2 looks nice, no deformation but twisted due to spike that was bent in shipping from OZ.
Hopefully some photos tomorrow.

Heather, do post pics of your H x S also. I really love the cute round petals!

Here are the buds tonight. It is a little skewed because the largest bud is in the front, but it is really a good 1/2 cm. larger at least than the other buds. Nothing's fully open nor is color finished intensifying anywhere.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/ahmcd33/80b3d807.jpg

More tomorrow I hope! I have really high hopes for that third one in front! :)

So, front to back - HxS #1 bud three, HxS #2 bud two, IncaxOrange #1 bud 1.

You have a whole field of bessies! :lol: Do post more when the flowers open. BTW, I moved your post to the gallery where it should be. I really like the full rounded petals, so I'll be looking forward to seeing more pics!

Very pretty! Can't wait to see them in their glory!

Oh, for some reason I put it elsewhere? :confused:

Anyway, 7 or 8 in bud total, hence my request for all possible cross photos to compare. I know we all have lots coming into bloom now! :D

thanks...I hope they are worth it!

Thanks Pete, I still cannot believe how small the flowers are, but they are like little bright stars and certainly grow on you!

I'll post another photo tomorrow. It was dark when I got home, but wanted to take a photo. As a result, I really rushed, and the photo came out blurry. I think I can do a better job when I have more light. :lol: Also, I had my camera on low resolution so I would not fill up the memory card.

One question I have is about the dorsal sepals of these. They are pointy and not totally flat. There is a little *point* on the top that is not really flat. I've seen it in all the other besseae photos as well, except for perhaps Uri's. Is this normal? This is my first (but probably not last) besseae. :love:

Heather, this is the first bloom for this plant. When I opened it and saw a flower, I just about fainted. It *does* have another bud behind this flower. Is this normal????

WOW! I cannot wait until all of Heather's and Grandma's flowers open!!!

Besseaefest!!!

Best,

One question I have is about the dorsal sepals of these. They are pointy and not totally flat. There is a little *point* on the top that is not really flat. I've seen it in all the other besseae photos as well, except for perhaps Uri's. Is this normal? This is my first (but probably not last) besseae. :love:

Heather, this is the first bloom for this plant. When I opened it and saw a flower, I just about fainted. It *does* have another bud behind this flower. Is this normal????


Yes Susan, you should get two, three, or even four flowers!
In my house at least - these new ones are only improving each bud. So, don't worry about that dorsal. They are most likely tetraploid from what I've heard so there is a bit of deformation that can occur. My dorsals have been the same on my first two plants first one or two buds. My third bud looks perfect and much larger than the previous! That's why I wish to see everyone's new grexes at each bud stance - to compare. If you'd rather, email them to me at ahmcdonald1@mac.com.

I do apologize - I realize not everyone adores these but I am so enamoured! I cannot get enough!!! I love especially to see the variation and differences across the old grexes and the new!
I just loooooove them. So, I hate to say you are all going to be subjected to lots of pics in the upcoming days, for my comparisons. I hope you don't mind too too much!

Keep them coming! Pleeeeassseee! I'm hooked! :whoo:

Susan, don't worry about that dorsal, there will always be variations. How big is your flower? I think mine measured at 3.5"*the largest one) in NS the last time it flowered.

Your worse than I am Heather! :poke: It's only because I do not have a digital camera right now :(

Here are some of mine in bloom pics taken earlier this year.
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze6o1l1/bes4.jpg
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze6o1l1/bes5.jpg
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze6o1l1/be1.jpg

Susan, don't worry about that dorsal, there will always be variations. How big is your flower? I think mine measured at 3.5"*the largest one) in NS the last time it flowered.

Right,
That's why I'm really looking for pics of this new breeding line, because so far in my experience there HAS been so much variation, even in one plant! I hear this is pretty normal in a) first blooms and b) tetraploid plants.

Thanks all!

Heather so many coming into to flower --really nice looking plants :clap2:
I only have one of those earlier normal ones -we don't really see any of the newer ones here :(
this thread is really interesting Billie

Well, since we have Heather's attention, and she's in a gushing mood :-) Any tips on Besseae culture, since I got my first one a few weeks ago?

Heather,

are you saying that all of those OZ bessae sib crosses are tetraploid?

Heather,

are you saying that all of those OZ bessae sib crosses are tetraploid?

They aren't labelled as such but what Rob (littlefrog) said in an earlier post here when he had just received the 100 he bought directly from Terry Root was that Terry had indicated he thought they were all tetraploid. I think it was in a post here - could have been a PM (which I know I don't have any more.)

No Problem: Here is is "sans" link:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b234/dustyatticstuff/besseaeBigBobxColossal3.jpg

Slightly different photo than the link Heather provided.

Has anyone found that these are very difficult to photograph? The vibrant reds seem to block out the rest of the details. Perhaps it is the lighting?

Thanks!

Sorry, me again....

Does tetraploid mean 3N or 4N?

Thanks Susan - sorry to be such a pest.

I actually found the yellow form to be easy to photograph but I haven't had good sun on days that mine are open
- cross your fingers for tomorrow, I've two or three that should be ready. At least one! :wink:
In my space, the light is too "red" so I need to get it into natural light to photograph.

Tetraploid is 4N, Diploid is 2N, Triploid is 3N (I think!)

I found the initial post of Rob's that I thought the 4N info was in, but it wasn't so it must have been either pm or email -
I'll try and nail that down in the next day or two to get it clarified. Sorry for any confusion!

I find that taking pictures of red flowers is much easier in a greenhouse or in natural light. As many of you have probably noticed, the type of lighting can exagerate the color. Many lighting systems consist of florescent tubes which will distort the red shades. For a true color take it outside with some backlighting or reflected light.

Regarding ploidy, Heather is correct. The normal situation is diploid or 2n. Polyploidy is basically anything more than that, and specificially tetraploid (4n) and triploid (3n) are commonly seen. There are plants that have even higher ploidy counts, but they would be a nightmare to breed with. Usually triploid plants are mules and can't be bred further, but there are some notable exceptions such as Paph insigne "Harefield Hall". A tetraploid crossed with a diploid will produce triploids which can be marvelous flowers but useless for future breeding.

Not so natural, but at least sunshine! I'll take what I can get!
Forgot to measure, I was in a hurry.

This is the third bloom on my first 'Haven' x 'Smokin'. First one to not have any deformation and
also the largest flower thus far. I'm happy!

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/ahmcd33/545fd0a0.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/ahmcd33/80f86ef4.jpg

Very nice shape and form. I love the round petals!

What a beautiful flower :clap:

Oh Heather what have you started ????
going to have to ask freinds "Know anyone in the U S A travelling to Australia ? "


- Ive started a file to put in these besseae photos so I can too see the differences .
Wow can't get over that flower colour . thanks for letting us share your joy .
Billie

I just received my first 3 OZ besseaes, all 'Haven' x 'Smokin'.

One of them arrived in bloom, and although it might have been a nice bloom before, it was REALLY beat up during shipping. It does have a bud that will be opening before too long, though (which also appears to have a blemish... but we'll see how it turns out). It does have excellent form, it's a very flat flower... and decent sized (at about 2.5 inches). The other two are also in bud; one of them has just a few days (I hope) before it's open, and the other maybe a week or two. I'll start posting pictures as soon as I get some nice blooms :)

-Matt