Curious About Different Clones Of 'Little Black Sambo'

[Leafmite]

We just had a speaker, John Dunkelberger, who talked about the hybridizing of the smaller Cymbidiums and mentioned this one when mentioning one of the ancestors. Is this a smaller one?
Good luck!

[Cym Ladye]

Although the flowers of both canaliculatum and madidum are both quite small and could be called miniature, the plants themselves definitely are not. Madidum is a very rank growing species as far as leaf length is concerned. Combine that with the very heavy structure of the canaliculatum and you can get very robust plants in the LBS cross. Definitely not what would be termed "window sill".

In regard to the hybrids from these two species, the majority of the first generation hybrids are also hefty in size, especially the madidum hybrids. This carries into the second and third generation unless a strong effort is made to breed down the size of the plant. The stiff structure of the canaliculatum leaves is also a dominant trait in the first generation. How long it takes to bring down the size of the plant is yet to be determined.

[Leafmite]

Thanks. I did notice that the smaller cyms that he showed us were around eighteen inches or taller and quite bushy. There were some pictures of a species that did look smaller but I know he spoke about some of the species not hybridizing well and then some do not have attractive results when they do. Even though I do not grow these, it was very interesting to learn about them.

[Cym Ladye]

The miniature species first used in downsizing the flowers and the plant size was Cym pumilum, syn floribundum. However, many of the first generation hybrids were not genetically vigorous and resulted in dead end crosses.

Some hybridizers are currently using Cym. devonianum but although these tend to give a much improved flower count, a small flower and shorter leaves, the species itself is pendent and as such, most of the hybrids are too.

An interesting read is Stephen Early's website on the species with how and where they grow and some comments on their use in hybridizing.