Paphiopedilum In-Charm Topaz

[NYCorchidman]

This is a tea cup type complex paph with a shot of helenae.

The whole thing stands about 6 in tall and the flower is 4in of it. It looks rather funny seeing two large flowers on a tiny little plant.

I was hoping this plant would clump up into a nice little specimen, but it looks like it is either on the decline or want to maintain only a couple growths at a time.
Old growths died out quite fast.

Oh, well, for now, I'm just enjoying the lovely bloom.

[WhiteRabbit]

Wonderful!

[lotis146]

Ooo that's nice! It is interesting how small the plant is versus the flowers. Too bad the old growths died off, but still nice.

Thanks for sharing.

[Leafmite]

Pretty impressive flowers for such a small plant!

[tryingtoflower]

It's very pretty and a bonus of it being a small plant. I had no idea how large some of these paphs can get. Can you tell me which others are small? I'm already running out of paph. space.

[Fairorchids]

If you are looking for small growing Paphs, there are several species that would qualify (helenae, henryanum, niveum & the other Brachys, some clones of fairrieanum & charlesworthii, and a few others).

If you are thinking hybrids, it becomes a more difficult subject (see photo). Small growing plants do appear randomly from time to time. You need to look at groups of plants and select small - but you have to make sure that it is not small due to being in poor condition.

Photo shows a modern complex together with Paph Doll's Kobold (= charleswothii x henryanum). This primary hybrid is one of the foundation plants for further 'teacup' breeding. Paph In-Charm Topaz at the start of this thread is another. I have several of both for use in my breeding program.

I also have 8 plants of Paph Topaz Magic (In-Charm Topaz x Sorcerer's Stone). When they bloomed the 1st time around, they ranged from almost 12" across, on down to the smallest at 3.1/2". From this group, I am selecting for a combination of small plant size, and decent flower quality, for further breeding.

As a consumer, it can be difficult to stay abreast of the latest breeding trends. FYI, teacup breeding has been spearheaded by Harold Koopowitz, Paphanatics & Russ Hella (= Deerwood Orchids). Some of the hybrids being used in this trend are:

Barbi-Doll (barbigerum x fairrieanum)
Doll's Kobold (charlesworthii x henryanum)
In-Charm Topaz (helenae x Pacific Shamrock)
Little by Little (Doll's Kobold x Tyke)
Topaz Magic (In-Charm Topaz x Sorcerer's Stone)
Tyke (henryanum x barbigerum)

As this breeding moves into 3rd & 4th generations, it becomes harder to remember which species are in the background. In each seedling population, there will be both small and larger plants. If you can't select plants in person, you will need to ask your plant sources specifically for small growing plants.

[Fairorchids]

Double entry removed

[tryingtoflower]

Fairorchids, thank you so much for all the great information. I keep buying without even thinking of their blooming size and quickly running out of space. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer. Love both of those plants in the photo.

[NYCorchidman]

All the Topaz Magic I've seen were huge! I think the influence of Socercer's Stone together with Pacific Shamrock gene really kick in, unfortunately.

Almost all the In-Charm Topaz I've seen were rather small. I really like the flower on mine, but I hope the plant survives.

The size of the standard complex in the picture is not even that big, but even this size will (or can) get much larger after its initial blooming.
Size is really a problem for many hobbyists, myself included.

I am about to toss one big complex because it is just too big and maybe some more to go. Oh, well...

[Fairorchids]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

All the Topaz Magic I've seen were huge! I think the influence of Socercer's Stone together with Pacific Shamrock gene really kick in, unfortunately.

Almost all the In-Charm Topaz I've seen were rather small. I really like the flower on mine, but I hope the plant survives.

The size of the standard complex in the picture is not even that big, but even this size will (or can) get much larger after its initial blooming.
Size is really a problem for many hobbyists, myself included.

I am about to toss one big complex because it is just too big and maybe some more to go. Oh, well...

I was selecting for small growing plants, when I purchased my Topaz Magics. The largest plant has 12" fans, which I consider compact (compared with how big complex hybrids can be). Several others are in 8-10" range, which I consider worthwhile to breed with, provided that the pollen parent is small growing.

The smallest plant was 3.1/2" when it bloomed last year. It looks like the new growths will be slightly larger, but they are not mature yet, so I can't say what the final leafspan will be.