Den. Mingle's Sapphire

[Bud]

The reginae is dominant in its form and color. That is a beautiful flower. Good growing !

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by Bud

The reginae is dominant in its form and color. That is a beautiful flower. Good growing !

Yes, the blooms are quite similar to v-r. I haven't found a pic of gonzalesii tho, so can't compare to that

Thanks for the compliment - I really like this one, and it seems to be an undemanding plant, other than it's love of water lol.

[Bud]

both the victoria reginae and the gonzalesii are native to the Philippine islands.
according to IOSPE
the Dendrobium gonzalesii Quisumbing 1938 is actually a 1900 find but registered in 1938
The Philippines in 1893 to 1945 was a commonwealth of USA just like Puerto Rico is now...
in 1900 they sent all these "Thomasites" or Harvard and Yale graduates and founded a University ...scientists discovered many species of flora and fauna...

heres the pic of gonzalesii: looks like a big kingianum that has stripings in the petals which is also found on your flower...but the color and form of your flower is dominantly victoria reginae seen on the roundness of the sepals of your bloom and the deep bluish tinge

both parents feed and drink a lot...its from a tropical monsoon weather climate...

[Leisurely]

Sonya, please tell me what you think. I live in Florida where the summers are sizzlers. I have refrained from trying to grow a plant like yours because I did not think it would survive in our climate. Since victoria-reginae is a cool to intermediate grower and gonzalesii is a warm grower, what do you think my chances of success would be based on your experience with this plant. I have tried a lot of other dendrobiums before that failed because of their environmental preferences and adding something to your collection that is not happy can be very challenging and problematic. Please give me your opinion if you would.

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by Bud

both the victoria reginae and the gonzalesii are native to the Philippine islands.
according to IOSPE
the Dendrobium gonzalesii Quisumbing 1938 is actually a 1900 find but registered in 1938
The Philippines in 1893 to 1945 was a commonwealth of USA just like Puerto Rico is now...
in 1900 they sent all these "Thomasites" or Harvard and Yale graduates and founded a University ...scientists discovered many species of flora and fauna...

heres the pic of gonzalesii: looks like a big kingianum that has stripings in the petals which is also found on your flower...but the color and form of your flower is dominantly victoria reginae seen on the roundness of the sepals of your bloom and the deep bluish tinge

both parents feed and drink a lot...its from a tropical monsoon weather climate...

Cool - thank you very much for the info and the photo!
Yes, this one loves it's water! I made the mistake originally of potting it in a clay pot with chunky bark - it's still in that but the same media for a few years, so retains moisture better now - when it gets repotted I will definitely be changing to plastic pot and media that retains more moisture. Other than the love of water, it's been an undemanding plant.

I have a victoria-reginae also, and so could see the resemblance between the two - but now seeing the pic of gonzalesii I can see some resemblance there too.

Thanks again for all the info!

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by Leisurely

Sonya, please tell me what you think. I live in Florida where the summers are sizzlers. I have refrained from trying to grow a plant like yours because I did not think it would survive in our climate. Since victoria-reginae is a cool to intermediate grower and gonzalesii is a warm grower, what do you think my chances of success would be based on your experience with this plant. I have tried a lot of other dendrobiums before that failed because of their environmental preferences and adding something to your collection that is not happy can be very challenging and problematic. Please give me your opinion if you would.

Jerry -

The descriptions of Mingle's Sapphire I have read do indicate that it should tolerate a fairly wide range of temps -
from Petite Plaisance - Orchid Species, Dendrobium forbesii, Dendrobium falconeri, Dendrobium victoria-reginae, Dendrobium finisterrae, Dendrobium spectabilis, Dendrobium anosmum, Dendrobium gordonii, Dendrobium trigonopus, Dendrobium guerreroi, Dendrobiu

Dendrobium Mingle's Sapphire
A primary hybrid of a cool grower (D. victoria-reginae) and a warmer grower ( D. gonzalesii). This brings a wide temperature tolerance and is suitable for all but extreme cold and extreme heat. Another plus with this plant is that is almost always in bud or bloom. Usually before the flowers go, you will see buds forming somewhere on one or two canes. Colors vary from soft powder "blue" to darker "bluish" lavender. Vigorus grower and easy to cultivate. Moderate light.!

Mine has tolerated short periods of extreme heat. I don't know if it wants to be in full sun for long periods during extreme heat, but I would think it would be ok with some morning sun, or dappled/partial afternoon sun at least. Mine takes a bit of direct afternoon sun, even during heat, but has been indoors (no a/c for me, so only a bit cooler inside than out during hot spells).

I don't believe it needs any cool period, as it can bloom multiple times a year. It definitely does not want a DRY period - loves water!

The plant itself is not spectacular - has the spindly canes that drop foliage after about a year, wants to be pendulous, tho can be staked up - but the blooms are fantastic (color on mine is more saturated than it appears in the photo, but as with victoria-reginae, color can vary), and blooms freely.

Mine has a keiki - I don't know how long before that might be bloom size tho, but I can keep you in mind if you like, when it gets sufficient roots to remove.
Also - I got mine here Clackamas-Orchids Acineta to Staurochilus - $10 (tho shipping is likely as much) - listed as BS seedling which sounds crazy I know, but when I got mine it was listed as NBS seedling - bloomed within a year, tho only a few blooms, but the next year (last year) bloomed multiple times, tho only a few blooms at a time, but is now really kicking into gear!

I don't know if all this helps you decide - It does seem that the gonzalessi parent should make Mingle's Sapphire happier with your climate than victoria-reginae.
This site PlantFiles: Detailed information on Dendrobium Mingle's Sapphire Dendrobium
lists Mingle's Sapphire to hardiness zone 11 - I realize that refers to low temps, not high, but that's quite warm.

[nenella]

Very nice flower & interesting post. Thanks for posting!

[ronaldhanko]

Lovely shot, Sonya, but I'm adding this also by way of letting you know that there are two spam stories on the home page of the OB. I don't know how to flag them or report them as spam.

[Leisurely]

Thanks Sonya for all of the good information. I have ordered from Clackamas before so I will order one and give it a try. I grow in a greenhouse but I move a lot of plants outside in mid March where they grow under a large live oak tree with a high canopy. They are returned to the greenhouse in mid November. It is much cooler under the oak than in the greenhouse so it might be happy there.

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by ronaldhanko

Lovely shot, Sonya, but I'm adding this also by way of letting you know that there are two spam stories on the home page of the OB. I don't know how to flag them or report them as spam.

Thanks Ron - I have pm-ed an admin about that- unfortunately I'm not able to delete that. When I 'click thru' on the headers, or user name, I get an error, so I don't know if they have been dealt with my admin, but for some reason still show on the home page *sigh*