Hamelwellsara June ‘Indigo Sue’ AM/AOS

[veekay]

Hi,
I spoke to my seniors in our society about this cross, it was made by George Black was Trinidadian by birth and migrated to England, was 92 years at the time of his death.
He named it after his friend Hamel-Well,Mr Tedd-Well an Attorney as he was known here at that time 'June' was his
wife.
This is the information I learnt from my senors today.
regards
veekay
Note:
we are about to leave to visit Red Land show.

[catwalker808]

Bud & orchidsarefun.

I'm not sure about zygos in general, however I believe that the issue of flowers twisting & turning on the 'Indigo Sue' is due to culture, rather than genetics.

We grew & bloomed a large number of clones of this plant years ago & the flowers on the spikes usually oriented themselves nicely in the same direction.

The clue as, to why Bud's flowers turned in different directions, may be in his statement that "the spike is rather pendant." It is true that the spikes spikes do not grow straight upwards ... but, instead grow outwards at an angle, with the weight of flowers curving the spike downward.

Bud's spike is staked so that it is straight upward. Flowers usually orient themselves toward the direction of the strongest light. This orientation can occur when the buds are still unopened. In the case of a pendant spike. the light angle for each bud is slightly different ... but usually from slightly ABOVE.

When a flower spike is staked after buds are well formed, the light angle for each bud is drastically changed. The light angle to the buds is now from a completely different angle (almost from BELOW) causing developing buds to twist & turn as they bloom.

Consequently, even if the plant pot is not turned, by staking a pendant spike straight upright, when buds are already well developed, it is as if the plant were turned completely around.

This happens to other kinds of orchids, as well, especially when there is strong light from one direction. Staking a spike too late from pendant to vertical is like turning a plant & both result in twisted & turned flowers.

For spikes with closely spaced flowers, it may not be a good idea to stake the spike vertical. If there is strong side lighting, there may not be enough room for all flowers (or stems may be too short) for all flowers to cleanly turn in the same direction.

[Bud]

Thank You for this important piece of information, Cat ! I really do appreciate it.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

This intergeneric has Zygopetalum, obviously...

Traces of Zygopetalum is everywhere in your orchid.

What you may not recognize is that it may have Pabstia jugosa or a species of Pabstia in it. I see this with the petals.

It most likely also has Acacallis cyanea in it. I see this in the lip. The flower color also eludes to this being in its heritage as well.

Perhaps it might even have some Zygosepalum in there. The overall flower shape suggests this.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I'm not certain whether Bollea ecuadorana is in its heritage, but it's a possibility.

[Bud]

Thanks for the infos, Philip!

[RosieC]

Really lovely!

I've not had much luck with the one Zygo I tried, although it's still alive a year or so after mostly rotting off, it's only just alive. Keeps putting up new growths... which then die off... then it puts up another. At least it has roots now. It's really just one back bulb that I managed to root and which occasionally tries to grow.

[orchidsarefun]

Originally Posted by catwalker808

Bud & orchidsarefun.

I'm not sure about zygos in general, however I believe that the issue of flowers twisting & turning on the 'Indigo Sue' is due to culture, rather than genetics.

We grew & bloomed a large number of clones of this plant years ago & the flowers on the spikes usually oriented themselves nicely in the same direction.

The clue as, to why Bud's flowers turned in different directions, may be in his statement that "the spike is rather pendant." It is true that the spikes spikes do not grow straight upwards ... but, instead grow outwards at an angle, with the weight of flowers curving the spike downward.

Bud's spike is staked so that it is straight upward. Flowers usually orient themselves toward the direction of the strongest light. This orientation can occur when the buds are still unopened. In the case of a pendant spike. the light angle for each bud is slightly different ... but usually from slightly ABOVE.

When a flower spike is staked after buds are well formed, the light angle for each bud is drastically changed. The light angle to the buds is now from a completely different angle (almost from BELOW) causing developing buds to twist & turn as they bloom.

Consequently, even if the plant pot is not turned, by staking a pendant spike straight upright, when buds are already well developed, it is as if the plant were turned completely around.

This happens to other kinds of orchids, as well, especially when there is strong light from one direction. Staking a spike too late from pendant to vertical is like turning a plant & both result in twisted & turned flowers.

For spikes with closely spaced flowers, it may not be a good idea to stake the spike vertical. If there is strong side lighting, there may not be enough room for all flowers (or stems may be too short) for all flowers to cleanly turn in the same direction.

hmm...not sure if I am entirely convinced because on my zygo cross I didn't stake the stem, nor move its position. I will be extra careful this year and test the theory, but its definitely happening on the pendant-hanging flowers. A companion zygo was not staked and its flowers were "normal"

[Bud]

Thank You, Rosie! I am sure if you put your Zygo outside in the shade this hot summer(even outside of the window shaded since direct sun will burn the leaves)...it will have a sturdy growth than when you put it just indoors all the time...they like a lot of water but moist not dripping wet...meaning if you spritz them in the mornings and really soak the media once a week with the fertilizer in warmer months...altho they dont feed a lot(I stop fertilizer in mid Nov and begin again in mid-March)...it does have yellowish leaves if they are given bright light and darker green if too much shade...I never have problems with bugs or fungi or bacteris...Zygos are very hardy plants

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by Bud

Thank You, Sonya...why dont you repot it on a different media this time use a cymbidium mix...put it outside in the shade and water it moist but not dripping wet once a week...the humidity in your grow zone this time of year is just right for your plant...
*note: do not wet the leaves

Well, it's now in a quite small pot, after I removed all the dead stuff, so it dries quickly. I was watering them like I do Cyms, and while I have found Cyms hard to over-water, that isn't the case for these guys apparently So - at least my mackayi has stayed alive, and now has some new growth on it. Keeping fingers crossed.