E. Lee Ward (E. adenocaula X E. tampensis)
 

People who know me, know that I love E. tampensis crosses, I can't get enough of them. I like them so much that I have begun to make my own crosses and do my own flasking.

A few years ago, my local Orchid Society sponsored a hands on mounting exercise. Along with instructions, they gave us all the supplies needed, including the plant and for $5.00 you could get another plant.. The plant was E. Lee Ward (E. adenocaula X E. tampensis), I bought a second plant and proceeded to mount them and grow them. One of them grew well and bloomed in it's next blooming cycle. The flower was just okay, not very different from the E tampensis parent.

The second plant sat there and did nothing, it never advanced yet it never decline, it just sat there. This spring I decided I was going to give it one finally chance to do something or pitch it on the compost pile.

I don't know that I did anything different to it than I would normally do to an Encyclia but low and behold it bloomed last week and I can't get over how beautiful the color is. It has gotten better over the few days that it has been open.

Beautiful! Good thing you didn't trash it!

Wow, that is nice colour! Just think, it could be a few grains of earth by now had you put it in the compost :shock:

That is a pretty flower, Glen....you know where I live...I will be happy to care for any orchids you want to throw away(you know I will pay for shipping)....You have a collection to die for.

Holy cow, that color is stunning. Is the color in the pic true to real life??

Steve - Absolutely, it took me about 3 dozen shots before I felt I had captured it correctly. To me it is truely stunning. I have searched all types of orchid photo galleries, Orchid Wiz and the new AQ Plus and can't find another where the color saturation is this good. Of course I put pollen on it before I realized just how nice it was, I guess Judging will have to wait until next year, that is, if it decides to bloom again.

Really nice Glen!

Very nice hybrid, Glen! Lovely combination of the two species. May I ask what pollen you put on it? This seems like it could have great potential as a hybrid parent.

--Nat

Very pretty color for an encyclia. Is is fragrant?

Thanks guys, it is always nice to find the unexpected in the greenhouse.

@Nat - Glad you asked, the first thing I put on it was an extremely dark E. leopoldii. I'm hoping to get some spots into E tampensis breeding. I also put Cty. Carolyn Contorno (Cty. Envy X E. tampensis) on it. Contorno is a large, for an encyclia, greenish flower with a bit of color at the ends of the tepals and a nicely colored, striated lip, I'm looking to, hopefully, keep the size of the Contorno and it would be nice if it improved the color. We will see.