Quote:
Originally Posted by Jayfar
To some of the points kentaki raises, search for a thread on the slippertalk forum titled "Short note on neofinetia falcata cultivar disillusions" for a more cynical view. I know I've mentioned that thread before; it's a bit disheartening if the allegations are true.
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I read the first post and several. He is only partially right. We all know "Never say never," right? I will start with
Cymbidium. Japanese
Cym. goeringii cultivars are true cultivars, and so are
Cym. kanran cultivars. If they sell seedlings of cultivars, they would lose reputation, and likely customers and business. Not all Japanese Cym. growers spend millions of Yens, so the customer base is rather limited.
Older Chinese
Cym. goeringii cultivars are real ones, partly because they are cheap and abundant and there is no need to sell hybrids or seedlings.
Cym. goeringii and
Cym. kanran are relatively difficult to propagate by seeds, and that may be another reason. But there is a situation with Korean
Cym. goeringii which is all rage nowadays, and I have some doubt about this one. I read that there is a lot of
Cym. sinense breeding going on, but I am not sure if that is intraspecific or interspecific hybridization. Older
Cym. sinense and
Cym. ensifolium foliar cultivars are probably true ones because they are cheaper, and there are a tons of them to being with.
There is a lot of breeding going on with
Den. moniliforme, sold as Sekkoku (石斛), a Japanese name for this species. But other species are also called xx 石斛 such as 大明石斛 (
Den. speciosum), 竹葉石斛 (
Den. hancockii), etc. So in a sense, they are all 石斛 (
Dendrobium). The situation is very similar to the case of Japanese Azalea. While the original species was
Rhododendron indica, it has been crossed with
R. simsii so much. But it is still called "Satsuki," a Japanese name for
Rhododendron indica. Another example would be African violet. If you look up Hortus III, the name for African violet is
Saintpaulia ionantha. But almost all African violets are descendants of
S. ionantha x
S. confusa. Orchid naming system is unique and different, which I appreciate it, but
Den. moniliforme breeders are not intentionally deceptive. Besides, if a certain cultivar is a "hybrid," it is usually mentioned whether it is interspecific or intraspecific, which is another problem. One way to avoid "hybrids" is to buy only ones that are with some collection data. But there is also a difference between "collected from" and "come from."
As for
Neofinetial culrivars, many, especially registered ones are (or should be) true cultivars. In the past, artificial seedlings were frowned upon by growers. This started to change after the 12th WOC. Compared to
Cym. goeringii and
Cym. kanran,
Den. monoliforme and
Neofinetia are much easier to propagate by seeds, and this is another reason you see more seedlings or hybrids. What they are concerned is whether plants have good "gei" or not. Sometimes, seedlings have better "gei" than their parents. But based on what I have seen, buyers seem to be generally aware whether they are buying are original divisions or seedlings. To get to the point to know what you are dealing with, you clearly need help whether it is a book or a guru. In a way, this is like tea ceremony, calligraphy, jûdô, or whatever so that you can educate yourself and improve. In other words, Japanese Fûkiran growers are active participants in this seemingly complex situation. That is one reason I called you guys "brave" because you are doing this without a guidance.
But of course, nobody will tell you that what you have may be seedlings of what they are supposed to be. If you are directly buying from reputable Fûkiran nurseries in Japan (I read Seed Engei is reputable), you are probably (there is always a chance of mistake) purchasing "real" ones. But if not? That is a good question.
You may also wonder why you cannot buy Fûkiran directly from Japan, but they are probably happy with their customer base, and do not feel a need for expansion. Besides, Americans do not spend thousands of dollars on Fûkiran. So why should they bother? Seed Engei did not sell several items at last auction, which is indicative of losing popularity as well. But getting back to the name issue, I understand that some people are uncomfortable, but I like my plants because how they look like, not because they are the most rare, most expensive, or have pretty names. You may have to compromise somehow.
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