| catwalker808 |
04-03-2014 05:08 AM |
I believe that the name is correct. More important than the mid rib striping is the shape of the petals, the shape of the lip, the shape of the side lobes & the positioning & shape of the yellow on the lip below the column.
I have seen at least 8 years of blooms of the original & mericlones of 'Tokutsu'. I have also spoken with Mr Tokutsu many times over the years & when he was at my home last month. We have both come to the conclusion after many years of observing his original, his mericlones & my mericlone blooms, that light & temperature have a great effect on the color patterns of this particular plant of C walkeriana.
Andre's plant was probably grown under good, but not particularly strong light. The temperature was probably warm to intermediate. I am guessing this because the flower looks to be semi-alba, with a slight tinge of pink on the petals. The petals also do not appear as crisp & flat as the photos of 'Tokutsu' that many people have seen.
My mericlones bloom with the same petal, lip, column & side lobe shapes as the original 'Tokutsu', but they never bloom with the distinctive white petals & red mid ribs on the petals & sepals. My flowers are usually nicely shaped, but they have a light pink blush with almost white areas where the red ribs would be. There are sometimes fine faint lines on the mid ribs.
When I asked Mr Tokutsu about his experience blooming his original & his mericlones, he told me that they bloom differently depending on light & temperatures. He blooms them in Japan in late November to early December. I have been to his greenhouse. When it's warm, it may be 12-14 C outside & 21-23 inside the GH during the day. At night, it's 6 C outside & maybe 10-12 inside the GH. But when it's colder, inside the GH it might get to 6-8 at night & 12-15 during the day. Even if it's cold, he has very good light.
Under the warmer conditions, his flowers bloom with a faint blush & only faint red center ribs. When it is very cold & bright, the flowers have the excellent shape, texture & very distinctive red mid ribs on petals & sepals. I have seen this same phenomenon occur with a C walkeriana I have, compared with a division I sold to someone in a very cold part of Japan. Bloomed in the cold Japanese winter, it had the same kind of striking red ribs as 'Tokutsu'.
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