Rhynchostylis gigantea 'Spot' January 2011

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Okay, this is the last orchid I will post for the day. This is a Rhynchostylis orchid and its flowers are just starting to open. It will be much better in a few days (I hope). We are supposed to get snow here from Sunday till Tuesday, so I don't know what, if any, the increased light and colder temps will do, but I am hoping the buds will not get too cold and blast. I have the greenhouse heat set on about 55 in the center and 47-50 around the outside edges of the house. I hope that will be warm enough to keep this guy going.

Rhynchostylis gigantea 'Spot' (though he hasn't any spot(s) )



sorry for the fuzzy photos...


here is the best close-up I was able to get with my point and shoot camera.


Cheers,
BD

[orchidsal]

What a lavish wine color on those blooms! I hope the cooler temps are easy on these flowers. Good growing Bruce! AL

[mujacko2002]

mabuhay!

@bruce...i love the color..may i ask how big is the plant? and how long has it been with you? i have rhyncos too but it seems like they're slow grower though they flower once or twice a year.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

mabuhay!

@bruce...i love the color..may i ask how big is the plant? and how long has it been with you? i have rhyncos too but it seems like they're slow grower though they flower once or twice a year.

I will have to get a photo of the whole plant to show. It has been with us many years. The roots are very thick and long. I will get a photo tomorrow if I remember.

Cheers,
BD

[Tednz]

I also wondering how big it was, I have three seedlings and one older plant but not big enough to flower yet and I don't know how old it is. I like the colour of yours does it have a name

[catttan]

That is a superb red Rhy gigantea, BD. At one time it was really rare but now thanks to the efforts of especially one man Prof Rapee Saggarik, the red, the white and the spotted are easily available. Most giganteas today are the result of crossing different selected clones of giganteas resulting in better quality of flowers, increase in frequency of blooming and reduction in size of plants.

BTW your red clone is usually referred to in Thailand as 'Chang Deng, the 'Red Elephant'.

[Halloamey]

BD its not R. gigantea spot but R. giganrea 'red' and it could be any of the red clones. Awesome flowers, my plant is blooming for the second time and has produced two spikes, It should flower soon.

[Halloamey]

Oh ! Read Yews post, thanks Yew for the clone name and the interesting info.

[catttan]

Oh ! Read Yews post, thanks Yew for the clone name and the interesting info.

I am sorry Amey I didn't quite make myself clear. 'Chang Deng' is a general term for all red giganteas and not to any particular awarded red clone - they were also referred to as var rattana (Thai word for the Sanskrit 'ratna' =jewel, most probably referring to its 'ruby' colour). The first red clone that caused quite a sensation was Rhy gigantea 'Saggarik's Strain'. a tetraploid that was used extensively in hybridising. Many of the modern red giganteas have been line-bred from this clone.
Here's an interesting story about Rhy gigantea. When the red giganteas were discovered Prof Saggarik was sure there existed a white strain, seeing that the normal gigantea had white markings on them. A concerted attempt was made to look for the white alba form in Northern Thailand and sure enough a colony of them was found.

[zainal abidin]

Yew, thanks for the history and important info, never heard about it thank for late Prof Rapee Saggarik. Yew do you have any idea how to get red,white and spot with the spike more than one foot? Anyway Bruce very nice clone.