Rossioglossum Rawdon Jester

[Dorsetman]

Eight flowers and one bud, 15cm - almost six inches - natural spread. Almost as good as it gets , but since the plant was repotted a little late in the natural cycle, maybe it could do better next time. I note that most of the awarded ones have had 8 or 9 flowers, rarely more, but usually an extra cm or even inch on the natural spread.

The flower is basically the same as one of the parents - R.grande, which way back used to be sold as a beginners cool house orchid in UK under th name Odontoglossum grande. In fact at first, many people refused to accept that it is a hybrid. But the species always flowers ( unless you get the culture wrong) immediately after completing the growth ; the hybrid sometimes flowers before starting the new growth in the spring.

Bred by my frend David Stead, at the old, long gone nursery in the north of England ( near the city of Leeds, in the old village of Rawdon) some time in the late 70's. I recall being shown the seedlings and wondering whether it truly was a hybrid at that stage. I did have a compot then, but those original plants have gone the way of all flesh - after all I have moved house half a dozen times,inevitably with a lot of changes in the collection , deliberately or otherwise - and this present plant is one I only bought a year or two ago.

Jester, by the way, because R.grande is called "the clown orchid" - many people can "see" the figure of a circus clown in the middle of the flower. My imagination does not work that way -maybe I am too literal.

[Susie11]

Lovely flowers Geoff. I have just today received my very own Rossioglossum grande!! It is flowering sized and ready to go but I wonder about repotting it and what to use. Would sphag be any good do you think? Do you give yours a rest in the winter?

[cdayinflorida]

Very nice.

[Dorsetman]

Lovely flowers Geoff. I have just today received my very own Rossioglossum grande!! It is flowering sized and ready to go but I wonder about repotting it and what to use. Would sphag be any good do you think? Do you give yours a rest in the winter?

Winter rest,yes. After the bulb is made up, keep dry for a few weeks.

I think sphagnum too wet for these things. Use bark and spag, or just bark and maybe perlite, so as to get more drying out between waterings. Mine is in medium bark 4 parts, charcoal 1 part and coarse Perlite 1 part.

Best of luck -

Geoff

[Susie11]

That is great, I already have a mix of that that I used for my paphs. I shall repot tomorrow then. Many thanks.

[TwoStems]

Awesome! I love the shape of these!! Thanks for sharing

[smurphr]

it's stunning... i just might have to try one of these out.. though i'm not too good at keeping things dry in winter... it rains most of the winter here and really anit that cool... BTW, i always love reading the tidbits, histories, and all round amazing chunks of knowledge you include with most every post, truly... thanks for that!

[catttan]

Great blooms, Geoff. Thanks for the history.

[orchidsal]

Your showing a all time favorite Geoff and what a grand display it is. I have had my Rawdon Jester for a little over a year and I have new growths, but no blooms as of yet. I have the Rossioglossum grande for going on two years and it has not bloomed since I first got it. I know the grande especially does not like heat above 80 degrees F., but I have solved that problem months ago. I did not try a true 'winter rest' with either this year. Any suggestions on blooming these would be appreciated! AL

[Dorsetman]

Y. Any suggestions on blooming these would be appreciated! AL

The best advice I can give is to watch for the growths starting to fatten up and produce bulbs, and reduce water. I found that going on watering for a week or two longer "to get these best bulb" was usually a recipe for non-flowering. Maybe the dryer time is a trigger. By popular belief in UK - where grande iwas in everyones's collection, coolness in the resting period was not necessary. But then in the average UK greenhouse, its not very warm in the winter, anyway !