Orchid of the Week

This week’s Orchid of the Week is… Cym. Houghton

Parentage: This weeks Orchid of the Week is a cross between Cym. Balkis × Cym. Volcano

Registered: 1984

The reason why it’s our Orchid of the Week:

This week’s Orchid of the Week is an old one, however, it is a product of two very well known parents and has produced a fragrant flower that is very easy on the eye and has a very interesting lip.

I found this plant only a couple of weeks ago in a local grower’s collection and thought it would be an interesting addition to my collection of odd/old and interesting plants! The perfume is not strong, but certainly there, and very pleasant.

It won’t win on the show bench, but the result of the cross is exactly what you might expect. Cym. Balkis has a lot of Cym. insigne and Cym. Alexanderi in the lineage and was a wonderful plant when registered in 1934 and has been a valuable plant in breeding. It is still around today if you look hard enough. I don’t have one, but have some of its offspring…..

Cym. Volcano is also a well known plant, having Cym. Spartan Queen as one of its parents. Cym. Volcano has had several successful offspring also. I unfortunately lost my plant of Cym. Volcano to ORSV a few years ago, but I’m always on the hunt for another.

Looking back at the original species ancestors of this plant, using Orchid Roots, Cym. insigne, Cym. lowianum and Cym. eburneum are the major contributors in the distant background.