This week’s Orchid of the Week is… Cym. Hot Creek ‘Elkhorn’
Parentage: This weeks Orchid of the Week is a cross between Cym. Lotza Spotz × Cym. Reds Meadow
Registered: 2022
The reason why it’s our Orchid of the Week:
Spots seem to be popular at the moment, and Cym. Hot Creek is certainly eye catching for it’s burnt orange/brown colours and dark spots. It may not be to everyone’s taste and the traditionalists might take a while to get used to it, however, these days, we often look for something that stands out and isn’t too ‘vanilla’! And Cym. Hot Creek certainly isn’t ‘vanilla’! The very bold dark lip on this flower really draws you in.
Cym. Hot Creek is a Tony Velardi hybrid and received an AM/AOS award in the U.S in 2024. A pleasing result from combining genes from the Cym. Tethys breeding lines (think Cym. Pinata) and standard spotted / red breeding lines. Cym. Tethys features heavily in the great grandparent stage of this breeding line.
Flowers were 11cm on a long arching spike. This plant was grown and flowered by Pierre Pujol and originally came from the collection of Andy Cameron and was registered by Joel Santy. All very experienced names in the U.S Cymbidium scene.
Other forms of the Cym. Hot Creek grex have been more pink with spots, so this one is certainly different to the norm.
Cym. Splatters is a grandparent of Cym. Hot Creek, and we have had other Cym. Splatters progeny feature as Orchid of the Week previously, one from my collection too – Cym. Valley Splatters ‘Velvet Spots’.
Certainly a plant worthy of a spot in anyone’s collection just simply for a little bit of that ‘wow’ factor!
Looking back at the original species ancestors of this plant, using Orchid Roots, Cym. insigne and Cym lowianum are the major contributors present in the distant background.