This week’s Orchid of the Week is… Cym. Templestowe Opal
Parentage: This week’s Orchid of the Week is a cross between Cym. Gentle Touch x Cym. Ovation
Registered: 2010
The reason why it’s our Orchid of the Week:
I thought it was time for a little green in our lives this week! This plant has been readily available for some years now, and is still popular with the hobbyist and is still selling well. You will see it on the show bench from time to time, however, to win I think you’d need to pick your cultivar carefully and have an outstanding number of spikes!
The above photo was taken at the September meeting of the Cymbidium Orchid Club of South Australia. The plant exhibited upright spikes of a good number of intermediate sized flowers so it is productive, that’s for sure!
But as with most Cyms out there there are other variants. Below is another cultivar currently being offered by Wain’s Orchids in Victoria. This cultivar, ‘Tiny’, shows a much greater dominance of the Cym. Gentle Touch parentage, and would be my preferred pick. In fact it’s almost a match to my Cym. Gentle Touch ‘Bon Bon’.
To obtain one, either jump onto the Wain’s Orchids website or find them on eBay. This Cym is currently available from them. I’ve known David Wain for a while and still buy plants from him. They are healthy and of a good size so you won’t be disappointed.
Looking back at the original species ancestors of this plant, using Orchid Roots, Cym. insigne, Cym. lowianum and Cym. hookerianum are the major contributors in the breeding background.