This week’s Orchid of the Week is… Cym. Kiata
Parentage: This week’s Orchid of the Week is a cross between Cym. Remus x Cym. Carisbrook
Registered: 1967
The reason why it’s our Orchid of the Week:
We’re going way way back in time this week! Cym. Kiata has long enjoyed popularity as a well-known Cymbidium Orchid, with the cultivar ‘Nightshade’ standing out as a favorite. Nevertheless, it seems to have gradually fallen out of favor in collections today, most likely because of its somewhat temperamental nature.
As a result, I have always found this plant to be a particularly difficult one to grow. In fact, despite my efforts, I’ve ended up killing two of them along the way! I just couldn’t get it right. Fortunately, I know someone who grows it and flowers it beautifully, as shown in its impressive 2024 blooming pictured above.
Like many modern red hybrids, Cymbidium Ceres appears on both sides of the cross a few generations back. Cym. Ceres is one of the greatest influences in red Cymbidiums we have, with the species Cym i’ansonii being one of the parents of Cym. Ceres.
For such a well known plant, it has only 29 registered progeny to it’s name….including Cym. Lunata which was another popular plant. Cym. Kiata has also been crossed with other well known plants like Cym. Khan Flame (Cym. Khanata) and Cym. Sensation (Cym. Valley Hearth).
It may not be a prize winner, but I know further breeding work is underway, exploring ‘outside the square’ ideas to uncover what kind of ‘weird and wonderful’ possibilities it holds!
Looking back at the original species ancestors of this plant, using Orchid Roots, Cym. insigne accounts for just over 50% of this plant! The other major contributors are Cym. i’ansonii and Cym. lowianum.