This week’s Orchid Wise Orchid of the Week is… Cym. Cym. Mini Flame ‘Chestnut’
Parentage: This week’s Orchid of the Week is a cross between Cym. Mimi x Cym. Yowie Flame
Registered: 1985
The reason why it’s our Orchid of the Week:
It’s a cute little intermediate that takes the Orchid of the Week spot this time….. One from my own collection, albeit from 20 years ago…. Once again, I obtained this plant from Valley Orchids here in South Australia. Unfortunately, this plant is long gone, though I haven’t quite forgotten it.
Cym. Mini Flame ‘Chestnut’ carried lovely burnt orange blooms on semi arching spikes, while a big bold red lip finished each bloom off. Plus, the plant was a semi compact grower, so it would fit nicely into a collection that doesn’t have a lot of space. It has no registered progeny so far; however, it wouldn’t surprise me if someone has bred with it, given its more compact nature.
Meanwhile, the ancestry tree shows Cym. Voodoo and Cym. Sensation in the background, so some well known influence there. Two plants I would like to see in my vintage collection!
Sadly, I haven’t seen it around for quite a while, so I’m not sure if this plant is even still in cultivation. Still, it might be worth a look for those after a lovely coloured, more vintage Cym?
Finally, tracing the plant’s heritage through Orchid Roots reveals its primary species ancestors are Cym. floribundum, Cym. insigne and Cym. lowianum.