In a message dated 8/8/04 6:04:47 AM, T.N. Lewin writes: > if you cross pollen from a short day species with a long day species, what > happens in regard to its progeny? > I'm not sure about photoperiodism particularly, but in general, if you cross an orchid that blooms at a certain time of the year with an orchid that blooms at a different time, the offspring have a tendency to bloom twice a year. This happens all the time with Cattleyas. Of course, there are also cases where the offspring get so confused they don't bloom at all. Then we just throw them out. I grow under lights in the winter, 18 hours a day, and put my orchids (except for Phals) outside for the summer, May to September. Any plants which are sensitive to photoperiod get shook up twice a year. I always hope that the first frost warning comes after the fall Equinox, in case I have any short day bloomers. The result of all this is that most minicatts bloom at least twice a year. Unfortunately, one result of the mixed up genes and mixed up daylength is that many orchids, like Trias and Dendrobium, bloom in dribs and drabs instead of putting on a big show all at once. But for the hobbyist who likes to have something in bloom all the time, it's fine. Iris
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