Dinesh asked: "I live in Sri Lanka and have never seen a Phragmipedium plant or flower, except in photos. If I may ask a seemingly "dumb" question: what is so special about Pk vs any other Phragmipedium plant that makes it so valuable?"
Dinesh, this is my personal opinion & will doubtless raise the ire of many Phrag lovers, but the fact is that most Phragmipedium species are dreadful houseplants. You've seen the photos so you know what I mean ... fans of large, ungainly leathery leaves sprouting from a fly-infested pot of sodden peaty compost. The flower spikes are large and ungainly, and flop all over the place unless staked. Flower colours are boring (unless you like muddy greens, browns and yellows) and the best adjective that can be applied to the flower shape is "bizarre". The principle exceptions are P. schlimii (white, dirty pink and yellow) and P. besseae, which can be a beautiful clear bright cinnabar red, but has the uncooperative habit of rapidly crawling out of it's container. The real question is why anyone bothers growing them .... the answer can only be for reasons of status. They're ***SLIPPER ORCHIDS***, which means high scores on the brownie-point scale, plus the knowledge that you've got something that most other orchid freaks don't have. They're CITES Appendix-A plants, so by buying them you're striking a blow for individual personal freedom against the dictatorship of tyrannical commie-pinko bureaucracy. Then there is the added attraction that if you buy and kill enough of them, you'll help eradicate all the wild populations, which means that your surviving plants will the only ones left, so you can proudly boast about how you're assisting orchid-conservation. Then along comes P. kovachii. It still has the large, ungainly habit, but flowers are the size of a soup-plate and colour varies from red to violet. Best of all, NO-ONE ELSE HAS IT, so if you've got one, then EVERYONE knows that (a) you're risking your freedom for your obsession (oops, sorry ... I meant "love of orchids and passion for conservation"), and (b) you're super-rich. This species is the ULTIMATE orchid status symbol, hence the desire and demand. I'll make a prediction ..... now that the first legal flasks of P. kovachii have arrived in North America, the species will prove to be an "extremely rapid grower under ideal conditions" (that's sarcasm, folks), and the first "legal" flowering plants will be displayed on AOS show benches within 18 months. The really interesting question is .... will the AOS judges accept them ? My bet is that they do. Cheers, Peter O'Byrne in Singapore ---------------------------------------------------------------------- While we're stripping away the double-talk, has anyone else been sickened at how the Western politicos and media are rushing to describe the war criminal Sharon as "a man of peace" ? It's astonishing how short some memories are .... I bet those who survived the massacres at Sabra and Chatila haven't forgotten. A non-partisan summary can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabra_and_Shatila_massacre _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
