howdy.....

[kev1970]

hi guys...im not new to orchids,well kind of. i have been growing them for ..mmm...23 odd years i suppose and have had ups and downs. i lost interest in them 4 years ago with a marriage breakup but i am surely coming back very stongly
i mainly grow australian natives,terrestrials as well as kingies and speciosum ( mainly kingies.....i just love them)
anyway enough of that...just a quick note to say g'day to all here....its a very, very interesting site....thanx guys.....kev

[fred]

welcome to the forum kev
I hope you enjoy your stay here with us
we have a great bunch of folks here I am sure you will have a ball
I am pleased to have you with us

[kev1970]

thanks fred...im sure i will find a lot of stuff here to keep me amused for quite a while
while i have been growing d. kingianum for quite some time, i have never really gone into the genetic side of d. kingianum....line breeding or just general crossing with other d. kingie flowers.
i personally know some of the guys that started the " red " or purple line of breeding in the hastings valley ( mid north coast, aus ) known as the "hastings kingianum growers group", and these blokes are really top guys
but the question i want to know is.....how do you know what kingie to breed with what ??
i know that whites dont always breed white, and purple dont always breed purple,so how do you tell if the plants you have ,that have no breeding behind them......are suitable or you are going to end up with a lot of rubbish??
i know its a bit of a ....not stupid , but hard one to answer......please someone explain to me
thanx guys and gals......

[BillC]

Hi Kev, I see you are about half way between Sidney and Brisbane. It must be great living on that coastline and having two major cities to visit when you feel the need. Welcome to the forum; there are quite a number of members living in Oz. Nice to have you on board!

Bill

[kev1970]

thanks very much bill....you all seem to be a very friendly mob from what i have seen....
i used to be a member of A.N.O.S. and they seemed to me to be a bit...."hows your father" to me but i suppose i was a newie to them....hahahahaha

[arleneg]

Hi & welcome to the forum, Kev.

With your 23 years experience, I'm sure you will have some input on orchid culture, especially Den. kingianums (which I have a couple ).

[Tobi]

Hi and welocme to the forum Kev. As far as I'm concerned this is the best
orchid forum available. Great people here, friendly and always very helpful.

[Anton]

Kev, welcome to the forum from Adelaide.

I know JUST to guy to help you, I'll get in touch with him today and let him know your question.

His name is Kevin Western from Western's Orchid Laboratories, if he can't help you, nobody can. Check his Web site and you'll see what I mean.

[Tess1]

Hi Kev, welcome to the forum. You must have good growing conditions up there along the coast.

[PhalPal]

Welcome kev!! As you already know, great group here!

[kev1970]

thanx for the very warm welcome guys and gals,and im sure i will get to know you all in the coming weeks......and again, a big thank you

[Kevin Western]

Originally Posted by kev1970

hi guys...im not new to orchids,well kind of. i have been growing them for ..mmm...23 odd years i suppose and have had ups and downs. i lost interest in them 4 years ago with a marriage breakup but i am surely coming back very stongly
i mainly grow australian natives,terrestrials as well as kingies and speciosum ( mainly kingies.....i just love them)
anyway enough of that...just a quick note to say g'day to all here....its a very, very interesting site....thanx guys.....kev

Hi Kev,
I'm a bit like you - have grown orchids since yonks ago like about 1964 and became interested in Oz terrestrials, kingis, speciosums and other species and hybrids of oz dens in about 1976. I have a tissue culture lab and grow a wide range of cool to cold tolerant orchids in an unheated glass house or shadehouse.
I am keen to breed top speciosums, kingis, falcorostrums and hybrids, especially those with fleckeri and bigibbum in the fairly recent background.
Living in South Australia far from the home of kingis and speciosums it is not often that I get a chance to obtain divisions of top clones to breed from but we do have some decent stuff in the way of yellow speciosums and I am always on the lookout for bigger, golder, showier ones especially with gold or yellow lips with strong, contrasting markings and in partiucular, those whose flowers open well with large segments and that remain open at night or I am keen to obtain pollen from good specimens to use for breeding so if you have some rippers I have a few good ones in flower at the moment that could be duffed and i always give pollen donors a couple of freebie flasks in return for the pollen. If you are interested I can be contacted on ( Public Forum email edited pm member for details ) .
Regards,
Kevin Western
Western Orchids/Laboratories

[kev1970]

Originally Posted by Kevin Western

Hi Kev,
I'm a bit like you - have grown orchids since yonks ago like about 1964 and became interested in Oz terrestrials, kingis, speciosums and other species and hybrids of oz dens in about 1976. I have a tissue culture lab and grow a wide range of cool to cold tolerant orchids in an unheated glass house or shadehouse.
I am keen to breed top speciosums, kingis, falcorostrums and hybrids, especially those with fleckeri and bigibbum in the fairly recent background.
Living in South Australia far from the home of kingis and speciosums it is not often that I get a chance to obtain divisions of top clones to breed from but we do have some decent stuff in the way of yellow speciosums and I am always on the lookout for bigger, golder, showier ones especially with gold or yellow lips with strong, contrasting markings and in partiucular, those whose flowers open well with large segments and that remain open at night or I am keen to obtain pollen from good specimens to use for breeding so if you have some rippers I have a few good ones in flower at the moment that could be duffed and i always give pollen donors a couple of freebie flasks in return for the pollen. If you are interested I can be contacted on ( Public Forum email edited pm member for details ) .
Regards,
Kevin Western
Western Orchids/Laboratories

thanx kevin....seems weird calling someone else that but ...anyway....i dunno i may be strange,but i have seen a lot of d kingi around, in the bush,in catalogues and such, but the thing that gets me is,for the amount of breeding that has taken place with such a recognised plant,there is always room for improvement. i mean that surely not every plant with diff charactoristics has been discovered!!!!.with my wandering in the bush, just this season,i have found plants ,that are not like anything i have seen in the breeding lines that have been done since the 70's...eg ..seen a plant last week that has blue tips to the petals!!!mmm...makes me wonder you know