C. Hawaiian Jewel x C. walkeriana resulted in C. Moon Festival. We purchased flasks of this hybrid and grew out a fair number to see them bloom. Many of the plants took on the traits of C. walkeriana and grew with long internodes, stretching out of the pots. A percentage of them bloomed early but the bulk of them took awhile to produce blossoms. Almost all were deliciously fragrant.

From this initial group we selected a few exceptional plants. Fragrant, clusters of three or more blossoms, blooming at every new mature growth, short internodes and full, long lasting blossoms were the criteria for selection. From this group we began a second tier of hybrids. A sib crossing was made to reproduce the initial crosses, hopefully favoring the wonderful traits particular to each C. Moon Festival selected.

The sib cross of C. Moon Festival x sib resulted in a group of vigorous-growing seedlings with short internodes. Now that they are beginning to bloom we can see that the population is blooming much earlier and in greater quantities than the original batch we grew. With ruffled white petals and lips with a yellow center these somewhat resemble the traditional type of Blc., with a significantly compressed plant size. If the group blooms like both of their parents they should bloom at each new growth which could amount to several seasons of blooms per year.

We are discovering that breeding two white orchids doesn't necessarily result in all white progeny. In this particular sib cross, we have noted that all the progeny are white and even the foliage shows no sign of anthocyanin ( a class of pigments that impart shades of blue to shades of red ). Usually a indication of anthocyanin in the foliage can serve as an indicator of colored pigments in blossoms.

So if you are looking for a fragrant, vigorous-growing, compact plant with a cluster of white ruffled petals and lips which blooms more than once a year then this might be a good choice for you.