Complete Record of the Three Times I Introduced Daphne odora 'Dafugui' (Cymbidium 'Dafugui')

A few years ago, after renovating my new home, I needed some green plants, so I bought some flowers and plants from a small stall outside my residential compound. Among them was a pot of Cymbidium faberi with flower buds. At the time I knew nothing about growing orchids, and the fate of that Cymbidium faberi was predictable. Out of curiosity about growing orchids, I began learning about orchid cultivation online, and came to know the famous varieties of Cymbidium goeringii. Gradually I became addicted, hooked. From one pot to more than twenty pots. At first I only bought wild-collected orchids from street stalls and online, hoping to get lucky, until I later understood that the odds of a wild-collected orchid in our hands producing a fine flower are as illusory as winning the grand prize in the lottery. So I began choosing affordable traditional famous varieties.

Many famous orchid varieties have an elegant legend, and Dafugui is no exception. If the legend is true, then it can also be seen as a gift from heaven to the charitable Mr. Zheng Tongmei. The first time I saw photos of Dafugui flowers posted by fellow orchid growers online, I was very envious, hoping that one day I too could have a pot of Dafugui, blooming beautiful flowers and giving off a faint, delicate fragrance. The hope I pictured in my mind was very beautiful.

By rights, Dafugui is an entry-level old variety of Cymbidium goeringii. As for the flower quality of Dafugui, both those before us and those today unanimously agree: it is a true lotus-petal type. I introduced Dafugui three times in succession. The first time I introduced Dafugui was in the spring of 2010. Back then the sky always seemed very blue, and every day at work felt like it passed very slowly. In my spare time I often wandered online. Guolan Net was very popular, and the website would not go down at the drop of a hat. My first pot of Dafugui grew healthily day by day in such an atmosphere. When I ran into problems, I would post online to ask for advice, and I could always get answers. These 2 shoots grew to 5 shoots by 2011. In autumn a flower bud appeared. I was very delighted, but not yet crazy with joy. I waited anxiously as the bud grew bigger day by day. Finally one day the bud slowly opened, and it was a double flower. I was very pleased and showed it off everywhere, showing the flower photos to orchid growers I knew. Reality was cruel: the orchid growers unanimously thought this Dafugui was a "hybrid." It felt like taking a shower in winter, when the hot water has not yet come and you are sprayed from head to toe with cold water. Later, after the seller saw the flower photos, he also thought it was not right and made up for it with 3 small shoots of Cuigai of ordinary size. These 3 Dafugui produced one new shoot on my side and one old growth died back. After keeping them for a year, I still returned them to the seller.

After the first failed introduction of Dafugui, in the spring of 2012 I began searching everywhere for the authentic old variety of Dafugui. A fellow orchid grower from Zhejiang gave me 3 shoots of Dafugui, at a friendly price, and said this plant had a provenance. These 3 Dafugui produced one bud, which later rotted away. In autumn a flower bud came, again a double flower, one of which was mutated, and the other had a tongue patch quite different from the traditional type II or U shape. I once posted the flower photos, and everyone's opinion was also unanimous that there was a problem. The seller thought it was a mutation, but fearing I would have misgivings, he proactively offered to take the plant back. After returning it, I showed the flower photos to other teachers, and their opinion was that the variety should be Dafugui, and that it possibly had not opened well. After the return, the seller felt very wronged, saying this plant truly had a provenance, and that I was the first person he had ever met who returned a plant. Actually I was also very helpless; I did not want it this way either.

In the blink of an eye it was the spring of 2013, and I once again began searching everywhere online for the old variety of Dafugui, repeatedly reading old posts. During this period, there was an online discussion about the question of authenticity regarding the old variety of Dafugui, and the result was that nearly 80% of the Dafugui in fellow orchid growers' hands were "Li Gui" (fakes). What I hated most was that many sellers clearly knew they were "Li Gui" yet kept changing their tricks to claim they were "Li Kui" (the genuine article), even trotting out a dazzling array of various credentials: member of such-and-such orchid association, council member, and so on. Some people say those so-called council members basically just pay a fee and find an excuse to eat, drink, and have fun, or it is like the doctorate from Carleton University in "Fortress Besieged" held by Fang Hongjian, shown off when going out to make oneself seem very well-connected, so that you buy fake plants and still feel you got a bargain.

Some people have authentic Dafugui but are unwilling to part with it; others must wait until this autumn to divide the clump. After contacting many people, I finally found one willing to part with a plant, and one with a provenance, said to have been introduced 20 years ago from a certain place in Nanjing. I was very pleased, but the previous two experiences made me dare not get carried away: 3 medium shoots plus 5 old pseudobulbs. Possibly because it had been too dry before, the roots were very poor. After sterilizing I planted them, planting a bit too deep. I cut off 3 of the old pseudobulbs and planted them in the same pot, hoping they would sprout buds. I hope this introduction will succeed, and I also hope to share with other orchid growers who have had similar experiences those years, those things, those days we walked through together.