Cymbidium lianpan 'Zhaoshi He', also known as the Zhaoshi Mei variety: an introduction

Zhaoshi He, whose true name is Zhaoshi Mei

    It was discovered by teacher Zhao Qin of the Dali Intermediate Court in Dengchuan, Eryuan County. At the time of registration, Yunnan people's understanding of orchids was not very advanced; that plum and lotus types were not distinguished was an indisputable fact in the early years, especially since the definition of the plum petal was not yet very clear, and understanding of plum-petal flowers was not yet unified. People simply felt that if the petal form closely resembled the petals of a plum blossom, then it was a plum, so teacher Zhao Qin registered it under the surname "Zhao" as "Zhaoshi Mei". Gradually people gained a new understanding of plum-petal flowers and established a rigid definition: the inner petals must be hard inner petals, that is, only flowers whose inner petals have become fleshy can count as standard-type plum petals. By this standard, it can now only be considered a "lotus petal". Whether it is called Zhaoshi Mei or Zhaoshi He, this flower is indeed a good flower, with a very beautiful leaf form and an extremely graceful petal form. Teacher Zhao has already given a concise and fair assessment of its characteristics. The current trading price within Yunnan Province is only a little over a thousand yuan, and the price the year before last was even lower. If we classify it among the lotus-petal types, it is absolutely a very beautiful good flower.

    Zhaoshi Mei is a fine-leaved Cymbidium lianpan variety,    and the plant height of this flower is 25-30 cm. It is easy to cultivate, with a height of 20 cm or less. The leaves are 0.8-1 cm wide, and there are 6-9 leaves. The leaf texture is rather hard, the veins are transparent, the leaves are strongly curled, and the leaf blades have many crystal spots; white line art and yellow line art appear from time to time. Whenever the flowering season comes, it blooms from the bud, with 2-4 flowers per scape; the flower color is pinkish white and the veins are red. The main and secondary petals are of plum type, the petal tips are cupped, and the petals appear round whether viewed from the front or the back; the inner petals form a ball shape, the petals are fleshy and contain crystals, the lip is round, and the color markings are bright red. The flowers open in January and February, the petals do not lose their shape, and the longer the flowering period, the heavier the crystals become. The flower form, stance and appearance are the most elegant and dignified, full of spiritual charm. Flowers and leaves set each other off, combining the plum petal and leaf art in one. This variety has a relatively high propagation rate, at minimum reaching 1:1.5, and it has strong disease resistance and reblooms every year; it is a fine flower among the Cymbidium lianpan series.

    Zhaoshi Mei was selected and developed by Mr. Zhao Qin, hence the name Zhaoshi Mei. This flower was registered on October 30, 2000 as a famous Chinese orchid variety, number: (Lan) 071. This flower has won awards many times in national, provincial, prefectural and county orchid exhibitions.