Introduction to the Characteristics of the Jiuzhou Hongmei Douban Orchid Variety
The Jiuzhou Hongmei plant is 30cm-60cm tall with medium-wide leaves, leaf width about 0.5cm~cm, 4-5 leaves, upright and slightly arching, leaf sheaths slightly tinged with mottled green, compact plant form, robust and easy to grow; it blooms in late winter and early spring, one scape with one flower, the flower rises above the leaves, about 30cm tall; the three outer petals are the Fusoume type among plum-petal forms, the inner petals are the rare mussel-shell type among plum-petal forms, with a dragon-swallowing tongue; what is most remarkable is that the flower color is national-flag red, dazzlingly brilliant, and the more it blooms the more vivid it becomes, the older the more red. Among the red-flowered and vermilion-gold-flowered forms found in wild Douban orchids, it is not rare to see them, but the color seldom remains stable; even if a very few varieties can remain stable, in terms of such brilliant color and such standard petal form, at present it seems only Jiuzhou Hongmei fits the bill.
The Jiuzhou Hongmei plant is 30cm-60cm tall with medium-wide leaves, leaf width about 0.5cm~cm, 4-5 leaves, upright and slightly arching, leaf sheaths slightly tinged with mottled green, compact plant form, robust and easy to grow; it blooms in late winter and early spring, one scape with one flower, the flower rises above the leaves, about 30cm tall; the three outer petals are the Fusoume type among plum-petal forms, the inner petals are the rare mussel-shell type among plum-petal forms, with a dragon-swallowing tongue; what is most remarkable is that the flower color is national-flag red, dazzlingly brilliant, and the more it blooms the more vivid it becomes, the older the more red. Among the red-flowered and vermilion-gold-flowered forms found in wild Douban orchids, it is not rare to see them, but the color seldom remains stable; even if a very few varieties can remain stable, in terms of such brilliant color and such standard petal form, at present it seems only Jiuzhou Hongmei fits the bill.
Although Jiuzhou Hongmei was discovered in the wild quite early, because of that one setback it went through, there are still very few of them in circulation in society to this day.
In 2004 this flower was transferred from Li Jin to Zhang Hui, at which time there were 38 plants in total; in 2005 it increased to 78 plants. At present it is mainly kept at Wu Zhisheng's place in Mengzi, Zhang Hui's place in Kunming, and scattered among some major orchid growers or well-known orchid gardens in Kunming, Honghe, Yuxi and other places, with only a little over one hundred plants in total.
In 2005 Jiuzhou Hongmei resurfaced and once again amazed everyone. According to incomplete statistics, its awards are as follows:
In 2005, submitted by Wu Zhisheng, it won the gold award at the First Spring Orchid Exhibition of Honghe Prefecture; in 2006 it won the gold award at the 9th Dali (Heqing) Orchid Expo; in 2006 it won the gold award at the 6th Yunnan Province (Lijiang) Orchid Expo; in 2006 it won the gold award at the 16th China (Guiyang) Orchid Expo; in 2007 it won the gold award at the 3rd China (Yuxi) Orchid Exchange Conference; and in the same year it won a special grand prize at the 9th Asia-Pacific Orchid Show held in South Korea.
Because of its excellent traits, this flower has in recent years been enthusiastically sought after by orchid growers at home and abroad, and it is one of the most popular varieties among Yunnan Douban orchids.
