Introduction to the Chunlan 'Guoan He' Variety and Key Care Points
A Lan friend surnamed Hu from Jiande City, Zhejiang Province, dug up a plant in 2004 in the deep mountains of Dayang (the very place where Dayang Mei was discovered). At the time it bore no flowers; it was collected because the plant was thick and sturdy with a good leaf shape. This year (2007) it bloomed again, and it is a lotus-petal type. Because no true lotus-petal orchid had ever been found locally over the years, and because at first bloom there was concern it might be a "one-day lotus," it was not publicly announced. As of today (February 22, 2007) it has been in bloom for ten days, and in my view it is a true standard lotus-petal flower. In 2004 it was collected from the mountains of Dayang in Jiande by Hu Guoan ------ hence the name Guoan He ------ this year it won a gold award at the Liangjiang Yihu Orchid Exhibition and sold for 150,000 yuan per seedling.
A Lan friend surnamed Hu from Jiande City, Zhejiang Province, dug up a plant in 2004 in the deep mountains of Dayang (the very place where Dayang Mei was discovered). At the time it bore no flowers; it was collected because the plant was thick and sturdy with a good leaf shape. This year (2007) it bloomed again, and it is a lotus-petal type. Because no true lotus-petal orchid had ever been found locally over the years, and because at first bloom there was concern it might be a "one-day lotus," it was not publicly announced. As of today (February 22, 2007) it has been in bloom for ten days, and in my view it is a true standard lotus-petal flower. In 2004 it was collected from the mountains of Dayang in Jiande by Hu Guoan ------ hence the name Guoan He ------ this year it won a gold award at the Liangjiang Yihu Orchid Exhibition and sold for 150,000 yuan per seedling.
Nowadays there are many so-called lotus types in books and journals, but the photos are all of freshly opened flowers; no one dares to provide photos taken three or five days later. Another thing to note: First, this is a mature plant blooming again, because some lotus types look acceptable when first collected from the mountains, but as soon as they bloom again the good traits are lost. Second, this is a genuine locally grown plant, with pure green flower color and obvious characteristics of Jiangsu-Zhejiang plants.
After this flower was published online it received widespread praise, and was considered a rare lotus-petal flower. In orchid circles there is a saying: "Ten plum types are easy to obtain, but one lotus is hard to find." For Jiande to produce a relatively high-grade lotus-petal Chunlan is a blessing for Jiande, and a blessing for Jiande orchid enthusiasts.
Netizens also raised some criticisms of this flower, believing that the outer three petals do not taper enough at the base and that the center of the flower is slightly inferior.