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Feature
Dark velvety lip with pinkish petals, an uncommon combination
Easy to grow, easy to bloom! Blooms in late winter when it reaches Blooming Size (BS).
Vigorous non-fussy grower, warm and cool temperature tolerant, suitable for a wide range of conditions.
Currently grown in 2" pots, about 2+ years from Blooming Size. Shipped IN POT.
IMPORTANT NOTE: these plants are NOT IN BUD/BLOOM when shipped. PLEASE look at all the pictures in this listing so you know the condition/size of plant you'll be getting.
Description
The actor Ricardo Montalban was brilliant as the vengeful genetically-engineered superhuman Khan in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and was a mainstay of 1970s TV, playing many interesting roles. But he's also known for a phrase he made famous that you can still hear today, 40 years later. In the 1970s, Montalban did commercials for the Chrysler Cordoba luxury car, where he praised the car's rich "Corinthian leather". The thing is, there is no such thing as Corinthian leather - it was simply an elegant-sounding phrase invented by a clever copywriter. (The leather actually came from a factory in New Jersey. Of course.) The phrase was an excellent bit of marketing that Montalban made famous and enduring, as enduring as questions about Khan's pecs. Which brings us to this fine Cymbidium orchid... This variety was a particularly challenging one to name, as the combination of the petal color and the deep, rich velvet of the lip is not common either in flowers or elsewhere. But after many days of pondering the issue, the phrase "rich Corinthian Leather" came to mind, and it was just perfect. The rich velvet of the lip of this flower derives from one of its parents, Cym. Yai, a parent that confers a very dark lip to many of its progeny. The rare color of the petals also resembles the color scheme used in posters of The Wrath of Khan, so it all kind of fits... As with nearly all of my Cymbidiums, this one is easy to grow and very hardy. And with its interesting name, you'll have quite the story to tell your orchid friends when this lovely plant comes into bloom.
