Over the years, Paphiopedilum bellatulum has proven itself to be an extremely rewarding parent, especially when crossed to members of its subgenus, the Brachypetalum section (niveum, godefroyae, et. al.) for it generally can be counted on to increase flower size and add fullness to the flower. Newer hybrids, using the 'Maudiae'-type flowers with Paph. bellatulum, have yielded some extraordinarily colored flowers, such as the one pictured above. There may be a kind of 'spreader' gene for red pigment (anthocyanin) in Paph. bellatulum that accounts for the depth, brilliance, and amount of 'red' in the resulting hybrid. Mismarked flowers with color break are not uncommon, but in our experience less frequent than "conventional wisdom" has it. And the good ones are worth waiting for. It also is worth reflowering any that have color break or crippling as this may disappear on a stronger plant on later bloomings.
