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Nepenthes x 'Helen', new from BE

I've had a plant of this 2011 cultivar for about 4 months now, and this is the first pitcher it has produced for me. (about 4" tall and the peristome is still coloring up.) I think this is going to be a stunner when it matures!
helen0016-1a.jpg
 
Wow.. stunner fo' sho'.
 
that is one beautiful pitcher
 
it looks great, I really like the spotting that it has right now, how big is that pitcher?
 
Beautiful! Loving that Nepenthes. :D
 
Wow! That's everything I love in neps, all in one pitcher!
 
Very pretty! I love those spots.
 
@james: that is still a small pitcher; only 4" tall.

Glad y'all like it. Its gonna be a spectacle when it grows up. Have you seen the promo pics on BEs web site??!!
Nepenthes%20%27Helen%27%20cluster.jpg
 
Sweet! Please post more pics as it matures!
 
  • #10
That's a real beaut of a pitcher. Quite nice.
 
  • #11
Just a note that I have contacted Rob, as to my current knowledge N. 'Helen' has not been released except for a few plants available at Chelsea. BE does have a mix of clones from tc of the N. spathulata x spectabilis cross available. These however are not the N. 'helen' cultivar.

edit
Oh almost forgot.. it would be N. 'Helen' not N. x 'Helen'. N. 'Helen' pertains to a single selected cultivar from the cross and is not a grex/hybrid name for any N. spathulata x spectabilis plant.
 
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  • #12
@Tony:
Huh!?
So, I bought this a couple months ago, and I was told, in personal correspondence from the owner, that this was a new import from BE, and that it was the cultivar introduced at the Chelsea. If I find out that the plant I paid a hundred bux for ain't THAT cultivar, I'm not going to be pleased.
 
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  • #13
@Tony:
WTF???
So, I bought this a couple months ago, and I was told, in personal correspondence from the owner, that this was a new import from BE, and that it was the cultivar introduced at the Chelsea. If I find out that the ****** plant I paid a hundred bux for ain't THAT cultivar, I'm gonna raise a royal stink.

I understand and agree, hence my hesitation to say anything after checking my resources for some sort of confirmation that N. 'Helen' had been released commercially. I could find no reference they had indeed done so, other than the mention in the press release a few seedlings would be available at Chelsea and it would be widespread available in 2012..

I will also add that I think the whole notion of what to call Nepenthes hybrids has become blurred now with increased useage of a grex system. Is it a name to be applied to the group of seedlings? Is it a name to be applied to a specific plant?? etc etc
For example N. briggsiana vs N. 'Peter D'Amato'

or perhaps this one:
BE-3291 and 3300 N. x Singapore GardenTech
vs
BE-3292 N. 'Singapore GardenTech'

Although at first glance appears to be more confusing, if you know what to look for it is in fact very clear. The first denotes a grex/hybrid name for any of the seedlings from 3291 and 3300 by virtue of the X and no single quotes, while 3292 is a single selected cultivar (no X and single quotes).

The N. spathulata x spectabilis plants are labelled as such on the BE lists and in no way, shape, or form is the word Helen attached to them. So at this point one can only assume that Rob is mistaken and they did send N. 'Helen' plants to a distributor OR the distibutor took it upon himself to relabel plants something they are not, either on purpose or mistakenly thinking it was simply a grex/hybrid name and ok to do so.

I have contacted Rob regarding this thread as well as the link to the vendor's site. I can say with certainty that Rob will be extreamly upset if indeed someone is marketing the plants by something other than what they are, regardless of the reason!


I will let you know when I find out more.

Tony
 
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  • #14
You are the man, Tony.

Thanks for all the good work.
 
  • #15
Just a quick update. I have heard from Rob and the plant in question is correctly identified, much to my relief and to Whimgrinder I am sure!
 
  • #16
that is definitely GREAT news!
 
  • #17
Nice Whim! You lucked out then!
 
  • #18
PHEW! Man, bet that had your heart racing there for a few, Whim. lol.
 
  • #19
Hi Folks,

Firstly, Whimgrinder (nice name!) you can breathe easy. Contrary to what I had told Tony, when I went back through our correspondence I found we had released just a very few of the 'Helen' cultivar to the Distributor you bought your plant from so his honesty is not in question. In hindsight, this was an error of judgment on our part, when we realised that we would not be able to supply other Distributors too, due to low nursery stocks at the time. So he got lucky and I do not blame him in any way - it was entirely our misjudgement. Usually we do not release anything new until there are at least 120 plants of sale quality in stock and more on the way, so we can supply at least some to every Distributor who wants it. If any of our other US Distributors are reading this, I can only apologise and say that it won’t happen again.

However, on the upside, we can all watch Whimgrinder’s plant grow and presumably there will be a big demand for this cultivar when it's finally put on general release. It's fast and easy and will be readily available in the spring. We showed one a couple of weeks ago at the World Orchid Conference in Singapore which had a much larger pitcher than the one shown at the Chelsea launch with Helen Mirren. It’s a fabulous plant IMO, although some do not like the relatively floppy lid. A matter of taste I guess.

Thanks Tony for the clarification to everyone on the hybrids and cultivar thing. But to make it more complicated, Martin Cheek (noted Kew taxonomist) has told me that if we name something like Nepenthes x Singapore GardenTech it is not proper. It should have Latin ending like Nepenthes x Singapore Gardentechii or Nepenthes x Singapore GardenTechiana and then it also should be described in Latin, Ugh!

We have a selected clone of Nepenthes x Singapore GardenTech (the clumsy name “Singapore GardenTech” by the way came from the show at which this hybrid was first shown). After several years of testing, the Dutch have just this November released a selected clone we are calling Nepenthes ‘Bloody Mary’.

bloody%20mary.jpg


But now I'm rambling..... it's an age thing :-(
 
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  • #20
Thanks for popping on Rob! I know how busy you are trying to answer my flood of emails LOL

Great photo! Always takes my breath away to see the stunning Dutch greenhouses.
Hmm I like Bloody Mary. I bet you could sell a bazzillion in China for new years though calling it Lady Luck!
 
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