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Registered in 1914, Paph. Julius is a primary hybrid between two multifloral species, rothschildianum and lowii. Its enduring popularity is reflected in the high number of AOS awards that it has received. Certainly easier to grow and bloom than rothschildianum, Julius reflects the best of both parents, most obviously in the deep pink petals and high flower count inherited from Paph lowii. Rothschildianum in turn, has increased the width of the flower, contributed its reddish colouring to the pouch, and added stripes to the dorsal. The plant show in a first bloom 'seedling' from a resynthesis of this grex by the Orchid Zone, using top quality parents. The largest flower has a natural spread of more than 15 cms. Paph Julius has not been used extensively in hybridizing, and most of its crosses have involved other multiflorals. These plants can get to be quite big and often need to have several mature growths before they will flower. Even, then they tend to flower every other year, since it takes at least a year to mature a growth.
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