She wrote:

"Al and Other Phal experts -
I remember a time when red was not seen in Phal breeding. Then
the Arizona set came along. What was the trigger that freed the
red color to display? Or why can they (you) now produce such
clear pretty reds when they could not before?"

--
Reka


H.P. Norton of Orchidview addressed the Heart of Dixie Orchid Society
in Huntsville, AL a few years ago. His specialty was hybridizing for
red Phaleanopsis. His approach was to cross purple with yellows, and
keep the the most intense colors and recross with yellow. His logic
was the yellow would eventually cancel the purple leaving a more
intense truer red. His family maintains the tradition at
www.orchidview.com

In his introduction, he said he retired after a massive heart attack,
then started growing, later hybridizing orchids. He gave an
interesting presentation, one that DH enjoyed and remembers fondly. He
joked that he was then on his third and flasking his 4th cross (if I
recall correctly), but would have to live another 20 years to refine
and see the results.

My guess would be that the pursuit of a red phal satisfied his type A
need for control and attention to detail, without the stress in the
corporate world. Plus, many of his crosses were dedicated to his wife,
so it was also a labor of love.