What Does Pabst Blue Ribbon Have to Do With an Orchid? The Story of Jewel Box ‘Beverly’

What could Pabst Blue Ribbon beer possibly have in common with a red Cattleya orchid?

More than you might expect.

The story of Slc. Jewel Box ‘Beverly’ AM/AOS reaches back through decades of American orchid history and connects some important names in Cattleya breeding. Along the way, the story even crosses paths with the Pabst brewing family.

Today, the hybrid is known botanically as Cattlianthe Jewel Box, although many longtime orchid growers still recognize it by its historic name, Slc. Jewel Box. The cultivar ‘Beverly’ became particularly important, not simply because of its flowers, but because of what happened when orchid breeders began using it as a parent.

And here at Waldor Orchids, we have another connection to this plant's history.

Watch: David Off Tells the Story of Jewel Box ‘Beverly’

David Off of Waldor Orchids takes a closer look at Jewel Box ‘Beverly’, its breeding significance, the people connected with it, and the history behind the division grown here at Waldor.

Where Did Jewel Box Come From?

Jewel Box dates to the early 1960s. The cross combines C. aurantiaca, now classified as Guarianthe aurantiaca, with Cattleya Anzac.

The American Orchid Society's Heritage Plant Auction catalog records Slc. Jewel Box ‘Beverly’ as an AM/AOS awarded cultivar from 1970 and identifies Stewart Orchids with the 1962 hybrid.

It was a combination that proved particularly important for producing the intense reds and oranges that became so desirable in Cattleya breeding.

But the story becomes even more interesting when we get to ‘Beverly’.

The Pabst Connection

Yes, there really is a connection between this orchid and the family behind one of America's best-known brewing names.

An American Orchid Society Heritage Plant Auction catalog described an original division of Jewel Box ‘Beverly’ as coming from the collection of Rudolph "Rudy" Pabst, a member of the Pabst brewing family.

The same historical account states that the cultivar was named for his wife, Beverly Shlitz.

The catalog also credits respected orchid breeder Ernest Hetherington with making the Jewel Box cross and describes ‘Beverly’ as an important plant in the history of red Cattleya breeding.

That makes the Pabst connection more than a catchy headline. It is part of the recorded history surrounding this particular cultivar.

Of course, Pabst Brewing Company did not breed the orchid. The connection is through Rudy Pabst and his orchid collection.

More Than Just a Beautiful Red Orchid

It would be easy to look at Jewel Box ‘Beverly’ today and simply see an attractive classic Cattleya.

Its greater importance is found in its genetics.

Good breeding plants can influence orchid collections for generations. A particularly successful cultivar may be crossed with another plant, its best offspring selected, and those offspring used again in later generations.

In that way, one exceptional orchid can leave its fingerprints on plants being grown many decades later.

Jewel Box ‘Beverly’ became one of those orchids.

One of the clearest examples is Slc. Hazel Boyd.

Jewel Box ‘Beverly’ and Hazel Boyd

For this part of the story, we have unusually strong historical documentation.

U.S. Plant Patent 5,688 for Slc. Hazel Boyd ‘John Germaske’ specifically identifies its parents.

The female parent was:

Slc. Jewel Box ‘Beverly’

The male parent was:

Slc. California Apricot ‘Orange Circle’

The patent states that the resulting Hazel Boyd cross was developed by the Rod McLellan Company in South San Francisco and that Hazel Boyd was registered with the Royal Horticultural Society on March 4, 1975.

John Germaske discovered the exceptional seedling that would carry his name in 1979. According to his patent, it stood out from a population of more than 600 plants produced from the cross.

Think about that for a moment.

More than 600 seedlings, and one was distinctive enough to become Hazel Boyd ‘John Germaske’.

The patent describes its brilliant red flowers, compact growth and vigorous blooming characteristics. It was eventually patented in 1986.

Behind that famous orchid was Jewel Box ‘Beverly’.

A Plant That Helped Shape Red Cattleya Breeding

Hazel Boyd became an important name among growers of compact red and art-shade Cattleyas, but it was part of a much larger breeding story.

The American Orchid Society Heritage Plant Auction catalog described Jewel Box ‘Beverly’ as the most desirable cultivar of Jewel Box for breeding and called it a truly historic plant in red Cattleya breeding.

That reputation helps explain why original divisions of ‘Beverly’ have remained desirable.

There is an important distinction between an original division and a plant that merely carries the same hybrid name.

When an orchid is divided, each division is vegetatively part of the same genetic individual. It is not a seedling that happens to resemble the original plant.

For collectors of historic orchids, that provenance can be part of the attraction. You are growing a living piece of the same plant that played a role in orchid breeding decades earlier.

From John Germaske to Waldor Orchids

This is where the story becomes personal for us.

The Jewel Box ‘Beverly’ grown at Waldor Orchids is an original division that came to us from John Germaske.

For a nursery with its own long history of growing Cattleyas, there is something special about maintaining plants like this.

Orchids can live for an extraordinary amount of time when they are properly grown and periodically divided. A plant can pass from one grower to another and from one generation to the next.

The names associated with the plant become part of its history.

In the case of Jewel Box ‘Beverly’, that history includes prominent orchid breeders and growers, the Pabst family connection, Ernest Hetherington, Frank Fordyce, John Germaske, Hazel Boyd and eventually our own collection here at Waldor Orchids.

Why Preserve Old Orchids?

Modern orchid breeding gives us extraordinary flowers. Breeders continue to improve color, form, size, growth habit and floriferousness.

But today's orchids did not appear from nowhere.

They were built generation by generation.

Plants such as Jewel Box ‘Beverly’ allow us to see part of that progression firsthand.

For an orchid breeder, an old plant can represent valuable genetics.

For an orchid historian, it represents a piece of the story.

For a collector, an original division can provide a tangible connection to the growers and breeders who came before us.

And for the rest of us, sometimes it is simply fascinating to realize how much history can be growing quietly on a greenhouse bench.

A Living Piece of Orchid History

Slc. Jewel Box ‘Beverly’ AM/AOS is more than another beautiful red Cattleya.

It connects different generations of American orchid growing and breeding. Its history touches the Pabst family, some notable names in Cattleya breeding, and the development of Hazel Boyd, while its descendants helped carry those brilliant red and art-shade colors forward.

More than half a century after ‘Beverly’ received its AOS award, divisions of the plant are still being grown.

One of them is here at Waldor Orchids.

That is one of the things we love about orchids. Their history does not have to exist only in old books, catalogs and photographs.

Sometimes, it is still alive and growing.