Apparently repeated meristem propagation affects plant quality - how does this work?

[Bayard]

I try to get a division of the original plant, if possible. Sometimes it is called the mother plant. Not all vendors know the provenance of such plants, so I may or may not be getting the real thing. Mutations in the cloning process can affect the flower quality, the plant quality or both. I had a clone of Rlc. Susan Fender ‘Cinnamon Stick’ that grew with wide spaces between the pseudobulbs. Then I acquired what was advertised as a division of the original plant. This plant grows with very little space between the pseudobulbs and also has excellent flower quality. This is the one I kept.