Phalaenopsis orchid leaves question

[tedro]

I see lots of orchids almost everyday in my sw florida grocery store -- it's where i got mine.

Why do some phal orchids have leaves standing upward and others have flat floppy looking leaves? All are blooming and appear to be in good health.

--ok, i found and attached a picture with both.

Curious,

[aliceinwl]

Different genetics: all these complex hybrid Phalaenopsis have a lot of different species in the mix. I grow a bunch side by side and have a real mix of leaf conformations. In the grocery store it could also be water stress: a lot of times the flowers will still look good even if the leaves are drooping from dehydration.

[Veksa]

Generally leaves drop when underwatered.

[Ray]

Plus, they are often shipped in sleeves that force the leaves upward.

[Kruger]

The light direction and gravity will also affect leaf direction. I'm short on growing space and will re-arrange my plants depending on what's blooming, etc... Sometimes this leads to weird growths but I'm not trying to win award shows. I usually try not to disturb a plant when it's in spike as that can make weird flower growths.

[tedro]

idk guys. i’ve seen many of either up or “flopped” (still rigid, not literally floppy/loose).

[Ray]

Different plants have different “stances”.

In nature, some species grow erect while others hang almost straight downward.

I have hybrids whose leaves a flat or pendulous as seedlings, while others that are pretty erect as mature adults.