Laelia Purpurata missing lip and sepal

[tuandatn]

Hi everyone!

First time post here, long time reader. I was very excited to see my Laelia purpurata var. Werkhauseri in bloom and very surprised to find a lip and a sepal missing from one of the flowers! Instead of the three sepals, this flower has two arranged vertically. Very odd. Curious to hear how common this is??

[Roberta]

First, Welcome.

I have occasionally seen mutations like this, especially on the first bloom of a plant. So hopefully, next year's bloom will be better. If you get mutant flowers repeatedly, it is possible that the plant has a genetic problem. But a one-time mutant flower is not a cause for alarm.

Also, there are some cultural mutagens... I started getting fused segments on some flowers after using Superthrive for a year or two. I don't use it any more, and have not seen the issue since I stopped.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

[tuandatn]

Thanks Roberta! Very interesting to think about genetic mutations or cultural mutagens. I will keep that in mind as I start thinking about additions to the care regimen, but currently I just water and lightly fertilize. It does happen to be the first bloom (for me), though it has bloomed previously. They've opened up a little more since yesterday. This was my first orchid a couple years ago, and still one of my favorites so yes, I hope subsequent blooms will get better each year!