Dtps Cain Xen Queen putting out two different kinds of flowers, in different colors.

[Lady_Ayla]

Hello there! I hope you may pardon me for my newness to your very informative forum.

I have come to ask an odd question, and may perhaps stay around a while, as orchids are an unknown to me

I have a DTPS Chain Xen Queen hybrid orchid which I bought at the local Lowes I was working at seasonally. It was on the half price "half dead" rack, and I jumped on it, as there was one flower bud still left, and the leaves looked good.

I have never had orchids before but have always loved epiphytes. Needless to say, I took almost daily care of this little orchid, nursing it back to good health, with almost five new leaves even as two old ones died off. It did, over time, sprout one flower from a new bud, as if in reward of my efforts. It was a typical white-yellow with red lip, and looked like a Phalaenopsis type, and according to the pictures I was seeing online about the hybrid, looked just as it should (when I bought it, it had no open flowers, so it was a surprise for me).

Here is an example of the flowering types that occurred at first:

However, over the past few weeks a new flower sprouted, has since bloomed, and surprise! it looks nothing like the other flower, even down to its very coloration along with shape as well.

Was this some sort of strange perk of the hybrid, or is there somewhat I know not of this orchid cross? Should I not care too much about this as it may be a fluke of its growth?

Here are two pictures, the first is the odd new flower, and the second is a separate, normal flower for this type (or what remains of it, as it has been withering and munched on by buggies. It is behind the other flower, facing the camera, the other flower is facing to the right in the same image):


By ladybrigid at 2010-07-18


By ladybrigid


My apologies for the image quality. I'll try to get a few more in the morning. You might not be able to really see the color variation, but the normal flower is white with red lip, the other is nearly solid canary yellow with red lip. Both are growing from the same stem, so I know it is from the same plant.

[Lady_Ayla]

[Lady_Ayla]

By ladybrigid at 2010-07-19


By ladybrigid at 2010-07-19

Yay better pictures!

[Lady_Ayla]

And one more, showing they are growing from the same stem:

[Rosiefuture]

Hi Lady A, welcome to the OB

All I think is that it is some kind of genetic throw back, whatever it's really weird!

Marion

[Izzie]

I agree with Rosie- looks like some genetic mix up. It's not common, but not really anything to worry about. I'd watch and see if more flowers start to turn out that way though, maybe there's something viral going on. (I'm no expert)

[Lady_Ayla]

Thanks for the replies I have been so excited about this change in my orchid I could not wait to ask people who knew more about them than I.

I have no idea why this orchid did this- I keep feeling the same as you, that this is some sort of genetic change. I do agree that waiting to see if more flowers like this surface might be prudent.

I conducted a little bit of digging this morning, and thought it even sort of resembled a Cattleya:



What do all of you think? The petal structure and number is quite striking in comparison.

Even if it resembles this species, and it may be the one used in the cross (?), it does not explain why, after growing normal Phal flowers, it reverted to this kind.

[Izzie]

It probably hasn't 'reverted'. More like just a random genetic mutation of that one bud.
It is very striking.

and be aware- that's a Hybrid, not a Species.

[Lady_Ayla]

/pays for advice with freshly baked shortbread cookies!

Thanks!

I hope more like this grow- it would be so neat to have two different kinds of flowers growing on one orchid stem all the time. I have to wonder if this means that this is a recessive allele residing in the "grow flower x" gene. Maybe I'll get a few keiki from it in the future, and I'll be able to experiment! Maybe there is a way to turn the gene expression for this on?