How can I find out the names of these phals? - Orchid Board

Sitka · #1 03-12-2011, 06:27 PM

I just went to a nursery and picked up two healthy looking phals. I just noticed there are no names on them or anything. Just "Purple" and "Purple Marble". I know they are both phals. I cant really send pictures because they are about to bloom.

ronaldhanko · #2 03-12-2011, 08:11 PM

The only possibility is contacting the original vendor or whomever made the cross, but they usually aren't interested in names and don't even respond to your queries. Even pics won't help since there are so many crosses that look alike.

Sitka · #3 03-12-2011, 10:58 PM

Thanks. I guess it doesn't matter anyway.

Kelo · #4 03-13-2011, 12:57 AM

I think that some of the problem is that so many are produced they might not even have a name. I spoke to a Dutch grower/breeder twelve years ago and he said that most orchids are grown to be thrown out after the flowers have faded because they were becoming so cheap. A company I worked for was selling them retail at £6.00 each simply because they were meant to be disposable!

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #5 03-13-2011, 01:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kelo

I think that some of the problem is that so many are produced they might not even have a name. I spoke to a Dutch grower/breeder twelve years ago and he said that most orchids are grown to be thrown out after the flowers have faded because they were becoming so cheap. A company I worked for was selling them retail at £6.00 each simply because they were meant to be disposable!

Yes, Phal hybrids are mass produced in very large quantities.

However...

Imo, that is the most atrocious way of marketing orchids in general.

What if certain people somehow happen across a species orchid and throws it away once they're done flowering, not knowing that they can continue to live on even after the flower is spent? Even worse, what if those people are also not aware of the impact of that action?

That's no good and is a huge problem in the making.

Sitka · #6 03-13-2011, 01:42 PM

I love my orchids. They bring me a sense of peace when I look at them and tend to them. I dont understand how someone could throw them away when they are "done flowering". They are living creatures. The three Phals I bought last summer lost their blooms because I was off work for two weeks and my co-worker over watered them. I nursed the plants back, repotted them and they still havent rebloomed yet. But the plants themselves are beautiful. I'm sure they will bloom again when they are goo and ready.

Kelo · #7 03-13-2011, 02:28 PM

I think that, in general, people don't know how to look after orchids. They certainly can't do it in there living rooms in the UK and that doesn't help. Mass production is fine for the likes of us who are better informed and have a love of growing these beauties year in year out but the average household really doesn't stand a chance. One woman who asked how to get her phal to bloom again said, "Oh well, I'll just throw it out and buy another".

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #8 03-13-2011, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kelo

I think that, in general, people don't know how to look after orchids. They certainly can't do it in there living rooms in the UK and that doesn't help. Mass production is fine for the likes of us who are better informed and have a love of growing these beauties year in year out but the average household really doesn't stand a chance. One woman who asked how to get her phal to bloom again said, "Oh well, I'll just throw it out and buy another".

Wow...

If only she knew that if she was able to keep the plant healthy, the trigger for blooms is a temperature drop down to 60 F to 75 F for about 1 or 2 wks.

This is truth, and the nurseries know this. I used to work for one. And for Phals, they had a special cool house just for that purpose - to artificially induce Phals to bloom out of season.

Kelo · #9 03-13-2011, 02:45 PM

I think that the mind set in the UK is different to a lot of places. The methods of re-blooming orchids is seen as too much bother when you can buy a new one for next to nothing. If plants were three times the price they simply wouldn't be bought.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #10 03-13-2011, 03:17 PM

That's unfortunate on many levels.

Oh well, at least now you know why Phals always seem to be blooming on the shelves of supermarkets and garden centers worldwide...

It's because they were artificially induced to bloom out of season with a brief temperature drop.

I don't recommend continually repeating this practice to artificially induce blooms out of season. It is taxing on the plant.