Identifying orchids; colour/breeding?

[Kelo]

I have noted that since my renewed interest in orchids, and since the advent of the glorious WWW, that the plants I want seem to have flower colours or shades that are at odds with the portrayed pictures of them. I order a plant - let's say it was a Phal. Hilo Lip. I order the plant and when it turns up it's Hilo Lip x Blue blah blah. You then try to find a picture of the 'Hilo Lip' x Blue blah blah and - if you're lucky enough to find one it's nothing like the flower that you have in front of you, of the flower you see in the picture, of the flower you want despite the 40 odd pics of this flower on the WWW. I also noticed that many, many plants that are sold are crosses and between 1 - 3 years from flowering and not a hope in hell of buying a plant old enough to produce the flower you want. Why, when I want the plant that produces the flower in the picture, can't I buy that damn plant that produces the flower in the picture, in that shade, in that size, form etc.? Why? I don't care if it's relatively expensive - I, at least, would like the choice. Rant over.

[dounoharm]

you need to shop for mature clones.....gl

[Kelo]

I should be able to find true examples of the plant/flower that I'm looking for - or advertised in some cases.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Sometimes the difference in the colors of the actual flowers and the photo of the flowers is because of the lighting and how the camera perceives the colors.

There are other various different camera and Photoshop tricks that help enhance the subject of the photo as well.

Then there's photo stacking.

[lambelkip]

There's a wide variation among plants of the same cross. You want to look for a specific clone. For example, instead of searching for Phal Hilo Lip, you might want to search for Phal Hilo Lip 'Cool Cat' or Phal Hilo Lip 'Pisgah Snowdrift'. They're very different plants, but both are crosses of Phal Hilo Beauty and Phal Elaine Mishima

[orchidsamore]

To go to your first example if you ordered Phal. Hilo Lip you should not be shipped a cross. That is inexcusable conduct from a vendor.

When you order a cross you should never expect the plant to look exactly like the photo. Here is a tutorial on color variations on one seed pod of a Cattleya that produced 7 different colors. We have had additional colors out of subsequent crops. Color variations in seed grown orchids

Just like when two humans have children they do not look the same. Some do not even look like the same family.

Even with clones the colors will not be consistent. 80-85% will look about the same but the others will be different intensity of color, flower size and shape. Then you may have clonal 'sports' that look like a different orchid completely.

Secondly most plants sold are first flowering. The plant will usually look different in its second and third year. The photos you see on the INTERNET are often champion plants many of which may be 10-15 years old selected out of thousands that were produced.

Third even the same plant can look different from one year to the next. The size and color of the flower will depend on temperatures that year, the number of flowers produced, the consistency of water and fertilizer for the year. I have seen plants awarded an AM/AOS award that I would not even want to buy the next year.

[quiltergal]

Excellent explanation Jerry. You absolutely never know what you are going to end up with when you buy a seed grown plant. It may be absolutely stunning and award quality or a total dog. That's part of the fun in buying seedlings, and also probably why they are relatively cheap.

If you want a plant identical to the one in the photo you have to look for an exact clone of that plant. I have a Hilo Lip 'Winter Frost' which looks completely different from the other Hilo Lips mentioned. It is still obvious that it is Hilo Lip but it has significant differences in coloring and shading than the others. I also noticed that on the same spike that plant produced one flower that looked more like a standard Hilo Lip than the rest of the flowers on the spike.

[Ray]

Great explanation, Jerry.

Indeed, culture can play a huge role, as well.