Should I cut my losses and pitch this phal?

[jocierk]

I have a NoID Sams Club phal that I am kind of suspicious of. When I got it it had clearly been in the bag for a long time cause its latest spike was wrapped around the crown (blocked by the paper bag as it grew in under a leaf). I was drawn to its strange pattern but now I am thinking that maybe that is caused by a virus. I was doing some searching and stumbled on a post about a virused phal and suddenly I could see all the same signs in my own. Anyway I thought I would post it here and get some second/third/fourth opinions. As you can see in the pics the flowers have a very irregular pattern (some of them are totally spotted with no blank areas) and are also rather curved despite being fully in bloom. The leaves have a wavy texture that runs parallel with the length and have recently been getting a little brown on the edges. The top leaves have also just started releasing a lot of sap from the bottom sides. I really like this phal but it was only $10 and is not worth endangering my whole collection.

[NYCorchidman]

The purple pigmentation on the leaf is just natural part of the plant. Some phals have even more purple hue or the entire underside will be dark purple.

Now the real issue here is the color break of the flowers.
While one cannot be certain that it is caused by virus of some kind or just a genetic mess, it is not pretty to me. Or do you like it?
If the answer is no to you, then why keep it??

Another thing on this because I bought a phal with this similar color design. not the color break part but the other petal in the first picture where the color is how it is supposed to be.
I bought the plant with many flowers with perfect color and pattern.
I rebloomed it the next season and all the flowers on that rebloom displayed heavy color break.
It was just so different and hideous that I could not believe it was the same plant.
It was simple. due to genetic disfunction (color gene expression failure) with or without virus involved.
I pitched the plant and bought another beautiful and "normal" looking one.

I mean you can get a virus testing kit (you will never get an straight answer by looking at it) but why spend extra money because even if it is virus free, the color break might show up again and again in the future, unless you like it that way.
I would say bye to this and go buy anther one.
Just my opinion.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Regarding viruses, please read the 6th post in this thread on another forum:
Orchid virus?

Regarding the color pattern in the blooms, there are many Phals that are bred to have color patterns like what you are seeing. Did the blooms look like this when you bought the plant?

Regarding keeping or not keeping the plant, that's totally up to you. Remember, this is a plant, not a dog or cat. Its a mass-raised Phal hybrid. If you don't like it, give it away, or toss it (much like you would a head of cabbage you did not care for).

[jocierk]

Sorry I guess I wasn't clear. I like the strange breaks in color. I do wish the flowers would open more flat like my other phals but only some of them dont so I can deal with that. Its also a huge plant, very tall with a huge leaf span. I dont want to pitch it, however I only have so much space (I grow indoors on shelves) so if I keep it it has to sit on a shelf with other phals and I dont want to risk them getting a virus if it is likely this one has one. Can someone post a link to a virus test kit or somewhere I can ship off a piece of it to be tested? I honestly dont even know where to look to find these things. I dont know if I will do it because like I said this was a cheap plant, but I do like it. I just dont want to risk my other phals if you guys think its not safe to have next to them.

[NYCorchidman]

Look up critter creek laboratory for sending a sample.
Their website has an instruction as to how you should prepare your sample before sending them off to them.
They charge $5 per sample and this is for two most common orchid virus.
They also test for other virus for more fees.

Agdia strip is something you can order and do it at home. The cost is about the same and it also tests for two most common ones.

For now, I would isolate this plant, or at least make sure it is not rubbing against everyone else, or share water and stuff.