Probably a mislabeled orchid. Oncidium Sharry Baby - Orchid Board

Kartxofa · #1 01-20-2019, 10:52 AM

Hi! I've been dying to have a Sharry Baby for a while and a few months ago I finally found one and the shipping wasn't too bad so I got the plant and it just opened its first bud and... I don't think this is a Sharry Baby. The flowers are the size of coin and right now they don't smell (well, that's to be expected as they're just opening). I've been googling the other types of Sharry baby (ruby doll, red fantasy, tricolor) and none look like my flowers. Anybody has any idea what this plant is or if it is indeed a Sharry Baby? Thank you for reading.

Bloom picture

MrHappyRotter · #2 01-20-2019, 12:29 PM

The other "types" you mentioned are named clonal varieties. Is your plant a named clone or is it from a seedling population?

If it's from a seedling population as opposed to being a clone, then it's going to look different than the named clones. Seedlings (as in sown from seed), particularly hybrid seedlings, will be variable in terms of size, color, shape, fragrance, vigor, and other characteristics.

If you don't know whether your plant is a clone or a seedling, virtually any reputable vendor would be willing to clarify (if they know and/or are able to determine it from their source). So, it's worthwhile to ask. It's also worthwhile to send along photos to the vendor in your request so that they can use photo ID to help confirm the ID. If you purchased it from a less than reputable vendor, then you're probably out of luck, but lesson learned, stick with folks who stand by the quality of their products in the future if correct ID is important to you.

As far as the scent, you are correct, it can take awhile for that to kick in after opening. Overall, the appearance of the flower that you've posted looks like it could possibly be O. Sharry Baby. There are thousands of coins worldwide, so I'm not sure that description of the size is particularly helpful, but if my assumptions are correct, I'd say that sounds pretty reasonable. Sharry Baby doesn't produce large flowers, it tends to produce numerous small-medium size flowers.

I wouldn't say it's definitive, but I don't see any characteristic in your photo that rules out the ID. You could provide some measurements and photos of the whole plant (clear close-up photos) and that might help.

As a final note, even if you have a named clone, the flowers can vary from photos because of cultural conditions. Temperature, nutrition, and other factors can alter the color, shape, size, etc of a plant's flowers.

Kartxofa · #3 01-20-2019, 01:02 PM

Hi! Thank your for your reply. I really appreciate that you took the time to answer me with as much information as possible. I'm sorry I can't provide more pictures at the moment but the bloom is the size of a distal phalanx. You said Sharry Babies have "small-medium sized flowers" and I think that mine could fit right in that category. I bought it from a reputable online seller and it was named "Oncidium Sharry Baby Sweet Fragrance AM/AOS" but it doesn't say anything about it being a clone or a seedling. I think I'll wait until I can detect some fragrance to contact the seller because I think that you're completely right about this plant probably being an O. SB seedling. It's just that yellow part of the flower that had me doubting. I've seen other pictures and I haven't found any with yellow (well, some, but smaller patches). But I'm more convinced now after reading your message. I'll try to post pictures as soon as possible. Thank you again for your help

Ray · #4 01-20-2019, 02:01 PM

If it is truly 'Sweet Frangrance' AM/AOS, then it has to be a clone or division of the original, but that's unlikely.

I have noticed that the color of the lip can change with cultural conditions, and have seen the same plant have solid red flowers and some with pink or mostly white lips.

When the plant is in full bloom, if I recall correctly, the fragrance will be strongest in early morning sun.

estación seca · #5 01-20-2019, 03:09 PM

Maybe some basic information would help. When two parents of different species and/or hybrids are crossed, flowered, and named, all future plants produced from future crosses of the same parents will bear that grex name. In this case the grex name is Sharry Baby. Grex names are always capitalized, and written without quotes.

Because it is a hybrid, individual plants from the cross may be quite different from each other. Especially if a seedling wins a quality award when judged, the grower may give that one seedling a clone or clonal name. Clonal names are capitalized, and enclosed in single quotes. Awards are indicated after the clonal name. The plant you mentioned should be written Oncidium Sharry Baby 'Sweet Fragrance' AM/AOS. The abbreviations stand for Award of Merit from the American Orchid Society.

Growers can sell divisions or mericlone propagations of desirable plants. These divisions or mericlones bear the name of the clone, since they should be the same plant. Any plant you buy with a clonal name and award will be a division or mericlone, not a seedling.

Oncidium Sharry Baby is a great cross, and many clones have been awarded. Other clones are named but not awarded. All these plants have the same parents, but they are somewhat different from each other. The plant you have looks quite like the various Sharry Baby clones available. It could be one of them. It also could be an unnamed Sharry Baby seedling. But it could also be a seedling from a different cross with similar ancestry.

This is why gardeners are so concerned with writing names according to the rules, and keeping labels on the plant.

Dollythehun · #6 01-20-2019, 04:08 PM

FWIW, I do own a 'Sharry Baby. ' The flowers vary slightly on the same plant. Mine is most fragrant when it's warm/sunny.

Kartxofa · #7 01-21-2019, 03:51 AM

@Ray

Thank you for your reply. I see. Well, that gives me hope that this is really a seedling. No fragrance this morning yet. Hope I'll catch a whiff in the following days!

@estación_seca

The seller wrote the name of the orchid exactly like you did. Thank you for all the information. I had no idea. It will help me when I contact the seller. Well, I'm happy that I still got a Sharry Baby, even if it's probably an unnamed clone. Thanks!

@Dollythehun

Oh! That's good to know. I just placed mine in a sunny spot (because it's still early and the sun is not too hot). Hopefully this will do the trick

If not today, in the next few days.

I've finally taken more pictures. Hope this will help.

Pictures

Selmo · #8 01-22-2019, 01:42 PM

I think this is fairly common for Onc. Sarry Baby to have flowers that look like yours. Others here have said that it is a product of temperature and light. Last year we had these same colored flowers, from a Sharry Baby that had produced ‘regular’ colored flower in the past. (Ie. white color on lip.). This year we have both types of flowers. Not on the same plant, but on the mother and a division of it. The original (mother plant) has the red lip (photo 3,4) and the division has the white color lip (photo 1,2). I don’t know if temperature and light are the only factor involved in this difference. But some environmental factors are involved. The mother plant stayed in the greenhouse all summer long where it is about 10-15F warmer than outside where the division was during the summer. The division was mounted on a cedar slat last spring, after the mother plant showed the all dark flowers. So the division when back to the original flower color and the mother plant stayed with darker flowers. So temperature could be the condition that caused the color change, but may not, being in the greenhouse the mother plant got regular watering and fertilizer with 70% shade and more constant humidity where the division got rain watered and not much of any fertilizer and dappled light and variable humidity. So I don’t know if temperature is the only factor in this.

Don’t worry if your flowers look different this year as it may of been grown in a manner that yielded dark flowers and next year it may be different

The fragrance issue maybe related to the growing environment also. But some plants/cultivars just don’t have the fragrance as others plants do.

Kartxofa · #9 01-22-2019, 02:14 PM

Thank you Selmo for the pictures and all the information. My flowers today look almost like the last two pictures you uploaded (mother orchid). I didn't knew the colour of the lip could change so much depending on external factors. Now that think about it, one flower has a white patch, so after reading your message I believe it's more than reasonable to expect flowers with white lips in future blooms. My orchid stays in my room, constant warm temperature. Maybe in the future I might experiment moving the plant to other areas, see if I can "change" the colour of the blooms. Right now I can detect a mild fragrance. I wonder if that will be affected too. Again, thank you for your help. So happy I haven't been had and I really have a Sharry Baby.

estación seca · #10 01-22-2019, 02:50 PM

Flower color variation with bud temperature variation is common in many plants, especially in the pink-red range. Some pink rose hybrids may be almost white at some times of the year, and medium pink at other times. This color variation and spotting variation are also expected in spotted Phalaenopsis, which open flowers over many months in spring, as temperatures warm.