Phrag kovachii hybrid

[EmoryG]

Aloha All,

I bought this plant as a large seedling labeled Phrag. besseae. The plant grew much larger than I thought P. besseae would grow, it just flowered and is clearly a P. kovachii hybrid. The plant originated from (but was not sold by) Peruflora.

This is the first flower for this plant. The petals are a bit cupped, but even so have a natural spread of 4.5". The flower spike is very sturdy, 19" tall and is branching.

I suspect that it's either Phrag. Fritz Schomburg or Phrag Peruflora's Cirila Alca. Are there any key differences that I should be looking for to help with the ID?

All things considered the color is beautiful and I look forward to seeing if the size/shape improves in future years.

Please let me know if you have any ideas on what this cross is. It is lovely, but having a name to go with it is even better.

[MrHappyRotter]

Very cool. I have had some pretty awful luck with mislabeled plants, particularly Phrags. I don't know why they're so frequently mislabled compared to other orchids. Could just be my luck. Anyway, as mislabeled plants go, I'd say that this is one of the better outcomes.

I think your ID guesses are about as accurate as it gets. In general, based on the flower, it'd be tough to discern between those two crosses. However, for a single growth first bloom seedling to have a branched spike strongly suggests there's P. dalessandroi influence, which tends to produce heavily branched flower spikes even on young plants, and it's a trait that is sometimes passed along to its progeny. So, while not definitive, I'm leaning more towards Phrag. Peruflora's Cirila Alca.

[EmoryG]

Apparently we share the same luck, I’ve grown orchids for about 20 years and haven’t had an issue with mislabeled plants. I’ve bought 12 phrags in the past four years and three of them have been labeled incorrectly.

And I agree, for a mix up, this is pretty nice. The seller is also sending me a new seedling, so I can’t complain.