Phal Yuar shen Red Jewelry x Phal Nobby's Black Grosbeak

[orchidsarefun]

and thats another peculiar trait. All my phals are in SF windows, this one gets SW sun too. It has the darkest leaves of all of them; thick like cardboard. Not pliable at all.
And its grown about 5 leaves so far.......my foliage phal on steroids.

[orchidsarefun]

Originally Posted by orchid-recruit

The color was amazing, if I remember correctly - a deep purple, and a fairly large flower. I figured that as the plant matured I'd get more flowers on the spike all at once, but it looks as though this flower will bloom well before any others on the stem have a chance. I will post a picture of the flower once it has bloomed so you can tell me if it is the same plant as yours.

Yep - the colour is what attracted me in the first place. I got mine from Hausermanns - it was all by itself on the sale table. Is yours from OakHill ? If so, I wonder if its someone in Illinois that did the cross.
The foliage on mine looks different. Leaves are closely packed, almost like a rosette.
Also orchids don't only get one flower naturally. But they can flower off an old stem, maybe that's what yours is doing.
Please post a photo when it does open as the last flower I got was seriously deformed.

[orchid-recruit]

I definitely will post a pic and probably soon because it is growing rather fast. It isn't an old stem as I usually cut my stems off after they bloom. I bet it was open in this next month!

[quiltergal]

Both parents have large percentages of violacea in their background. That species normally blooms in the summer one flower at a time sequentially. I would not expect a large spray of flowers on a single spike from this cross. The bud itself looks very violacea like. I'm betting it will also be fragrant.

[FairyInTheFlowers]

Ooop, my initial statement on the ploidy of this cross is slightly off. Yuanshan Red Jewelry is Brother Fancy (4n) x Shingher Pure Love (2n). So, this cross should be Yuanshan Red Jewelry (3n) x Nobby's Black Grosbeak (2n).

[orchid-recruit]

Okay, mine has just started to open, and it looked great, but it doesn't seem to really want to open all the way. The bloom is scrunched up and I have a feeling it doesn't plan on opening anymore than that. I will give it a few more days to try, but if all it produces are deformed flowers, I'm throwing it out. It is unfortunate because the petals are a deep thick waxy purple - reminds me of a tulip petal. I'll post a picture once I'm convinced it isn't going to open all the way.

[orchidsarefun]

thanks for the update.
Mine is just getting bigger........another new leaf.
I understand if you toss it, I don't know if I would be able to do so with mine ! I have never seen that bloom colour again......on the plant or any other phal

[orchid-recruit]

Ok, this flower is finished opening for me, and it looks like a claw. Love the color, but the form is horrible. It has a couple more on the way, so we'll see if they do any better. I know how you feel about the color - such a deep and waxy purple. I actually have a sogo grape, and I'm hoping that it is similar in color when it blooms. Let me know if the picture of my deformed flower is similar to yours!

[orchidsarefun]

that is so sad.
I remember mine as more purply - but its still doing nothing spike/bloom wise. The last flower, about a year ago, looked similar to yours.

[orchid-recruit]

It is a pretty deep purple, the pic might not show it as such. I guess there is no hope for this cross. Darn.