First Phal Taiwan Red Cat 'Red Cat' bud opening!

[ElenaMarie]

Hi!

There's no guarantee that my Phal Taiwan Red Cat will have the awesome picotee. I have to wait for it to bloom to know. The first bud is just starting to open and I'm watching it like a hawk!

Anyone else with this Phal? If so, do the first blooms have lesser pictoee than blooms from a mature plant?

[ElenaMarie]

Ohhhhh, I'm so excited! The bloom is a bit more open and I'm craning my head peeking inside. It looks like it probably has the picotee! IThe picotee is a bit vague but then the bloom is still mostly closed.

[Gin]

Pretty rich color ! picotee or not will be beautiful .

[silken]

I have this one, but sorry, it hasn't bloomed yet and I know how you feel! It's been sitting doing almost nothing for the last 6 months since I got it. Just recently it split the very fleshy leaf at the base and has either grown the start of a root or a spike. It's a little too early to tell, and I won't get too excited yet. Can't wait to see what you got!

[ElenaMarie]

The saga of the Opening Bud! Took these for you Silken. The side shot is trying to show the faint picotee but it's not as visible on the photo as IRL.

[silken]

Thanks! By tomorrow morning you should have a really good view for me I checked mine again and while I hate to get too excited, I think mine is getting that mittened spike look. It will still be a long wait but now that it's spring I think my spike will develop faster. I grow in a cool greenhouse. All my other Phals initiated spikes in the fall after it got cool, but not this one! Is your plant a good sized one with quite heavy thick leaves? Mine is the most 'chunky' one I own.

[ElenaMarie]

Originally Posted by silken

Thanks! By tomorrow morning you should have a really good view for me I checked mine again and while I hate to get too excited, I think mine is getting that mittened spike look.

Woohoo! It's like waiting for a baby to arrive isn't it?

It will still be a long wait but now that it's spring I think my spike will develop faster. I grow in a cool greenhouse. All my other Phals initiated spikes in the fall after it got cool, but not this one!

LOL Just gotta be different.

Is your plant a good sized one with quite heavy thick leaves? Mine is the most 'chunky' one I own.

Mine is a fairly young plant, but the leaves are definitely substantial in thickness. I think this is its first bloom. I'm looking forward to a huge spray in years to come!

How long are the leaves on yours? Mine's leaves are about five inches long but they're much more oval than my other phals. They're probably three inches wide. Most of my other phals have the long thinner leaves. I do have one NOID with the same short, wide, thick leaves.

[silken]

Dtps. Taiwan Red Cat 'Red Cat'

Here is a link to the one I saw that made me want it. But there is no guarantee of the splash coloring.

[ElenaMarie]

Originally Posted by silken

Dtps. Taiwan Red Cat 'Red Cat'

Here is a link to the one I saw that made me want it. But there is no guarantee of the splash coloring.

Oh I hope mine is as gorgeous at that one when it's all grown up!

When I got mine at Carter and Holmes, they told me about the possibility that it wouldn't have the picotee pattern. If it doesn't I can exchange it. They had experts examine all their young plants' buds to try to separate those with from those without. Mine was in the "with" bin but even that isn't a guarantee. And I thought clones were, well, clones! Exact copies! Apparently I was wrong.

I've sure had a lot of fun watching it open, though.

[silken]

I think this is some sort of genetic mutation and sometimes they are the plain pink that the Taiwian Red Cat is.
Lucky you can swap yours if it doesn't work out. I can't!

My two largest leaves are 5 1/2 inches long and 7 inches long. the 5 1/2 inch leaf is 3 1/2 inches wide and the longer one is 3 inches wide.

I have my fingers crossed for you to get the showy splashed petals.