Impulse buy: NoID with redish speckled leaves

[ChatteringCat]

I haven't been collecting orchids for long, and there have been some ups and downs, but otherwise I have been quite sucessful, I think. So far.

Today, I stopped by a local orchid nursery (3 greenhouses are JUST orchids, it is cool). A week ago, they told me that they had a Phal. Schilleriana, but that it was at a show. That told me that it was probably a) huge, and b) out of my price range, but I just wanted to see it. Wandering around today, there was no sign of it, but on a table in one of the greenhouses near the Paphs was this guy. It is about the size of most of the mini phals that the nursery has, and it is not in spike, although it has a new aerial root. I was attracted to it for the same reason I liked the pictures I have seen of the Schilleriana; the leaves were pretty.

The leaves are a dark green to purple with darker purple/redish spots on it. The underside of the two newest leaves are almost pink. I am pretty certain this isn't sunburn judging by where it was in the greenhouse, but there were no other ones of its type there.

When I asked what it was (my German is very poor, but I did manage to make sense, I think), there was first some confusion over whether this was a Paph or a Phal, and then the guy (not the owner, an employee) said, in English: "Is a 'Special Botanical Orchid'." He looked so proud of himself, that I just shrugged and bought it. The tag reads "Orchideen Hybrideen" like many there I have seen. It was priced at a little more than their other minis.

This is my 13th orchid. Lucky or cursed? Skip down to the last paragraph if you don't want the story of the cursed part.

The drive home...
So, I had the orchid in a box on the floor of my car, where it would be safe as long as I didn't have to make any sharp or sudden turns. Unfortunately, there was an idiot who didn't understand how to merge onto the autobahn, and I had to swerve. I heard a small thud and a clatter of bark.

I pulled over at the next rest stop and inspected the damage. Without moving anything, it looked ok. It did not land on the leaves, or the new root. So I carefully picked it up... and the plant fell out of the pot. I saw parts of roots still in the pot and felt absolute horror. Then I touched one and it squished. Closer inspection of the orchid itself showed at least 80% of the roots were rotten, and I also noticed that there was spilled water and sopping wet moss in the box.

Well. I put the orchid back into the pot as best I could, and placed the pot in a cup holder for the rest of the ride home. This was my first time dealing with root rot, so I really hope I repotted the thing right. And hopefully removing most of the black squishy roots leaving whiteish green roots behind was enough. I don't see small things very well, so that will have to do. I staked it upright with a couple small orchid stakes, and potted it in new orchid mix. I followed most of the instructions I saw in various threads (sterile equipment, tepid plain water, etc.) I did not use any chemicals on the orchid. It is in a pot with plenty of holes, and not in a decorative outer pot.

Hopefully this orchid will survive. I think the leaves are pretty, and I am really curious about what the flowers could look like.

And so...

Attached (I hope) is a picture of it after repotting. There is a euro coin (about the size of a US quarter) next to it for scale.

Does anyone know what this might be? I normally wouldn't ask, but the leaves seem fairly distinctive. If I never learn (seriously, it could die... I hope it is forgiving), or if I have to wait for a flower, I think I will name this one "Lucky Number 13".

[WilECoyote]

I would say a Phalaenopsis...good luck with getting it to form new roots. Im sure it will be OK.

[Mandy2705]

Yes it's a special one indeed. When you find one with spots on the leaves, it will be such a surprise once it blooms. It could be fragrant as well but only when it blooms can we know for sure. Good luck with getting the roots to grow back, it should be ok, the plant itself looks to be in good health so it should grow some new roots in no time


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Optimist]

might it be a schilleriana cross. I have one like it called Jhalos Pink Girl. They are fragrant. I guess if you get a bloom that is pink, and has a fragrance, you might consider Schilleriana as one parent.

[estación seca]

This thread has just the information you need:

The Phal abuse ends here.

.

[nicola]

I believe it is lucky,
you discovered the rotten roots, before the leaves started suffering.
The color of the leaves is particularly attractive.
Good luck to you and to "13"
ciao Nicola

[ChatteringCat]

Attached (I hope) is an update on this little lucky plant.

The Good:
There is a new leaf and a new aerial root. I haven't disturbed the plant to see other roots recently, but I am hopeful.

The Bad:
Three leaves yellowed and fell off. They were all the lower ones though, so maybe it wasn't so bad. I really have no idea how old this might be, so it could have been a combination of time and trauma.

The continuing saga:
I left my orchid collection in the care of the cat sitter while I went on vacation for two weeks. This little plant was only watered twice during that time (the pot is small and has alot of extra holes in it for aeration... it should have been watered more), and it ended up overturned at least once during that time. I am looking forward to when it can keep itself anchored in its media.

When I got back, the leaves were yellowing, so I fixed its positioning in the pot, watered it properly, and continued. The leaves all came off easily when it was their time.

Before my trip, I treated the water for this plant with KelpMax according to instructions. I added the leftover water to the Vanda (yeah, that went well... the vanda is trying to escape again... or possibly strangle people if it thinks it can grow new roots fast enough). When I got back, I continued with a light regular treatment with a growth encouraging orchid fertilizer, and more KelpMax according to instructions.


So. I am still holding out hope that this little one remains lucky.

[Optimist]

If it is a mini. It does look like it has the shilleriana in it. I would say that if it does bloom, and the flowers are pink and fragrant, it is. I have one with leaves exactly like yours and it is called Phal. jiaho's Pink Girl. It is a cross between Phal. schilleriana and Phal. Zuma's Pixie, and may or not be fragrant. (Mine is fragrant). It is available in Europe because Dani Miss. Orchid Girl of Youtube has one. She has a video of it up too. It could be another schilleriana cross as well. There are a few. Most of them are pink/pink & white, and have some kind of spotting on the leaves.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Keeping my fingers crossed for you but it looks like it will recover.

[ChatteringCat]

Update: All but one of the original leaves have fallen off, but there have been 3 new ones. This continues to show new roots, but since they are emerging higher and higher on the stem, I think I may need to repot it slightly lower in the media. There is plenty of room to do this with the lack of the older leaves.

Attached is a picture of it during a watering. The leaves, when they first emerge, are dark green, but now, even under bright lights, it all looks pretty red.

I did locate a much healthier plant that appears to be the same type (although less red), but it is also not yet in spike, so I will likely have awhile yet before I can tell what these NoID phals will look like.