Phalaenopsis with patterned leaves

[ChatteringCat]

Ever since I saw a picture of a Phalaenopsis Schilleriana, AND read that it was scented, I have been looking for Phalaenopsis orchids with patterned leaves. I have purchased a few in my quest that I would like to share. I have only seen one of them in bloom so far, so I know I will be in for some surprises. Only two of these had a label on them, so any opinions

My first purchase (back in Feb or March) was one that ended up having severe root rot, and extreme bad luck. I have detailed that one in a separate post, but I have included a picture attached to this post. It is the one in the green pot with only a few small leaves left. The leaves look fairly uniformly red at this point (it isn't sunburned, I am sure), although they started out a dark green with darker, almost purple, spots. With this one, I feel I am lucky it has lived this long, so maybe one day I will see the flowers.



The next two, I purchased about 3 weeks ago. These both seem to be very healthy, and I repotted just to make sure. They are also not in bloom, but the leaves are pretty. The one with darker green leaves looks almost exactly like my unlucky orchid before it went red. From the newest leaf, you can see the spotting pattern as well as the purple underside.



The other one I purchased at the same time has lighter, almost pale green leaves that are much rounder with darker, smaller spots. The nursery actually had a much more mature one of these, planted in a larger pot, but it was not for sale (reserved with a 70 euro price tag... eep!). This one included a tag with "Phal. Shilleriana" written in pencil, but I do not know if that is what it really is, since I also found a standard white phal with a vanda tag. so.



I went back two days later, and bought another phal with spotted leaves. This one is the lopsided one, with some damage. I got them to come down to six euro because of the damage. I think it was a pest, but I repotted and carefully examined it, and it seems to be clear. This one had a tag that said "Phal. Shilleriana 'Big Typ" x Equestris". I googled that and found this link: RE: Phal. schilleriana x equestris (Schiller's Horse) - 4. I haven't seen the flowers yet on this one either.



Since that last one was orchid #16 in my house, and my significant other was starting to have a twitchy cheek when I mentioned heading to another nursery, I was not expecting to buy the last one shown here. Orchid #17 in my collection is in bloom, and has spotted leaves as well. This one came with a tag that just had the company name (same company that does those weird Singolo ones). The flowers are about the size of a US quarter, and they have different patterns on them as you can see from the picture. They are also lightly scented, which is cool. The leaves are spotted and look a bit like orchid #16 did. This wasn't from my usual nursery, and I don't think they knew what they had. Or my German is still that bad. When I was attempting to ask if they knew what kind it was, and was asking about the spots, they said it was sick and that I could have it for three euros.



I am going to try not to buy anymore for a few months to keep peace in my home. But I am thrilled to have these.

PS: I took many of the photos while watering. Just FYI. The orchid window is crowded, with all but 3 (the two sick/damaged ones are in quarantine still, and I have a rather large cymbidium), so it isn't conductive to photography.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Good luck i want one with the spotted leaves also. Maybe some day.

[estación seca]

All very beautiful!

Your first may have ancestry from the former Doritis species, which have been lumped into Phalaenopsis. They tend to have more upright and stiff-looking leaves, which often blush red like this. They also often have very upright flower spikes and bright magenta flowers. In my experience Doritis hybrids are more heat, cold and dry tolerant than other Phals.

#17 is very beautiful, and fragrance is really nice to have.

Unless it is dry and papery, the spot on Schiller's Horse looks very worrisome to me. If the spot is wet and squishy, it is likely a very dangerous bacterial rot. The squishy exudate is highly contagious to other plants nearby, so do not touch the spot, do not get the liquid on your fingers, and do not allow the exudate to contact other plants. It is very close to the plant's crown, so you need to move quickly.

If that spot is wet or soft, I would move the plant to a sink, where you will be able to sterilize the surface with a bleach solution afterwards. Use something very sharp, like a single-edge razor blade. In one cut, if possible, cut off the entire leaf as far below the spot as you can. Throw away the razor blade. If you are using a knife, sanitize it in a 10% bleach solution, or boil it.

Then place cinnamon or sulfur powder on the cut end of the leaf. This will give you the best chance of saving the plant.

And wipe down the work surface with bleach solution.