Mini phal ID?

[GoldStar135]

Hello all-
Would anyone be able to ID this phalaenopsis?



I purchased it around April while it was in full bloom. The flowers were a nice dark violet that I absolutely adored. The flowers are very faintly fragrant (nice and sweet). When illuminated by light, small sparkles of white and red glow in the petals.




As for the plant itself-it is an absolute powerhouse. Between being moved from the store to a dorm and then to a house (all with rather different indoor climates), it never skipped a beat. Roots have continued to grow quickly without end (even after I repotted it from sphag to bark). It also pushed out a nice leaf that finished growing in two months.

After all the original blooms fell, it even had enough energy to produce three extra blooms in the middle of summer! These blooms do look different from the originals though-near the borders of the flower there is now a border of pale yellow that ages to white. The deep violet is still there; it just doesn't cover the entire bloom like when I purchased it.



On the back of the bloom there is a slightly translucent white layer over the violet.



I'd love to be able have an ID for this wonderful individual! Thanks in advance!
EDIT: sorry about the sideways photos; not sure why it happened

[Paul]

Unless you can get ahold of the nursery which supplied the store with the plant (and assuming they even had a name for it), it will forever be a NoID. There are simply too many lookalike hybrids out there.

[estación seca]

I agree with the above.

The cactus is probably in Rebutia muscula. It could also be a Mammillaria, but I can't see the body well enough.

Rebutia and Mammillaria both need full sun to maintain their normally globular shape. This one has been kept too shady. This often happens when they're at a nursery for a long time, inside a building in a rack with other cactus.

Rebutias and most Mammillarias offset profusely from the base when even slightly happy, so new growth can have the normal form. Keep it as bright as possible all winter, keep as cool as you can without freezing, and don't water it all winter. Resume watering after flower buds are well formed next spring.

Rebutia will have flowers circling the base of each stem. Mammillarias produce flowers up near the shoulders of the stem. If you water too early in the year it won't flower.

[GoldStar135]

An update on the ID-Earlier today I was browsing eBay, and I saw a photo of a phal that looked pretty much identical to this one. I looked up pics using the title of the listing-Phalaenopsis Taisuco Micky. The photos I found looked like my phal-could it be a Taisuco Micky? or could it be a hybrid that just looks extremely similar to TM?

Also regarding the cactus-this one came from Home Depot labeled Mammillaria pilcayensis/"bristle brush cactus." I recently repotted it around July. The window in the last photo faces south-southwest and gets a good amount of direct sun. I also have two phals placed in the same window (including this one) but none have shown any sunburning or any other signs that the extra sun could be affecting them negatively. One has been sitting in the window for about a year, and the mini phal has been at the window for about four months. I've been continually monitoring them to ensure against any possible sun damage.
Thanks for the mammillaria tips-I'll keep them in mind over winter.

[estación seca]

So many hybrids look so similar it really isn't possible to ID them from a photo on the Internet. The Internet photo might be mistaken, too.

Mammillaria pilcayensis stems should be so tight you can't see any stem behind the spines. Weak light leads to this appearance. In sun bright enough to keep it happy, your Phals would be burned to a crisp in a day or two. It's hard to give Mamms enough sun in any house.

Now that it's etiolated, be careful moving it into more sun, because it's susceptible to sunburn. This is a recurring problem for people who need to move cacti out of the house in the spring and into the house in the fall.

Mammillaria glassii v. ascensionis grows in Mexico under riverbank overhangs in mostly shade. It stays tight, and has really nice long, pure white, shaggy spines. It is a great windowsill Mamm for people who don't have blindingly bright light. Many cactus lovers kill it by assuming such a densely-spined plant needs full sun.

[Mountaineer370]

You didn't mention where you got this Phal from, but I'm assuming, since it didn't come with ID, it came from a grocery store/big box store, etc. Could it be the one you found online? Well, anything is possible, but Phal hybrids are mass-produced for these retailers, and there are going to be many, many different hybrids that look very similar. I understand your desire to know, but why not just accept that it is a noID, and a beautiful one at that, one that will bring you many years of pleasure, hopefully. My very first orchid was a noID Phal, and it is still my favorite, even though every Phal I have bought since then is a named, labeled hybrid.

[GoldStar135]

Yeah-I bought it from Market Basket. The only tag it came with was one of those generic "orchid plant" tags.

I understand your desire to know, but why not just accept that it is a noID, and a beautiful one at that, one that will bring you many years of pleasure, hopefully.

I'm perfectly happy with the phal being a NOID-I was just seeing if I could attach a name to it.

Thanks!

[Kevstar]

Every one of mine is a NoID (except for my Miltonia Sunset) and I have to admit it does stress me a little now that I am completely obsessed!! as I really want a little label on each one with a name.

However, seeing as that's not going to happen, I'll have to make up my own names... Haha!!!

[Mountaineer370]

Originally Posted by GoldStar135

I'm perfectly happy with the phal being a NOID-I was just seeing if I could attach a name to it.

I totally understand. I probably phrased that badly. I didn't mean to sound like I thought you weren't happy with it. I do empathize with your wish to know it's proper name. I spent lots of time browsing the web when I first got mine, and I found a popular well-known hybrid that looks just like it. I guess I'll have to content myself with the thought that it's maybe a seventh cousin three times removed from that one! The same might be true of yours and the Phal. Taisuco Micky.

[Roberta]

Since Phalaenopsis culture is pretty much the same across the whole genus, knowing name/parentage doesn't give any extra information to help the plant thrive. If you were a breeder you'd want to know the pedigree... otherwise you'd be breeding mutts... with a considerable investment of time and space. For a hobbyist, don't stress, just enjoy it.

For some genera (such as those in the Cattleya tribe) knowing the parents can help with culture because the species behind the hybrids come from a wide range of conditions. But with Phals, that's not the case.