My First Noid

[PantherBinx]

Alrighty so I’ve been lurking in the shadows reading posts and this would be my first actual post.

So this was my first orchid that I received as a gift. I love her. I’ve had her for around 7 years. We’ve had our ups and downs. But I’ve always wondered what she could be.

I know there are no guarantees but I was wondering if one of the pros could shed a little illumination.

[rbarata]

Welcome
Like you said, it's a beautiful NoID.
If you have it for 7 years, clearly you know how to care for it.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by PantherBinx

I know there are no guarantees but I was wondering if one of the pros could shed a little illumination.

I noticed that a lot of phals at some shops like supermarkets and garden stores don't have ID related to actual origins, like what crosses are involved etc.

I only have a single mini phal purchased last year (linked here), and I was pleasantly surprised that another forum member just so-happens to have the exact same orchid - flowers look identical ----- but we both don't know anything about the breeding details.

For my phal, there are hints that it came from a phal breeding lab such as Profar.

Usually - once a 'noid' - it will remain as a 'noid'. But that's ok ---- since I always know that some mystery is nice. The main thing is to look after our orchids. You have kept your orchid going for 7 years - nice work.

[neophyte]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

I only have a single mini phal purchased last year (linked here), and I was pleasantly surprised that another forum member just so-happens to have the exact same orchid - flowers look identical ----- but we both don't know anything about the breeding details.

This has happened to me too! I think the reason is that there are some orchid mass-producers out there who just churn out new hybrids for wholesalers and retailers (eg. Costco or even your local supermarket) without really keeping track of the lineage of the hybrids (thus rendering them un-registrable). So then we end up with a bunch of unnamed beauties. Nameless, but perfectly enjoyable.

ps: I have actually read that these mass-producers actually have trade names for their products, but they get re-used, are not official, and don't reflect parentage.

[SouthPark]

neophyte - I believe you really hit it with the reasons for the no-ids from the supermarkets, garden stores etc!

Totally agree with you about nameless beauties.

Last year, I was at a local big chain supermarket, and got drawn toward a phal with the most exquisite royal velvety purple flowers. Great shape - and the actual shade/colour of that particular purple was quite outstanding in my eyes. I eyed it. I had no phals in my collection at the time. And this orchid wasn't a mini phal, but a regular sized phal. I went against my urge to purchase that one that day. But - the very next day - I drove out to see if it was still there - 100% determined to purchase it. It was not there anymore!! Massively missed opportunity. Still regretting it even now haha.

This is also how I ended up with my first phal - a mini phal, because I had hopes of finding that particular sort of orchid elsewhere - but absolutely none seen anywhere else. So I ended up purchasing my first phal as a result of trying to search for the lost opportunity!!!

[Diane56Victor]

I took my opportunity to buy a mini phal while at Bunnings. Leaves and roots looked good but no flowers left so I got if for the bargain price of $5. Its growing another leaf. All I have to do now is wait to see if it pushes another spike so I can see what the flowers look like.

[aliceinwl]

Once in awhile one will make it into the store with a tag with an ID. I have about half a dozen or so that I’ve accumulated. Most do not appear to be registered, just trade names like neophyte said.

I’ve seen some that seem to show up on stores year after year, but others I’ve seen only once. Now, if I see one I really like I just buy it. There are some that I’m kicking myself for not getting that I’ve never seen again.

[Mountaineer370]

Welcome to the OB! That's a lovely NoID Phalaenopsis you have there. If you've had it for seven years, it seems like you're doing everything right and it's happy in your conditions. If you do enough looking, you'll certainly come across other named hybrids that resemble it, and you can say it looks like such-and-such, but you'll never know for sure. With commercial orchid-growing being such a big business, and so many new hybrids being created all the time, there are hundreds if not thousands of them that could be said to look similar to one another.