Is this guy a Phalaenopsis?

[Tickolas]

Hey guys,

I bought this a few weeks ago under the impression that it was some sort of Phalaenopsis. Looking at the flowers they're much thicker than normal phals, and this guy seems to sprout lots of forked stems.

Showed these photos to the lady in the local orchid shop, and although she didn't know what it was she claimed it was rare.

Anyone got a more precise identification of it? =) Also, should I do something about that bruise-looking thing on the leaf there?

[cbuchman]

It looks like a Phalaenopsis hybrid. It is very difficult to identify the specific hybrid as there are do many. The leaf marking may be nothing. To be sure, suggest you dust with cinnamon (the kind from the food store) and see if it gets any bigger.

You can find a lot about Phal culture on this board.

[sithwitch]

Yes, that's a phal! It looks like some kind of hybrid, so if you don't have a tag that came along with it, it might be hard to identify. Lucky about the branching spikes though, more flowers

The scar on the leaf looks like a sunburn to me, I have similar spot on a phal of mine I put too close to my light. Not pretty, but not dangerous

[sweetjblue]

Hi, what you have is what is called a peloric Phalaenopsis. Did all the flowers on your plant look like this or just one? If all, it is probably a permanent thing and is often caused during the mericloning process due to a mutation. If it was just the one flower it is not likely to happen again and is generally due to cultural conditions. It is really not all that rare, happens all the time. Some are quite pretty, others not so much.
As to the spot on your leaf, looks like some mechanial damage, perhaps sunburn. You should be fine, unless it is spreading and or wet/smelly in which case remove that part of the leaf with a sterile razor and dust with Cinnamon and you should be good.

BTW welcome to the OB!

Judi

[Tickolas]

Thanks for all the answers guys! Question: Should I cut the branching spikes individually as flowers drop off? In that case, do I need to do it any differently than cutting a single phal stem?

Judi, every flower (at least 10 of them) looked like that, bought it since I thought they looked cool and unique. The other ones fell out after about 2-4 weeks. Looks like that last one's a fighter though, been hanging on for at least two weeks since the last one fell. Also, thanks for the welcome! =)

[RosieC]

I agree with Judi, it's a phal whose flowers have a peloric mutation. It's a very pretty one, like Judi says some pelorics are not so pretty.

The thick petals and branching spikes are just a genetic feature. Hybrid phals are very popular and their parantage can come from a vast variety of phal species. Just like with people different features come through the genetics, some of the species are prone to branching others not, some of the species have very thick waxy petals, and others have very think petals. Hybrids pick up more of some features and less of others. I have a phal prone to branching spikes but it has thin petals, I have another with very thick waxy petals but it rarely branches. It's just one of those things that makes the orchid world so interesting

[The Mutant]

Hello and welcome to OB, fellow Swede.

I have a peloric Phal NoID (it's what nameless orchid hybrids are referred to here on OB and other English orchid forums) myself, and I bought it exactly of the same reasons as you did, I thought it looked unique and cool.

This is my little mutant (and the one I've taken my username from):


Also, I would suggest that you, when your Phal has finished blooming, repot it into a see through plastic pot instead of the glass one it's in.Those glass pots are very aesthetically pleasing, but they don't have enough draining holes and keep the substrate moist for waaay to long, so if you're unlucky, your Phal might end up with root rot.

[Phalchid]

Welcome! I too have a peloric phal NOID. Different color, though. It has branching spikes and I cut off the branches from which the blooms fell off. Now it has a new spike, and I repotted the plant before the new spike got too long.

[Silje]

Originally Posted by The Mutant

Hello and welcome to OB, fellow Swede.

I have a peloric Phal NoID (it's what nameless orchid hybrids are referred to here on OB and other English orchid forums) myself, and I bought it exactly of the same reasons as you did, I thought it looked unique and cool.

This is my little mutant (and the one I've taken my username from):

Love the color on this one! I've got one in a greenish yellow color that I bought for the very same reason. I've even pollinated my mutant and it has a big, fat pod growing now. I liked it that much! I just hope that, if I for some miraculous reason, actually success with the seeding and propagation, the offspring will be mutants as well.