Real orchid coloration or dyed?

[twissy]

Hello everyone, I'm new here, and I apologize if this is the wrong place for this post. I'm sorry to say, I know very little of orchids. My mother has an entire collection and loves them. I wanted to buy her a nice one from Home Depot (unlabeled aside from 'Exotic Orchid'), but I was unsure if it were a real color. What I mean is that I have never seen an orchid this color before, and I suspect it may have been objected with blue dye.

I have heard that there is no such thing as a blue orchid. This orchid was blue-purple/pale violet that faded to white on the edge of the petals. It had pink veins and was yellow in the center. I have attached pictures. I did not occur to me to search for puncture marks on the stem at the time, but I did notice some splotches on the flower that could be either spilled dye or darkening of the petal because of injury. It was considerably more expensive than the rest of the orchids, and the lot of them were placed next to a set of artificial orchids which made me unsure. I didn't want to bring this home to my mother only for the flowers to fall off naturally and re-bloom white, or an entirely different color. Forgive me if I have used incorrect terminology, as I am not too familiar with orchid parts.
Any input is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[fooferdoggie]

you can tell by looking at the flower stalk the dyed ones are really dark. they only usually dye phananopsis though. here are a bunch of them.

[estación seca]

Hi twissy! Welcome to the Orchid Board!

Good eye - those are dyed artificially. I bet you mom will be happy to teach you more about orchids!

[Orchid Whisperer]

In 2013 there was a story about genetically modifying Phals to express the same blue pigment as larkspurs. There was an exhibit that included some of these plants in Japan. I have never seen any for sale though.

[MrHappyRotter]

100% certainty that this is dyed.

The color isn't a natural color for Phalaenopsis. It's close enough to some of the smaller bloomed "blue" phals, but the blue-ish tint gives it away.

The other thing that makes it certain is the yellow in the lip you mentioned. It's not a clear, bright, pure yellow, like it should be, you can actually see that it's dull & muted from the dye.

[Optimist]

I bought a dyed phalenopsis once (on sale). I wanted to find out what sort of color, how long it would go back to normal, and other obvious questions. The next year, I got a wonderful huge white, probably Phal. Amiables type with a smudge of yellow. I like the plant. It is a good, reliable grower with huge flowers.

I am told that the people who do this, generally chose a very strong orchid, so it does not die.

I would say that the blue orchids you have photographed are really light pink, peach or white if they are more "purple" (red+blue=purple). The ones that are streight blue are actually white. I like the look of the first one you photographed because it has a sort of "Peachy" look and some strong veins. I am thinking this will be a peach phal with some good "stripes." Look also for blue with dark purple. These will be white petals with a red lip-- very handsome phal. combination.

So basically, the main thing to think of is that the blue is not natural, and next time it blooms it will be a light (pastel) or white shade.

Since you are not seeing the real color, look for a healthy plant, good roots if you can see them, nice shaped (symmetrical, fully opened) flower.

[rbarata]

Look at the base of the flower spike. If it's dyed you'll find a small wound where the needle was inserted to inject the dye/ink/whatever is used.

[Subrosa]

There are no naturally blue members of the Phalaenopsis or Cattleya alliances, but there are definitely naturally occurring orchids which are true blue. Cleisocentron merrilianum and C. gokusingii in the Vanda alliance produce sky blue flowers with no trace of purple or green, as does Dendrobium parvulum. And there are lots of true blue terrestrial orchids in Australia, such as those in the genus Thelymitra.

[twissy]

Thank you, everyone! I've learned so much already. I wonder why they would sell dyed orchids without so much as a label explaining that they are dyed. With all your help I will probably be able to look for the dyed ones now. However, I would like to visit an orchid nursery and orchid show. I'm sure they'd have lots of great plants I've never seen before. (And hopefully that my mom hasn't seen before.)

[Leafmite]

Those are pretty, though. Too bad they do not come in those colors naturally.

You can also buy orchids online. Here are two that have some nice orchids and are both on Amazon (Shipping for one or two orchids is often cheaper through Amazon.):

Visit Kawamoto Orchids Nursery online web store for Hawaiian grown orchids. We also have a retail showroom that is located in Honolulu, Hawaii and is open to the public.

Welcome to Carmela Orchids