Blue phalaenopsis- what's your take on it?

[Ordphien]

The dyed one's cost $15 near me.
And it says on the tag very clearly that it was injected with dye and will rebloom white.
I wonder if it's all the different companies.

I hear almost everyone pronounce it that way down here.


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[AnonYMouse]

"special blue enhanced"
For marketing people, that sounds better than "dyed blue".

[My Green Pets]

My first thought in seeing them in the shop was, "Who on Earth would buy that?"

Pretty arrogant I guess, as they seem to be pretty successful commercially. But they just look fake to me, like artificial flowers.

To each his own!

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by Ordphien

I hear almost everyone pronounce it that way down here.

Really, like this? fah-lay-NOP-sis

I alternate between fal-eh-NOP-sis and fail-eh-NOP-sis, but I've never heard fah-lay-NOP-sis before.

[RandomGemini]

I was told it was fail, not fah. I have a hard time with the pronunciation of orchid names, because I haven't attended an OS meeting yet and most of my research has been on the internet! We should do a thread on that too!

[RosieC]

It's the fact that people buy them without knowing that they will go white that bothers me.

They are good quality plants with big flowers from what I've heard, but people buy them wanting something other than white and don't realise they will get white in the long run. If someone knowingly buys one happy it will turn white then that's not a problem, it's when they think it will stay blue and sometimes pay a premium for a blue Phal that it becomes a problem.

Like AshleighJade, someone at work bought one. The person at work paid about 3x the amount you pay for a good white Phal here. They were so disappointed when new flowers came through white and knowing that I knew about orchids came to ask me about it. Luckily the garden center they bought it from refunded them and let them choose a replacement in a different colour, so it ended happy in this case.

---------- Post added at 07:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:50 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Ordphien

The dyed one's cost $15 near me.
And it says on the tag very clearly that it was injected with dye and will rebloom white.
I wonder if it's all the different companies.

I've not actually seen the ones sold round here, but I know they are not clearly marked. For my colleague who bought one even the garden center who sold it didn't know which is why they refunded/replaced it.

I have no problem with them if they are clearly marked. I wouldn't buy one myself but if clearly marked there is no harm with them.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Originally Posted by Jayfar

Really, like this? fah-lay-NOP-sis

I alternate between fal-eh-NOP-sis and fail-eh-NOP-sis, but I've never heard fah-lay-NOP-sis before.

I have heard it various ways, but looking up Latin pronunciation, your "fal-eh-NOP-sis" seems close to the mark, the 'a' in Phal pronounced like the 'a' in "father".

The "fail" option does not seem to agree with any of the common Latin versions of pronunciation that I have heard/read, but seems to be the one I hear the most among orchid growers. I grew up Catholic back in the full Latin mass days, that pronunciation does not ring a bell, though "church Latin" may not be quite correct either.

My very old Webster's says "fal-e-NOP-sis" (a pronounced as in add; ae pronounced as the first e in event; o pronounced as in odd; i pronounced as in ill)

If I hear a pronunciation that is even close to the right one, I know what is being spoken of, and don't worry about it too much.

As for the blue Phals, I don't care for the intense blue dye, but when they re-bloom white, they are fairly nice. I have a co-worker that has one of these that now blooms reliably for her. I guess to each his/her own, if someone likes them, who am I to judge?

[Orquiadicto]

I agree with most of you. As long as it is marked it's dyed, no problem with it. I won't buy any though. Here in Spain they even sell white ones with a colored centre: fluorescent orange, green, yellow. I think they're horrible, but who am I to judge? I only hope no one will ever buy me one.

[Bobits]

I have undertook a project to try dying my white orchid (as an experiment). I procured a syringe which I loaded up with blue food coloring which I then injected into the base of the spike. The spike was more woody than expected so i also tried injecting at the top of the spike, just below where it branches out with a new spike. I tried to judge approximately two weeks before I thought the flowers would open... I like they might open soon,.. I'll post photos of my experiment in case anyone is interested...

Some due got on the roots...



I see a hint of blue in the unopened bud! I am so curious...

[LovePhals]

Great experiment post pictures of your blooms!