Phalaenopsis Nankung's 4:55PM x Yushan Little Pearl

[JScott]

I've posted this one before, but it's just one of my favorites and it has done so well, I can't help but post it again. It always has so many flowers, and when the flowers die, it always grows a new branch with new flowers, and not just two or three flowers, but like a full bloom. This is the third branch from this same spike.

I'm a teacher and I like to keep an orchid on my desk to brighten up the room, but sometimes when I don't have an appropriately sized plant in bloom to bring for my desk, I'll pick up a cheap little Phal at the grocery store. Usually I will keep those plants until the second bloom, and if I'm still not super impressed by the second bloom, I give them away, because grocery store orchids are not always the best quality. However occasionally, I end up with one that I think is just really great, and this is one of them. Based upon the tag, I assume it is seed grown, and because of the successive branching of the flower spikes, it is in bloom very nearly 12 months a year. I think I really got a good one when I randomly picked this one up at the grocery store that day. It's a really good mid-sized plant. This batch of flowers will probably be the last one from this spike, but it spikes twice a year, so I expect I'll see another new spike poking out soon, and that spike will continue to bloom and branch until the fall spike starts to form. It really is almost never out of bloom.

If you look at the bottom of this page where it says "similar threads" you can see my post from a little over a year ago about this same plant. The photo quality in that thread is actually better than the the quality of the photos in this thread. I had a hard time getting the light right this time.

And after looking at the previous thread, I remembered that Ray reminded that this plant is now registered as Yushan Caro.

It currently has 15 flowers open with two more buds just about ready to open.

[neophyte]

lovely! this one puts on quite a show!

[Dollythehun]

I have a little pink noid phal that also puts on that kind of show. By the shape of the flowers, I'd say mine has some schilleriana in it. What a sweet plant, jscott!

[WaterWitchin]

Now THAT'S a great grocery store find!

[rbarata]

Great growing. Beautiful plant!

[DeaC]

OH,what a lovely spray of blooms. I'd be visiting your classroom quite frequently!

[Leafmite]

That is spectacular!
Another Phal that blooms all the time is Fuller's Sunset.

[JScott]

Thanks everybody, I really appreciate it! I'm going to say something here, and I may get some dissenters, but I don't really love Phals all that much. There are other genera I much prefer. But I have a few, maybe about a half a dozen or so, because they are easy, trouble free, and bloom reliably every year, if not twice a year. Despite Phals not being my favorite, this specific plant is definitely one of my favorites. We talked about in another post what makes an orchid "special" to us, and I couldn't come up with a better answer than that it's just a feeling you get about certain plants, and I definitely think this one is special.

[Leafmite]

Like you, I am not a Phal person myself but one of my favorite orchids is a Phal--Phal bellina 'Star'. I just love that orchid.