Phal Yuar shen Red Jewelry x Phal Nobby's Black Grosbeak
 

Just purchased this - it has all-violet/magenta/maroon flowers, a very unusual colour ( stunning ). Unfortunately I don't have a good enough camera to take a close up. Unusual thing about the flowers are that they are partly peloric and also that the petals and sepals are fused together ( at least on the 2 flowers open ). The breeder told me that the plant was to be used for breeding but the peloric prevalence is a problem. Grosbeak ( according to BigLeaf Orchids ) is George Vasquez X violacea. Does anyone know anything more about the parents ? I can't find anything on the Red Jewelry parent. Unfortunately despite the parentage, there is no fragrance.

I tracked down all the parentage via the RHS Orchid Database. Interesting. I am hoping that the flowers do have a fragrance, will have to see at other times of the day perhaps. This one looks like a good candidate to cross back into violecia....

Hi - I actually have this exact plant as well and it arrived in bloom - very attractive, deep purple, but only had one flower on the stem. After two years it has spiked again, but unfortunately it looks as though it only is planning on two blooms on this stem. We'll see. Is this similar to your plant?

I have to say that I did get about a total of 5 flowers from 2 spikes subsequently and the fragrance was fantastic. It's my favourite colour too.
However - for the last 10 months it has grown nothing but leaves and I call it my foliage phal. Leaves are glossy and impressive.
The 2 spikes that it had have done nothing and there is no sign of any more. No new root growth above the sphag either.
The sixth flower wasn't even fully formed at the time. I think that whoever did this cross pulled a genetic number on it somehow and screwed it up. It really is a pity ! But it did get me really interested in genetics/ploidy........
Please post photos of yours . Photos of mine to follow.

BTW - correct name of one parent is Yuanshan Red Jewelry...

Sent from my HTC VLE_U using Tapatalk 2

Photos

Sent from my HTC VLE_U using Tapatalk 2

Well, I could tell by the name, but the flower conditions you described definitely demonstrate anueploidy of this cross. It's a 4n (Yuanshan Red Jewelry) x 2n (Nobby's Black Grosbeak).

also, the leaves look pretty dark, maybe it could use more light to bloom. some phals need ore than others

Here are two pictures of my plant. I think I've had it for at least a year or two and it arrived in spike, bloomed one flower and the other buds died. It is a healthy plant but it has taken some time to re-bloom for me. I am just hoping it isn't a plant that just sends up a spike with one flower one it at a time.

The color was amazing, if I remember correctly - a deep purple, and a fairly large flower. I figured that as the plant matured I'd get more flowers on the spike all at once, but it looks as though this flower will bloom well before any others on the stem have a chance. I will post a picture of the flower once it has bloomed so you can tell me if it is the same plant as yours.

and thats another peculiar trait. All my phals are in SF windows, this one gets SW sun too. It has the darkest leaves of all of them; thick like cardboard. Not pliable at all.
And its grown about 5 leaves so far.......my foliage phal on steroids.

Yep - the colour is what attracted me in the first place. I got mine from Hausermanns - it was all by itself on the sale table. Is yours from OakHill ? If so, I wonder if its someone in Illinois that did the cross.
The foliage on mine looks different. Leaves are closely packed, almost like a rosette.
Also orchids don't only get one flower naturally. But they can flower off an old stem, maybe that's what yours is doing.
Please post a photo when it does open as the last flower I got was seriously deformed.

I definitely will post a pic and probably soon because it is growing rather fast. It isn't an old stem as I usually cut my stems off after they bloom. I bet it was open in this next month!

Both parents have large percentages of violacea in their background. That species normally blooms in the summer one flower at a time sequentially. I would not expect a large spray of flowers on a single spike from this cross. The bud itself looks very violacea like. I'm betting it will also be fragrant.

Ooop, my initial statement on the ploidy of this cross is slightly off. Yuanshan Red Jewelry is Brother Fancy (4n) x Shingher Pure Love (2n). So, this cross should be Yuanshan Red Jewelry (3n) x Nobby's Black Grosbeak (2n).

Okay, mine has just started to open, and it looked great, but it doesn't seem to really want to open all the way. The bloom is scrunched up and I have a feeling it doesn't plan on opening anymore than that. I will give it a few more days to try, but if all it produces are deformed flowers, I'm throwing it out. It is unfortunate because the petals are a deep thick waxy purple - reminds me of a tulip petal. I'll post a picture once I'm convinced it isn't going to open all the way.

thanks for the update.
Mine is just getting bigger........another new leaf.
I understand if you toss it, I don't know if I would be able to do so with mine ! I have never seen that bloom colour again......on the plant or any other phal :lol:

My deformed bloom
 

Ok, this flower is finished opening for me, and it looks like a claw. Love the color, but the form is horrible. It has a couple more on the way, so we'll see if they do any better. I know how you feel about the color - such a deep and waxy purple. I actually have a sogo grape, and I'm hoping that it is similar in color when it blooms. Let me know if the picture of my deformed flower is similar to yours!

that is so sad.
I remember mine as more purply - but its still doing nothing spike/bloom wise. The last flower, about a year ago, looked similar to yours.

It is a pretty deep purple, the pic might not show it as such. I guess there is no hope for this cross. Darn.