False beauty or true princess - pelorich moth orchids
 

Over the past few years, I've been observing an increasing number of Phalaenopsis appearing on the market in peloric form. Of course, I understand that it's a demand shaping the supply and that these plants are somehow "created" to exhibit the peloric form. I know that such a form can arise through crossing; breeders may intentionally cross plants with peloric traits to produce offspring exhibiting these traits. By crossing orchids with certain morphological traits, breeders can increase the likelihood of obtaining peloric orchids in subsequent generations. But it doesn't seem to me, although I may be mistaken, that this method is productive. I am curious whether these almost mass-produced peloric moth orchids might be the result of mutagens such as EMS or methyl nitrate. What do you think?

Most of the Phals. sold in stores are propagated by meristem cloning. It only takes one with a peloric lip to produce hundreds of thousands of the same thing.

I know that in Cymbidium, there are nurseries actively pursuing peloric flowers through breeding peloric parent plants. However, the peloric forms are not always compatible, so some seedlings come out with standard flowers. From the (few/many?) that do have peloric flowers, they then select the best for meristem propagation.

I believe that it is similar in Phalaenopsis.

Obtaining peloric forms through the selection of mother plants is not always effective, and due to the instability of peloric forms, it can be very time-consuming. I found several interesting articles suggesting that mutagenesis is a much faster and more reliable method. The information on this topic is fascinating and can be found, for example, on researchgate.net.

Just a moment...

I agree with Fairorchids and ES, the peloric Phals are very likely clones of the occasional "accidental" plant.

Actually, for Phalaenopsis, we should also consider where/how they are produced.

In Taiwan, there are multiple smaller nurseries, which breed in limited quantities. In such operations, I could visualize that some breeders might try to induce pelorics by other means than regular breeding.

Once something new/spectacular/interesting appears (whether 'typical' or peloric), the mass production nurseries take over and produce large quantities for export.

Lastly, not all plant characteristics are stable, and we know that some plants with peloric flowers can also produce non-peloric flowers (on the same inflorescence!). Thus, there is no guarantee that an induced peloric plant would be a reliable source for meristems with peloric flowers.