Quote:
Originally Posted by KikaMaggie
Dear K-Sci, this phal is the most beautiful I have ever seen. As I’m not an experienced grower, I hope you don’t mind if I going to ask some very basic questions. Is this a common plant or some with highly selected genetics? How old does it take to reach that size and load of blooms? How is it fertilized?
Thank you very much and congratulations
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Questions are good.
I purchased this orchid, Phalaenopsis Cleopatra 'Leopard Sunset' in flower at Lowes about 10 years ago. The clone name, 'Leopard Sunset' was given by me for lack of another. For readers outside the US, Lowes is a building supply chain with a garden center. Not the best source for phals. Many are virused. The only time I've seen a Cleopatra for sale is this individual.
This particular plant has very large leaves for a phalaenopsis and tries to lay over as it grows seeking to grow hanging over the side of the pot, much like the species phalaenopis gigantia. This growth habit and the very large size of the leaves suggests that gigantea may be somewhere in its ancestry, though the early origin of the hybrid suggest otherwise.
P. Cleopatra is an old hybrid. It is a cross between
Phalaenopsis Sunbeam (Mrs L.McCoy 1963) x Phalaenopsis Zada (Fields Orchids 1958). The hybrid was registered by Jones and Scully 1974.
If you scroll up in this thread, you'll see the photo of another phalaenopsis that is not quite as large/old as this one, but also bloomed in beautiful profusion this year. When this other plant reaches the size of this one, I think it will also have a comparable number of flowers. I don't think the Cleopatra is more prone to having a large number of flowers than many other phals.
I believe the large number of flowers I'm seen on all my older phals this year is the result of two changes. First, my orchids were moved to a greenhouse. Previously they wintered indoors and grew outdoors in the summer. Second, I fertilized my phalaenopsis very generously this summer with MSU 13-3-15 (1/4 tsp /gallon every other watering). Previously for the past 40 years or so I fertilized with Miracid 30-10-10 one per month. Miracid gets its nitrogen from urea and lacks both calcium and magnesium. How orchids are fertilized and what they are fertilized with definitely make a difference. I'm seeing better results with all my orchids since changing fertilizers.
-Keith
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