Phalaenopsis species suggestions!

[troy1191]

Hi all! I have a nice piece of wood that's just been screaming for a new orchid to be mounted on it. I was thinking I'd love a phal that has big sprays/branching flowers. I usually don't like a lot of the showy hybrids which tend to go for very BIG and BOLD flowers so I thought a species Phal was the right direction to go. I'm more the quantity over quality type . That being said I was looking for some ideas! I've looked at Phal. sanderiana so far and I really like the look of it but I know there must be more out there!

-Troy

[Ordphien]

Have you tried phal amabilis or shilleriana?


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[troy1191]

I REALLY like schilleriana! As an aside, does anyone know any orchids with a propensity to spread? I know they are monopodial but I have totally seen some that more "colony" forming

[naoki]

Troy, P. sanderiana & P. shilleriana are showier than many Phal species and I would consider that they are closer to hybrids. I'm probably confused a little bit about what you are looking for, are you looking for species with small flowers and lots of flowers per flowering stalk? Something like P. equestris var. leucaspis (normal type won't have many flowers opening simultaneously), P. pulcherrima, P. buyssoniana, P. chibae (and maybe P. celebensis)?

If you like something similar to hybrids (like P. schilleriana and P. sanderiana), there are P. amabilis, P. aphrodite, P. philippinense, P. sanderiana, P. schilleriana, P. stuartiana (and maybe P. gigantea).

For colony forming, P. pulcherrima forms multiple growths easily, and I've heard some (not all) P. lobbii will do it, too.

You can get info and photos here:
Phalaenopsis species by alphabetical order.

[tucker85]

My recommendation would be Phal. shilleriana, Phal. stuartiana or Phal. equestris.

[bballr4567]

Phal. equestris really throws out basal kiekis like no ones business. Mine is a small orchid and I've already got two basals. It hasnt even flowered!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Phal bastianii?

Phal mannii?

Phal celebensis?

Phal lindenii?

Phal gigantea will eventually get vey large. If that's not a problem, go for it.

Phal equestris is a small Phal. It can produce quite a bit of side shoots and can have a good number of flowers per inflorescence.

[Rowangreen]

Not sure it's what you are looking for, but I'm very attracted to cornu-cervi as it has unusual flower spikes that are flattened. Apparently mature plants put one out with every leaf and they keep growing and re-flowering so plants can end up looking like a mass of dreadlocks. Still not one of the largest phals and not as many flowers as some others...

[camille1585]

One that spreads is Phal pulchra. It makes lots of keikis, and if you leave everything connected it eventually forms a sort of mat. Google the name and you'll see what I mean.

[troy1191]

Well just so everyone knows I ended up getting a Phal. schilleriana 'Pink Butterfly' as I had been stalking it on ebay and it expired and then came on minutes later 4 dollars cheaper! So it was a sign. I really like a lot of the suggestions and will probably come back here the next time I get a nice piece of wood for mounting!

Here's a picture of the little guy!


---------- Post added at 12:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:34 PM ----------

I suppose a good question to ask is, how should i go about moving him from the pot to the mount. Is he too small? Should I consider Growing him out more?