Question to vanda growers with BLUE vandas

[camille1585]

True blue doesn't exist in orchids, and also in many other plant families so your chances of finding one are zero. The closest you can get is the rich dark purples posted above. I don't own Vandas but I too have noticed that photos online are much nearer to blue than the blooms actually are.
I really don't understand why in the orchid world dark purple is called blue....

Thank you Gage and Camille.
It is so misleading especially for the newbs like me who didn't see much vandas in the real life and mostly goes by the names and internet pictures .

[Gage]

Because of this type of confusion I have decided to try and only buy orchids while they're in bloom. Even if it's a clone, you can't really know exactly what its color and form will be unless you see it in person on that plant. Sometimes that isn't possible, but it's a good rule of thumb. Or I might buy one that isn't blooming if it is a part of a group of a clone which has one blooming. Sometimes selllers at shows will have an example plant in bloom, and plants from the same group for sale that aren't in bloom.

[ingse]

orchideya :The Princess is in bloom for the second time this year

[RobS]

Originally Posted by camille1585

True blue doesn't exist in orchids

I don't remember seeing one in person but from pictures some member of the genus Thelymitra seem pretty blue to me.

Thank you for the info guys. And even more thank you for the pictures. Some gorgeous vandas you have!
Tucker, your Princess has much deeper blue color than mine, I like it better and probably eventually will add "Indigo Princess" to my collection too.
Ingse, I think I came across your photosteam on the net and saw White Princess Mikasa there. It seems her blooms have a bit of greenish color at the bottom. Is it true, or just a picture trick?
I see now that they all have some purple hint in them and Tuckers vasco is really the closest to blue I want.
I have V. Bangkok Blue seedling but it is years away from flowering.
I guess, I will have to wait for the show and hope there will be lots of blooming blue vandas to choose from
Thanks again!

[camille1585]

I think it would be misleading for pretty much anyone who isn't aware of this misuse of the word. I too was really confused the first time I read discussions about 'blue' orchid since I've seen true blue flowers before, and these are nowhere near it. (google Gentiana verna, THAT'S what I call a blue flower! The color in the photos is accurate. I saw these while hiking in the Alps) Now I finally understand that it's a term meant just to designated an orchid being 'special' in terms of color. But I personally call it near-blue or orchid-blue.

[tucker85]

I was driving through central Texas once and saw some gorgous blue flowers on a fence. It was so stunning that I did a u-turn and went back and got out of my car to look. The plant was a sky blue morning glory. Absolutely beautiful and I've never seen another flower like it.

[ingse]

Vanda "Blue Stick" is a cross between Vanda Kimigayo x Manuvadee and registered as Vanda Tristar Blue, but i can find both names used by different vendors.
The first time i saw it i tought it was articficially dyed. The flowers are blue/purple at first, so it does not have a true blue color, but so far it is the "bluest" color i have seen on any vanda with large flowers.
The best way to get the right color, is to attend a show and pick out the ones you want.




My Ascocenda Princess Mikasa "White Angel" is flowering now and the colours in the picture are true

[silken]

I couldn't help but think of morning glories when mentioning blue flowers. I had them once and people stopped me in my front yard thru that summer to ask if they were real or fake?? They were huge also. The same goes in the bedding plant industry-there are few really true blue flowers, but many of the purple/blue ones are called blue. Mother Nature just didn't use that colour too much in flowers. She saved it all for the sky