Vandachostylis Colmarie Black Beauty

[kaede]

One favorite Vanda

"Vandachostylis Colmarie Black Beauty is a very dark violet or maroon coloured, epiphytic growing orchid hybrid, a crossing from the hybrid Vandachostylis Sri-Siam (seed parent) and the species orchid Rhynchostylis gigantea (pollen parent) created by Kultana Orchids, Bangkok, Thailand. The “black orchid” has been registered with the Royal Horticultural Society in 1997 by C.Neuconhas. To keep the imagination of a black orchid alive, we had to shoot the picture of the orchid with artificial lighting and had to avoid any lighting from the backside." => orchids-flowers.com/orchids/black-orchid-vandachostylis-colmarie-black-beauty/

Like these guys, took the photos below in low light ...

[AussieVanda]

Nice, how long have you had it for?

[Picotee]

Beautiful. I'm watching for a rebloom on my V Colemarie. Love the deeply colored blooms.

[kaede]

Thanks

@AussieVanda, only got it last week, wife and I were looking for the blackest we could find. This was recommended by the nursery, one look and one sniff, we were sold. Love the scent !

[nikkik]

Wow, that is gorgeous! I definitely would have purchased this too!

[NYCorchidman]

What a color and shape!

[RosieC]

Wow, wonderfully dark!

[WhiteRabbit]

Wow! Fabulous!

[Wolf359]

My Vando Colmarie JUST bloomed. 5 years I have waited. I found it in full bloom by accident. It is july in south Fla, it is so hot and full sun. I THOUGT I was buying this black flowering Rhy.Gigantea, when i bought it 5 years ago. And every Jan. it would put out a spike,and ants would eat the tip of it, and it would die off. so how is happened at this time of year, is a shock to me. It isnt black either. It is ruby red,as you can see in the picture. Can anyone tell me if this is a 'rare' or terrific orchid to own? Is it suppose to bloom in summer,and be fragrant in the middle of the day? How do i get black flowers? I mean it is pretty, and is was a nice surprise to see orchid flowers NOW. And from this plant. I was going to throw it out months ago. I lost its tag, during the hurricane last summer, and since I had no blooms, I was tired of it. BUT all of a sudden it put out a lot of new growth,and then i found these flowers today!
So...any news on this plant would be great to hear. I spent a lot on it, 5 years ago,and thought it would bloom BLACK. I did get ruby red and fragrance like a Rhy.Gigantea,in the middle of the day. So it is 'odd'. So...is it acting out of step,or is this when it should be blooming and how do i TRY to get BLACK flowers? Thank you.

[caryliss]

It's a hybrid, and hybrids tend to have a more variable blooming period, often blooming more than once a year. I've had Colmarie bloom in the winter and late summer. I have two, and both are either deep purple or deep maroon in strong light, and look blacker in dimmer, indoor light.

Wolf, there is no true black color in orchids, just very very deep reds and purples. In general I find that dark flowers bloom a darker color in cooler weather, lighter in warmer weather. Your Colmarie's color sounds normal.