Why does this hybrid look like... this?

[kikitastrophe]

Pot. Final Touch 'Lemon Chiffon' AM/AOS x Pot. Martha Clarke 'Orange Tart'

I don't cross my own orchids but I really enjoy other people's crosses - it's fun to imagine what the bloom will look like and anticipate a "mystery" flower. This most recent bloom, however, has me confused! I wonder if this is some ancestral form peaking through? It's definitely not my favorite (already planning to repot and present to my Aunt! She'll like it, I swear!) but I would be interested to know why it could have ended up this way!

Find the parents on this site: (I didn't think it would be ethical to take the pictures and post them here, using the find option should prevent the need for excessive scrolling!)
Sunset Valley Orchids - Superior Hybrids for Orchid Enthusiasts

I have gotten many orchids from Fred and they are delightful - part of the fun is you win some and maybe sometimes you get purple flowers?

[silken]

Hard to say. I looked in OrchidWiz and there are pink floofy Catts in both backgrounds of the parent plants. They don't look like this tho. I just bloomed an SVO cross that had parents both yellow with pink spots and pink lips. Fred himself on his description expected lovely spotted yellow flowers. I got a deep brickish pink with a darker pink lip. Very solid colour and a bit shiny. Not a spot anywhere. Turns out a grandparent, bicolor was showing its dominanace. I would have thought it mislabelled except Cloud's, where I got it found another picture of the same cross and it looked like mine.

Yours could be mislabelled, but it could just be something in its background coming thru. Apparently Fred Clarke is very good at answering e-mails so you could contact him with a picture and ask.

[AuGrower]

This always reminds me of Bio 101 learning about Mendel's experiments. His simple charts really are a work of genius.



When something like this happens I feel like it could just be a recessive gene that happened to show up. Then again im no scientist, so I could be totally wrong. I think you just got the 1 out of the 3:1 ratio lol.

[BettyE]

In spite of it's "different" look, I like the flower, especially the beautiful two tone color! BettyE.

[No-Pro-mwa]

I like it too. Looks like the shape could be better but it is a first timer.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Years ago I bought a plant labeled Blc 'Buttercup' at a show, it was supposed to be yellow, but the color ended up much like yours. I suspect it was the result of a genetic 'roll of the dice'.

You might want to email SVO the photo, see if Fred thinks it is still the same cross, or maybe a mix up.

Gifting it to someone who can appreciate it is a nice idea!