Phalaenopsis bellina

[alexng]

I am a newbie in growing orchids and recently I have been very interested in Phalaenopsis bellina. Can anyone give me some information about this orchid? Is it easy to grow and bloom? Thank you!

[Tobi]

Hi and welcome to the forum alexng. Here is a link with some cultural info.

Orchid of the Week Library: Phal. bellina - 44k

[PhalPal]

Welcome to the forum alexng! My first species was a Phal bellina and I have found it very easy to grow. I was a little afraid of any species but this one proved to be a good choice.

BTW - I grow under natural lighting indoors.

[digitalgate]

my advise, try something else. They are expensive for the first orchid. My first
orchids is RIP. Learn more about it using cheap and easy to grow hybrid like
white Phalaenopsis . If you happen to kill that then found out why.Then try
your new skill with bellina. For everything bellina u buy, you can buy 3 white Phalaenopsis .

[kazjak]

I've been trying to grown one for two years now without much action. It grew a new leaf this summer but has never spiked. I guess I'll have to follow the advice of the culture sheet and up the humidity and temps.. Good luck on yours....

[pikevi]

Welcome to the forum, alexng.

[evagentry]

that is good advice from digital gate, but I understand why you would want to try one.

[brookn]

My bellina was fairly inexpensive, but I did not go for expensive and pedigreed, I just wanted to see if I could grow it. It is doing really well for me with all of my other Phals. I do find that it likes to be kept warm, and does not like to get a chill of any kind. It is also very happy in sphag, likes to be moist, but with sphag you do have to be careful of your watering schedule.

[alexng]

Thank you all of you for your welcome
In Hong Kong, the lowest temperature in winter is around 12 degree Celsius (54 degree F) and the temperature in summer is around 82 degree F. The humidity ranges from 30% in winter to 90% in summer. Is it suitable for bellina?
I have an Africa Violet and it grows quite well near the window. Is the light condition suitable for bellina if it is suitable for the Africa Violet?
I will consider keeping other orchids first. Thank you!

[BillC]

Hi Alex, welcome to the forum. With regard to bellina, if it is cheap to buy in HK then why not try it? This link gives much information on culture.

Bill

Orchid of the Week Library: Phal. bellina

[digitalgate]

Hk is good for orchids. Dont let it come in contact with cool rain water. Mold grow really well.Locally Belina is about $65 compared to $12 for a white
phalaenopsis. I think it is overated for its price. I still waiting for someone to
sell me cheap. The orchids itself is not difficult to grow. But the price is too
expensive. Heck, i bought a wild Phalaenopsis gigantea for only $10. It smell
a lot better too.

[BillC]

Hi DG,

Quote: " Locally Belina is about $65 compared to $12 for a white ".

Is that SGD or USD ? If it is US then it is quite a price; even if it is SG then it is approximately $45 US and still expensive! I hope the plant can be bought for a lot less in HK.

Bill

[PhalPal]

I bought my bellina for $28 US for a nice sized plant with two spikes. It smells wonderful. Alexng our conditions are similiar except your humidity is much higher, which any phal will love. It wasn't clear from your post if this will be your first orchid?? It just said you were new to orchids.
Even so, if you can get a bellina at a decent price I don't think it would be hard for you to grow.

[digitalgate]

Oh, forgot to do the conversion. U.S. $43 for the bellina , $8 for white Phalaenopsis.

[kmarch]

If you really really like Phal bellina (easy to do because it is a beautiful flower) I suggest:

1) Read up on the specific culture for P. bellina. Bill has helpfully provided a link.

2) Look for a cheap P. belina to start out on

3) If you find a good price, buy 2 or even 3. Seriously though, if I find a good plant at a good price I often buy 2-3 because sometimes one will grow big and beautiful while another one doesn't. Orchids are a bit like people, even members of the same family can "behave" differently.

[Sharyn]

Is the Phal bellina similar to the Princess Kaiulani (Phal violacea x Phal amboinensis)? I noted some of the comments above regarding the bellina. I've had absolutely no luck with my Princess which has the violacea in it's mix - I think it's just too cool in my conditions. All my phals do fine except this one. Is it more suitable to warmer temperatures like the bellina?

I don't mean to high-jack this thread - just wondering if the violacea parentage = warmer temps. If so, then I'll stay away from this in the future.

[brookn]

Sharyn I think that all of the violaceas do prefer to be kept warmer. What I have done is simply shelter mine in the midst of my other phals to keep them out of the stray draft. I also insulated the window they sit at a little better, and it seems to have helped.

[alexng]

Thank you all for your replies.
In Hong Kong, a blooming bellina costs around USD$32.1 while a non-blooming one costs USD$15.4.
I do have some orchids now but I am new to learn how to grow them. I'll see if I can get a decent one this weekend. Thank you all of you!

[digitalgate]

dont ever make the mistake of buying a non blooming one. Reasons 1) you
not sure the gene in that particular plant you bought is a good one. 2) A
good gene will usually cost you more money than other. They are reason why
they are expensive. 3)sometime when newbie bought a non blooming one
they end up buying young seedling. Which could take 3 to 6 months to
bloom. You will be wondering what mistake you have done. Like Do i have
enought light, do i have enought fertilizer. when do i water. More often when
they see no flower or limping leaf they add more water . That lead to over
watering and root rot, crown rot start to appear.

I just had a crown rot on tuesday. I was scratching my head over this.
This because i never water the leaf and never leave it out in the rain.
I had forgot that i was soaking the plant in pesticides to remove spider mites.
I have forgotten to remove the excess water from the crown. The was two
layers of old dried leaves that i did not remove that trap water in it. This
lead to crown rot from the bottom up.
I threw the plant away. I simply dont have the time to let it regrow new leaves from the side. Even at my stage i still make mistakes.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

P. belina is a warm grower. I had one in isolation, which meant it was on my desk 4 feet from a very small open window in the middle of summer and the plant got a cold burn. Looked like sunburn, but this is a near north facing window and I can guarantee it was never in the sun. The plant is now in the GH with a half of a leaf with a 1/2" wide connection, started a new leaf, aborted it at 1/8" long, and is now starting another. Have my fingers crossed. This is a plant that likes it warm, and if you don't have a warm place for it, away from strong drafts, try something else.

[digitalgate]

there is a exhibition, there is a lady who sell Phalaenopsis Violacea "Ponkan" AM/AOS
She is selling it for U.S. $60. The reasons why it is so expensive is instead of having
only 1 or 2 flowers bloom, it will have 5 or 6 flowers bloom at one go. This is an example
of a good breed worth buying. But then i not buying. Reasons, too expensive.
She sell 12 seedling for $140 per flask. If i am a breeder with lots of money to spare, i
definately buy. So This is one good example of good gene.
the following web site is in chinese sorry non chinese readers.
Hybrids Main Page