Mini vs Standard Phal

[KennyMagura]

Hey guys! This is my first post here on orchid geeks and I'm so excited I found this forum. I've been addicted to it and browse almost every night just trying to improve my knowledge of phalaenopsis orchids, I LOVE them. I've had my one and only Phal for about 7 months now and she's about to bloom again very soon. Today I went to Stop & Shop and noticed they got in a bunch of phals for Valentines Day and I couldn't help but notice that they were huge! Haha they kind of reminded me of dinosaurs and were a little intimidating. I don't really think my Phal would be considered but it is definitely much smaller than the ones I saw today. What is the difference between the minis and just a standard Phal, and how to I figure out which mine is? Thanks!!!!!

[1joyceh]

Hi and welcome to the forum KennyMagura!
I am not an expert, but do have several of each, mini and standard...to me it is just the size....
the mini will always have smaller leaves and flowers.
Someone else will come along with more knowledge, and perhaps will have a better explaination...in the meantime....
relax and enjoy the forum. After 5 posts you will be able to post a picture of your orchid. We would love to see

[KennyMagura]

Thanks for the quick reply! I actually just measured it lol and the spike is about 12 inches and my largest of the 8 leaves is 7"... Have any idea what that would be considered?

[Brooke]

There are no true designations of size in Phals. Species Phals come in all sizes from very tiny leaf span to the gigantic size. All hybrids originate from the species so it depends on the pedigree of the hybrid to the eventual size.

Now go buy another Phal - you don't want your one and only to get lonely.

Brooke

[KennyMagura]

I want a new one soooo bad! I'm waiting for this one to bloom first though so I can really appreciate my first bloom lol

[KennyMagura]

Thanks for your help!

[sunshine]

Originally Posted by Brooke

There are no true designations of size in Phals. Species Phals come in all sizes from very tiny leaf span to the gigantic size. All hybrids originate from the species so it depends on the pedigree of the hybrid to the eventual size.

Now go buy another Phal - you don't want your one and only to get lonely.

Brooke

Brooke, you are bad I do have to agree with you

But on another note, I judge the size of a phal on how much space their
gonna take up. As space is getting tight on my shelves. But there is always room for one more

[skipper]

You sound like the bug has bitten. I am sure that your Phal. will not be alone for long. In the spring when the weather warms up, you can order some very nice plants over the net. I have some I purchased at local stores, and some that I mail ordered. In the furture I will only buy from growers on the net. You can find orchids that wolud be hard to find at the local level, unless you are lucky and live near an orchid grower. As others have said, Phals come in all sizes and colors. Look at the space you have and buy for that. You can fill a small space very quickly. Normans Orchids has a huge number of Phals on his site. Go there and have a ball looking, then sit down and find a way to make your small growing area huge. Also you can go to the International Phalaenopsis Alliance ( IPA ) web site and have a look. They have a quarterly journal that you recieve when you become a member. It is a very nice publication. Hopes this helps and welcome to the forum.

Dale

[KennyMagura]

I have tons of space to grow really, I was just curious if mine would be considered a mini to you guys given the dimensions it is.. I just took a look at Norman's Orchids website and this may take me some time to decide on one lol. All of the growers around my are a little too expensive for me right now.

[plantloverlisa]

Hi and welcome, the difference is with the smaller Phals. you can fit more of them in than the larger. I just bought a species Phal. stuartiana from Norman's and it is loaded with blooms and buds, they are not huge and they have beautiful spotted leaves. Oh yeah, order more than one so it doesn't have to ship alone.

[otis 226]

Nice to have you join us! I think you should buy the smallest Phal you can find and also the largest one. That should put your current one somewhere in the middle, and you'll be well on your way to filling up all that space you've got.
Enjoy!
Tony

[1joyceh]

Hi KennyMagura!
Since you are in CT, you might want to take a look at J and L Orchids...they are down by Bridgeport, they have mini sized and full sized orchids....also Logees, in Danielson has not a big selection...mainly catt types, but both are reasonably priced, and reliable, generally healthy plants.

[teh_Kibbster]

My mini phals have blooms aprox 1-2" and leaves under 5" in length. (From crown & following curviture of the leaf)

My largest standard plant has leaves 12-14" in length. It's blooms are aprox 3".

My largest bloomer has blooms almost 5".

I also have a funny in-between plant. It's blooms are mini size, but the plant itself has 9-10" leaves. I call it a standard due to the size of the plant itself, not the bloom size.

In reality, the these plants are out of bloom more than they are it in, so I judge size by leaves, not blooms. If you had a mini, trust me, you would know. I can take size comparison pics for you if you would like.

It sounds like you just have a smaller standard phal.

[KennyMagura]

Thanks for the help everyone. The blooms on mine are small about one inch and the majority of the leaves are around 4 inches, 2 leaves are like 2 inches and there's one larger one that is 7 inches. Pics would be great teh_kibbster