She's almost here

**sandra** · #1 (**permalink**) 02-17-2008, 08:31 AM

What began 2&1/2 months ago is finally arriving. Funny, I enjoyed watching the spike grow and all the changes that occurred along the way, was in no hurry and now, since 2 days ago, it feels like it's taking forever. This is my first re-bloomed Phal. since I discovered my love for orchids.

1st week in December '07

janice · #2 (**permalink**) 02-17-2008, 10:12 AM

Sandra, I too love watching the development of spikes and buds.............orchids are just so interesting. Two years ago I became interested in orchids and just in the past 6 months have had new spikes/buds on 2 Phals. and a sheath opening on a Blc. and a bloom on an Lc....................................I check on them several times a day to look at the progress. The sheath opening and two buds pushing out has really really been neat to watch! Share pictures when your Phals opens!

exasperatus2002 · #3 (**permalink**) 02-17-2008, 10:24 AM

I to have a Phal thats opening up. 2 of the blooms are open now with a bunch more waiting.

**sandra** · #4 (**permalink**) 02-17-2008, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by janice

Share pictures when your Phals opens!

Janice, will do. And you be sure to post pics on your new arrivals. I'll be looking out for them.

patticake · #5 (**permalink**) 02-17-2008, 11:02 AM

How exciting!! It's like Christmas morning! Congratulations!

**articuno75** · #6 (**permalink**) 02-17-2008, 12:22 PM

Yay! blooms to stare and drool at. Can't wait to see!

patlee · #7 (**permalink**) 02-17-2008, 12:44 PM

Count me in with the Phal crowd. I have lots of blooms I want to share. My DH is not too impressed, but I love 'em! Not feeling too great right now--will try to post later in the day.

Jenny,Snowballs, Hummer,Connie and everybody else: I will also post a picture of the Brassavola and it's new growth. It's growing like a weed

--we needed a flashlight yesterday and it's still small, but it is a good quarter of an inch out of the leaf crevice. And I got a picture--amazing what the macro setting on a camera will do!

psyc1210 · #8 (**permalink**) 02-17-2008, 02:41 PM

That looks like it's going to be absolutely gorgeous!!

mayres · #9 (**permalink**) 02-17-2008, 03:59 PM

Oh Sandra - I'm wondering from what you have shown us so far if your phal is similar to one that I have as well. This is I believe the 3rd phal that I collected. It was planted in peat when I got it and I absolutely knew nothing about what I was doing - so ended up root rotting it big time. After two YEARS of recuperating it has grown healthy and now has four blooms - here are two of them. (Is that a hydrangea in the background? My wife LOVES those!

**sandra** · #10 (**permalink**) 02-17-2008, 06:04 PM

Wow Mike, that's a gorgeous Phal., thanks to you no less. Not the same as the one I'm still (argh) waiting to bloom. Mine is labeled Wedding Promenade but that means nothing. I've seen that tag on a gazillion different looking spotted Phals. In fact, of the 5 Phals I have in spike now, 3 of them are the same as this one I posted.

Yes, hydrangeas in the background. My favorite garden flower too.

kmarch · #11 (**permalink**) 02-17-2008, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandra

...Mine is labeled Wedding Promenade but that means nothing. I've seen that tag on a gazillion different looking spotted Phals.

I've pointed this out in other threads but it bears repeating again here.

Simple fact: Orchid hybrids exhibit a great deal of variation. The more complex the hybrid, the greater the potential for variation. So just because one orchid doesn't look exactly like another wiht the same tag doesn't mean the tags are wrong.

A famous cross that illustrates this point is Cymbidium Sarah Jean. This cross has resulted in flowers that are white, pink, yellow, green, or dark maroon. Some have tighy, fat, round flowers, while others have narrow segments. One might be tempted to look at a fat round white flower and a maroon flower starry flower both tagged Cymb Sarah Jean and think that mistakes had been made, but that's not the case.

So many of the hybrid phals sold today, especially those that are mass marketed are comples hybrids and variation among them should not come as a surprise.

**sandra** · #12 (**permalink**) 02-17-2008, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmarch

I've pointed this out in other threads but it bears repeating again here.

Simple fact: Orchid hybrids exhibit a great deal of variation. The more complex the hybrid, the greater the potential for variation. So just because one orchid doesn't look exactly like another wiht the same tag doesn't mean the tags are wrong.

True and it also doesn't mean that you necessarily know what crosses you're getting, especially with this tag. Every spotted Phal. here in Fla. (last year) was labeled this and I came to find out they should not have been, more times than not. I've noticed so far this season, they've been a bit more definitive and some that were labeled Wedding Promenade last year have now been given different names, citing their crosses.

kmarch · #13 (**permalink**) 02-17-2008, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandra

...Every spotted Phal. here in Fla. (last year) was labeled this and I came to find out they should not have been, more times than not. I've noticed so far this season, they've been a bit more definitive and some that were labeled Wedding Promenade last year have now been given different names, citing their crosses.

Wow, every single spotted phal in the state....it must have taken quite some time to check them all.

Certainly we come across instances of mis-tagging from time to time, I bought a Pot. Little Toshie hybrid (yellow cattleya with red lip) which turned out to be a Cattleya schilleriana (species, brown with a white lip veined purple).

**Vivienne** · #14 (**permalink**) 02-17-2008, 08:22 PM

I know the Lowe's here in town has Phal. Wedding Promenade (or plants with that label) - most here are solid white, or solid yellow, or pink, or purple, or spotted, or speckled, or you get the idea. Thus far I have not purchased a Wedding Promenade as I feel that Lowe's just made up the tag and stuck it in every Phal they had in stock.

kmarch · #15 (**permalink**) 02-17-2008, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vivienne

....s I feel that Lowe's just made up the tag and stuck it in every Phal they had in stock.

If that's the case....BOOOOOO Lowe's.

cindiras · #16 (**permalink**) 02-17-2008, 09:16 PM

I ran across the same thing at Sam's club. Every phal had a tag that read Wedding Promenade. they were yellow and veined, whit, pik spotted (that might actually have been wedding Promenade) and a coiuple of purples. One of the purple ones followed me home. Strange, in spite of being marked wedding promenade, these flowers look exactly like dtps black butterfly 'Orchis 1'.

Ellen · #17 (**permalink**) 02-17-2008, 10:07 PM

At least the box stores here don't bother mislabeling the phals. They just have tags that say "Phalaenopsis Orchid" and leave it at that. However, I'll keep an eye out for Wedding Promenade to migrate up here. K-March, if you really did get a blooming size C schilleriana instead of a Pot Little Toshie, I would say that you lucked out!

mayres · #18 (**permalink**) 02-17-2008, 11:17 PM

Looks to me like their is a group of people "out there" who use the term WEDDING PROMENADE and PHALAENOPSIS ORCHID as synonyms? Could it be that they are genuinely ignorant and don't know the difference?

**sandra** · #19 (**permalink**) 02-19-2008, 09:30 PM

And here are some of my Dend.'s that are blooming now. I don't feel like starting a new thread, lazy me.

That white, round dot peeking behind the flower in pic #1 is the moon!

exasperatus2002 · #20 (**permalink**) 02-19-2008, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mayres

Oh Sandra - I'm wondering from what you have shown us so far if your phal is similar to one that I have as well. This is I believe the 3rd phal that I collected. It was planted in peat when I got it and I absolutely knew nothing about what I was doing - so ended up root rotting it big time. After two YEARS of recuperating it has grown healthy and now has four blooms - here are two of them. (Is that a hydrangea in the background? My wife LOVES those!

beautiful Phal. Well worth the wait....what is it?