Bloom Event - Phalaenopsis Liodora

"Whats's this?" I hear you say...... "Another Phalaenopsis?" Well, yes. Of all the Phalaenopsis hybrids I grow at the moment, this is one of my favourites. Liodora is a hybrid between Phalaenopsis deverenteriana (amabilis x amboinensis) and Phalaenopsis violacea. Not too complex a hybrid, then. The plant (and the flower) most strongly resembles its violacea parent with broad almost lime green leaves, a distinctly leaning habit and waxy, long lasting, fragrant flowers that are produced in succession over a period of several months or years. I guess the deverenteriana hybrid has increased the spike length to some extent. Here's a photo of the flower without further ado.....

I will say straight away that it is almost impossible to get a decent photo of this flower that does it justice in any way, but you get the general idea. I really wish I could include the scent in this photo because its just lovely and it fills the room, especially with more than one flower open. It is hybrids like this that make me want to grow more of the species. I'd love a nice clone of Phalaenopsis violacea (or bellina, i'm not fussy), but they seem expensive. One day.....

There is another Phalaenopsis hybrid called "sweet memory" that I have grown in the past that is very similar indeed to this one, and for very good reason. It's the same. I was told by one lady that this plant should be labelled as Phalaenopsis sweet memory 'liodora', but I can't find any evidence for this. In fact I looked on the RHS international orchid register to find out what it was supposed to be. There is a listing for Phalaenopsis liodora and there is a listing for Phalaenopsis sweet memory. Same parents. Same date. Same registered hybridizer. Go figure. I guess that means both names are correct so I'll just go with the name it came with.

Quite a good blooming this time. It grew a new flower spike at around the same time as all the other Phalaenopsis did, and it has produced more buds (at least all in one go) than I was expecting, so I'm quite pleased. It now has four flower spikes on it. This is one of those hybrids that shouldn't have its spent flower spikes removed until they are brown. All four spikes are green, and one of them is now producing buds. I hadn't thought to check whether it is the second youngest that is now budding, but I'm grateful for any flowers I get.

As you can see from the full shot, this hybrid does have its drawbacks. The leaves are large and rather ungainly, the flowers aren't as large as in the more complex hybrids, and there aren't many of them on the spike (at least not all in one go). Probably not to everybody's taste, although it definitely is to mine. There's something quite botanical looking about it. This hybrid does turn up periodically in garden centres (outrageously priced, usually). I've no doubt it appears on the reduced benches very quickly and doesn't get ordered again. I've had my plant for quite a while now, and am very pleased with it indeed.