Phalaenopsis micholitzii x tetraspis was given to me quite some time ago (three or four years, probably) by a friend who said it wouldn't flower. It was sold to him as 'flowering size' (I know, we've all fallen into that trap) by a dealer who had a 'reputation', lets say. I can't comment on my own behalf as I've never dealt with them and they are now out of business as far as i'm aware. The plant was very healthy, but nowhere near flowering size.
With parents like P. micholitzii and P. tetraspis I would expect the plant to be on the small side, but I would probably describe them both as small rather than miniature (there are some truly tiny Phalaenopsis species), and a fairly small hybrid would be expected. They are in fact fairly similar species and are related (google the species and note the little shaving brush lip they both have). P. micholitzii is a nice enough species but rather plain coloured while P. tetraspis is white with varying red markings. I'm not sure what the purpose behind the hybrid is (except to see what we get) as only one of the parents might be regarded as showy.
At any rate, by this time last year, I figured the plant must be reaching flowering size and, lo and behold, it promptly put out two flower spikes, which didn't produce any buds. This isn't unusual and as a bonus the spikes have stayed green. This year, the plant put out a third spike while the two original spikes have produced buds, two of which are now open.
As you can see, it isn't the easiest to get a decent photo of. The slightly muddy colour of P. micholitzii has carried through (I actually rather like that ivory colour), as have the reddish markings of P. tetraspis (though they could be a bit bolder if I'm being super picky).
You can make out the quirky shaving brush lip in the above slightly older photo (I'm rather impatient, so the flower isn't fully open). I'm aware that the Phalaenopsis I grow are mostly not the showy, floriferous (gaudy, some might say) hybrids of the garden centre and supermarket, I choose to focus instead on the species and more simple hybrids because I find them more interesting and 'orchid like'.
The plant itself is well behaved, as you'd expect any Phalaenopsis to be, and appears to produce flower spikes during the autumn for winter blooming as is usually the case for Phalaenopsis under my conditions, so you can expect quite a few Phalaenopsis posts over the coming few months.
The above is really blurry for which I apologise. The growroom is so humid that as soon as I take my phone out to take a photo the lens steams up. Great for the plants, not so good for my already dubious photography. Unfortunately, the flowers are facing backwards for some reason, and there is another bud lurking behind that leaf sticking up at the back. I would expect them to sit just on top of the foliage. Possibly this is hybrid confusion or just due to it being a first blooming. The other thing about many Phalaenopsis species, of course, is that while they grow and flower perfectly well in pots, this is not a normal orientation for the plant to grow, and it would much rather be sat at 45 degrees with its leaves dangling down (this is the reason crown rot can such a problem for cultivated plants). The flower spikes then display the flowers just below the crown. I am experimenting with hanging them in their pots so that they are tilted to an angle more natural for the plant (I don't want to mount them because I don't have the time to keep up with the watering of essentially bare root plants).
The flowers will never be produced in great quantities with this hybrid, only a couple at a time on short spikes, but the spikes will stay green for years and as the plant grows, more new spikes will be produced so it is capable of quite a few flowers on older plants. I haven't detected a fragrance, though I'm not sure whether I was really expecting one or not. I just always think its a bonus, you know?
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