Jim,

Check out the Carter and Holmes website. I remember that last summer they
were offering Mini Mark "Mendenhall" (an awarded variety). They have good
stuff.

Gene




"Jim Landers" wrote in message
news:cUQ3a.125395$2H6.2508@sccrnsc04...
This is an interesting thread. I don't have any of the smaller varieties
mentioned here, mostly because their flowers do not appeal to me; but some
of them I have never seen on sale either. I did have a Mini Mark at one
time, but it went south for the winter and unfortunately - never came
back.
I vowed that if I ever saw one blooming at a show I would try it again
because the one I had was a very interesting and desirable little plant. I
had forgotten all about it until Gene mentioned it.

Al, you make a good point about leaf span vs. the combined width of two
opposing leaves. I've taken to using "wingspan" because it's more
descriptive than other terms I've seen, but it's not a highly desirable
description because I've never seen a Phal fly, unless of course it failed
to bloom, in which case....

With all the hybridization going on today, it's more difficult to
generalize
about the size or characteristics of a plant unless you get a bone fide
species. I have supposed that's because of the desire for something new
and
the commercial potential that lay therein. But for that reason, you'd
think
there would be a lot of interest among growers to produce smaller Phals.
Maybe there is and I've just missed it?

I was at the Missouri Botanical Gardens annual orchid show the first of
February and can't recall seeing one plant I'd call a "mini" Phal. Of
course, I might have seen one and thought it was a "seedling". There were
a
number of intriguing Cattleya minis. Anybody know any specific growers who
are pursuing smaller Phals?

"Al" wrote in message
...
http://www.orchidexchange.com/sizes.htm

A Phalaenopsis species Size Comparison Chart

This chart is just a general guide for people who think in inches and
who
are looking for a basic size comparison of the species.
I used "Phalaenopsis, A Monograph" by Eric A Christenson as my source
for
the data and species list. I converted from centimeters and millimeters
to
inches. I rounded without consistency but usually to the closest whole
or
half number except where the numbers were very small.

Leaf Span means from leaf tip to leaf tip. It is not a measurement of
each
leaf. Christenson's text measures each leaf in centimeters. I doubled
this
number.

Natural Spread of Flowers means from petal tip to petal tip. It is not
a
measurement of each petal. Christenson's text measures each petal in
centimeters or millimeters. I doubled this number.

Spike Length uses a "?" when the text did not give a length.

I have not seen many of these plants personally. In some cases my
plants
do
not match these measurements. I have a chibae with a spike length close
to
15 inches. My lobbii and parishii have leaf spans half the size
indicated.
With Phal minus, I used my own measurements from my own plant.

If you find a real error, let me know.