Someone told me when i showed them a couple of pictures of my Orchid,
which i identified as a Phal, that it was a Phal-Dend..combo.Could
someone explain how does it arrive with such a identification? Does it
mean that it was grafted? I bought this plant in Lowes a few years
ago, and although i do not have the tag anymore, I believe it did say
Phal on it.Well, after 4 years or more I finally got 2 spikes...one
eventually shriveled but the other one is strong and starting to bloom
with what looks like an all white flower. If i am not mistaken, when i
bought it, it was naturally in bloom and that is what attracted me to
it, though i have nil skill with Orchids. This is my first one. I
believe the bloom that came as my first rebloom was a beautiful
colored one...not 100% sure, since i gave up on it a long time ago. I
just kept it cause the leaves were solid and attractive as a foliage
plant. Can an orchid change colors of blooms due to culture change?
BTW, does an Orchid that is in bloom get fertilized anyway?

On 1/27/11 3:29 PM, Anthony wrote:
Someone told me when i showed them a couple of pictures of my Orchid,
which i identified as a Phal, that it was a Phal-Dend..combo.Could
someone explain how does it arrive with such a identification? Does it
mean that it was grafted? I bought this plant in Lowes a few years
ago, and although i do not have the tag anymore, I believe it did say
Phal on it.Well, after 4 years or more I finally got 2 spikes...one
eventually shriveled but the other one is strong and starting to bloom
with what looks like an all white flower. If i am not mistaken, when i
bought it, it was naturally in bloom and that is what attracted me to
it, though i have nil skill with Orchids. This is my first one. I
believe the bloom that came as my first rebloom was a beautiful
colored one...not 100% sure, since i gave up on it a long time ago. I
just kept it cause the leaves were solid and attractive as a foliage
plant. Can an orchid change colors of blooms due to culture change?
BTW, does an Orchid that is in bloom get fertilized anyway?

Orchids are monocots, which do not graft. If the flower you are getting
is now different from prior blooms, you might have two plants in the
same pot.

Phalaenopsis grows as a single plant without any offsets or side shoots.
It has strap-like leaves, each slightly folded along a center line.
The leaves form one at a time and are alternating and opposing. That
is, if the lowest leaf is to the right, the next leaf will be higher and
to the left with the 3rd leaf even higher and to the right directly over
the 1st leaf. There is no real stem to the plant except for a small
"trunk" as new leaves form and old leaves die. The flower is roughly in
the form of a disc with a small pouch or lip in the center.

I'm not really familiar with Dendrobium, but Sunset's Western Garden
Book has a drawing of its flower. The flower resembles a Cymbidiam,
with distinct petals and a large pouch.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary