Hello readers,

I just went shopping and (again) couldn't resist to enter the local
green discounter. There were two giant vandaceous orchids (almost 1
meter in length) for only €16,50 each ($20,-). They were full in leave
from bottom to top and had been flowering many times according to the
cut stalks in the leaf axils. The were in flower at the moment too, but
there was something that puzzled me.

The present flower stalk was at the top of the stem. The stem ended in a
few smaller leaves and the stalk came out of the top leave, just like
you see with reed-epidendrums. I had never seen a vandaceous flower that
way.

The flowers were a mauve purple with a tiny bit of reddish spotting. The
sepals and petals were rather small and a bit inwards curved. So I think
it was a bi- or multigeneric cross with in any case vanda and arachnis
as parents. I fond a picture of Aranda Norah Alsagof / Noorah Alsakoff
that resembles it very much (I will post that on abpo).

Can anyone tell me if it is normal for these kind of plants to flower
from the top? And if not so, is it still a healthy plant? Should I run
back to the store and buy it, before someone else does? Please help me!

Grtz. Niek