Beautiful!! I'm very impressed!
--Stitz--

Aarrghh! Don't show me any more beautiful Phal species! As they said at the Mad Hatter's tea party, "No room, NO Room!"

Those are so pretty, Brooke, and your photography is excellent. (gotta love that little red "flower" on the tip of Phal. tetraspis var. speciosa)

Sweetcicely

Oh that tetraspis is so beautiful! Some of my noid phals are conveniently 'going away' soon...forever. Maybe that will make more room for these amazing species. Thanks for posting!

Nice job Brooke !! How big is your bastianii ?? I have one in a 2" pot and wondering how long I must wait ?? Like Calvin, I'm weeding out my collection and slowly collecting species. Out of 30 Phals, 11 are species, as of TODAY !! ;-)

Chryss

WOW!! Those are beautiful!! I have two very nice mounted bastiani - plants that is. I've never had them bloom and I don't think they are to young. They grow new leaves and have wonderful roots and hang right beside blooming fools? What's your secret? ..LOL. Are yours mounted?

I love the tetraspis too! I'll have to see if I can find one of those!

Thanks for posting these!!
Pat....

They are beauties! Are they fragrant?

Sheila :)

Bastianii (bass-tea-on-ee-eye) is an orchid, bastiani (bass-tea-on-ee) sounds like an Italian pasta !!!

Chryss

Oh, that bastianii is gorgeous! If I had room.........!!!

Marci!

Chryss after you bloom the bastianii, the rule is you can drop the second "i" to save time while typing it :>)

Pat mine is in a 4" pot in CHC mix and has quite a few leaves. It spiked last year but I had no bloons and three keikis. I figured it was the stress of shipping or it may be a keiki machine. Midwinter I cut one keiki off and sent it to a friend. This year two new spikes that are blooming and the two remaining keikis each have spikes. Eventually it will put on quite a show. If I get more keikis I am going to mount it on cork.

I'm not a fan of the big standard phals but love the species, primary hybrids and the novelty phals. I like the shorter spikes and their ability to hold them and rebloom from them each year. At maturity, they can be breathtaking!

Calvin like you, I have some happy friends that love giving some of my phals a new home.

Sweetcicely the tetraspis aren't very big and doesn't want as much light as a normal phal - surely you have room for a really low light plant :>)

Sheila no fragrance that I can detect but who cares with that beauty!

Marci they are soooo small.

Stitz d-wayne rocks!

Brooke

You're welcome, Brooke. I live to serve, and to enable my orchid friends to spend money. Dwayne at Dowery is a great orchid dealer.

What is the leafspan on your bastianii, please? I had gotten a seedling from the great Tom Harper of Stones River Orchids (Franklin, TN) a year or two ago when he came to speak at my local society and wonder how far my plant is from blooming size.

Beautiful, Brooke! I love that tetraspis with the red bars-- lovely thing.

Thanks for the info Brooke!!

The spell-ing po-lice is going to have fun on this forum!!!

hello, Brooke, very beautiful flowers and photos. Mixed blessings for me: I would love to be able to order from the nurseries in the U.S. but can't so then I save some $. I have to live thru your flowers and photos and those of others who are also so kind to post them for us. thanks.
sue

Brooke, I like your rule !! LOL !! Did you like my pasta poke ?? Must say again, I love your Phal species !! Think I'm going into the second phase of gottta-have-one-gotta-have-one-gotta-have-one !!!

Chryss

Just for you cj to thank you again for enabling me to part with my money :>)

The leaf span on the largest set of leaves is 11" and the leaf total is 11. Also like my spelling, it is a 3" air cone pot, not a 4"er but kudos to my memory cell for remembering it is potted and not mounted :>)

I'm glad you enjoy the pics Sue and wish you could purchase some of these species.

Thanks Mehitabel, you really need to add this to your collection. It is fun to watch the red coloration develop after the buds start to swell.

Buy more species Chryss - to me they are more enjoyable and quirky than the standard l-o-n-g spiked phal. And the spikes are much easier to deal with when you grow under lights.

Brooke

Thanks! Mine has a way to go then, Brooke. It's only about 7" on the leaf span and five leaves. Maybe next year.

Brooke and Pat,

You are So bad. I am trying to keep things under CONTROL here!
But the two of you keep posting such enchanting pictures.

I'm smitten by that P. tetraspis v. speciosa and would be interested to know if the "stigmata" is typical and reappears on future blooms.

Bastiani was the name of my instructor/project leader in archaelogical field study, so I've had my eye on P. bastianiii for a long time (chryss ~ you have to add another i if you have never bloomed one).

Sweetcicely

OKOK, I turn in my spell-ing po-lice badge !!! Geez, now I've got a long wait for my bastianiiiiiiii to bloom (bass-tea-on-ee-eye-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi !!!), see below.

P. bastianiiiiiiii
{{gwi:175430}}

Now what about this one I bought as P. mariae ?? Seems that some think it to be the same as bastianii.

{{gwi:175432}}

Guess I'll see in . . . what . . . 3 or 4 years !!!

Chryss

:))))

You're way ahead of me, Chryss; I don't even have Bastianiii in hand (perhaps warranting yet another i, following the accumulating Orchid Forum rules of nomenclature).

They look like happy little plants.

Sc

I have two P. mariae, a bit bigger than yours, Chryss, but not ready to bloom yet either. But Phals can really fool you and bloom way before mature size.

I don't consider mariae and bastianii the same species, since although they have some similarities, the flowers are easily told apart. Eric Christenson still considers them separate species.

"The leaf span on the largest set of leaves is 11" and the leaf total is 11."

oh ....so mine......oh...;0(

guess II'll kniit some socks or somethiing whiile iii Waiit...;0(

Yes cj Christensen says they are two separate species but the problem is many bastianii are being sold incorrectly as mariae. I so want a true mariae but want to be sure of the source before I lay out the $$$$$$.

By the way, I turned Tom Harpers name in to appear at our orchid club. I haven't heard if anything has been worked out yet but hope so. Two of the guys have known him for several years.

Chryss when it blooms, post a picture on Big Leaf, full frontal view and a close up of the lip, and it can be ID'd by the experts. The guys in Europe are phenominal with IDing plants.

Sc if you mean the stigma, it is the same as the stigma on the tetraspis. The angle of the pic does not show the small purplish striations on it.

Brooke

Brooke,

Sorry if I was confusing with the non-orchid terminology. I meant the single red spot on the tip of the dorsal sepal. It is symmetrical and shaped like a tiny flower. To my eye it lends an attractive individuality to your tetraspis v. speciosa.

Sc

Brooke:
Sorry I'm so late with my contribution - it's the time difference. As usual, I'm full of envy and admiration for the beautiful and unusual orchids you manage to find and the perfect photography. Like Sue, my pleasure is vicarious (almost entirely in my case lol). My only recourse is to order sterile flasks from abroad. Which I have now done. My selection is germinating and slowly growing - should be ready for shipping in August. If I fail, it'll be a VERY expensive learning experience, but if I SUCCEED.....
Judy

Brooke, you'll hate me when I tell you that I got the bastianiiii at my NCOS meet from one of our small commercial growers, Quarter Acre Orchids, for . . . $8 !! The mariae was from a member sales for $10 !! The downside is the same member is who I got the questionable pallens from for $15 !! The question will be answered this coming Sunday at our virus talk and test.

Chryss

Sc I understand about confusing terms - I told a friend I had a prolif on an orchid. Prolifs are the same thing on a daylily that are keikis on orchids - I blamed my mistake on old age :>)

Here is a link to other var. speciosa. The red on the tetraspis is not a stable factor. The markings can vary from flower to flower and no two petals are the same. It is what fascinates me about this species - a surprise in every bloom.

Thanks Judy, I hope your flasks are a success.

Chryss why would I hate you - everyone loves a bargain. I hope your mariae blooms true. When it keikis, put my name on it - I would be happy to pay $10 plus shipping of course :>)

Brooke

Here is a link that might be useful: Tetraspis var. speciosa

For inexpensive species Phals, check out Oak Hill Gardens. They always have a big selection. But be sure to check out sizes, as a $4 bastianii is a small seedling. You don't need to buy a blooming size plant (price marked with an asterisk), but depending on your level of experience, you can choose one a year or so from blooming. Over the years, I have gotten many of my species Phals from them.

Just a bit of information: Phal braceana is a cool-intermediate to cool-grower and will not be happy with 95F summer temps (I keep mine in the air-conditioning during the summer). Phal cochlearis grows on limestone cliffs and likes a more alkaline environment -- I have a few chunks of S. Fla coral rock in the pot with it.

Speaking of limestone cliff dwellers, Jay has a good list of Phals. Just do a search of the page for the word "limestone"

Here is a link that might be useful: Phals growing on limestone

Thanks cj, I have a cochlearis coming tomorrow - guess I can go outside and dig up some limestone since my house sits on KY limestone outcropping.

Celebensis is another warm growing phal that will droop in 95 degrees. It wants to be warm in the winter and cool in the summer - rather like me. I have mine mounted and it is living this summer in front of the cooler pad but a shady location.

Gigantea is a species that will take (and needs to bloom) very high light but it wants it leaves cool - again, mine is living in catt light but in front of the cooler.

It is a very good idea with the species to see if you can meet their needs - not all species phals are created the same.

Brooke

Welll, I actually meant the term as it relates to a "mark," but failed to focus on its other function as the plural for "stigma."

Thank you for the link and information on the instability of red coloring on this species variety. It is a pretty one.

Thank you also, cj, for the link showing Phals growing in or near limestone. "Limestone" is conveniently highlighted on the linked page you provided.

Sweetcicely

Here is a link that might be useful: Stigmata