Phalaenopsis violacea

Read our article "Birth of the Blues" - first printed in ipa Journal and now available online for our orchid friends.

Since we first flowered Phal. violacea 'Gulfstream Blue' which was as dark blue as indigo we have worked tirelessly to propagate them in order to spread these beauties over the world. So far, they have been sold to someone on every continent except Africa, Antarctica, or the Artic. Our data base does not record which States we have shipped them to, but nowhere in the USA comes to my mind when I think about how widespread is their fame. 

To date we have flowered 21 blues:

Phal. violacea 'Blue Fin Tuna'

Phal. violacea 'Peek-a-Blue'

Phal. violacea 'Gaston Bleu'

• 'Gulfstream Blue' JC/AOS

• 'Biscayne Bay'

• 'Burke's Blue'

• 'Blue Moon'

• 'Carol's Blue Monday'

• 'Blue Genes'

• 'Charleston Indigo'

• 'Indigo Blue'

• 'Blue July Fourth'

• 'Rachel's Blue Eyes'

• 'Bonnie Blue'

• 'Blueberry Pie'

• 'Gaston Bleu'

• 'Bluebeard the Pirate'

• 'Blue Blood'

• 'Blue Chip'

• 'Blue Ribbon'

• 'Blue Streak'

• 'Blue Velvet'

• 'Blue Suede'

• 'Peek-a-Blue'

Because the Phal. violacea var. indigo has caused such a stir in the Orchid World and become the 'Belle of the Ball', our magenta violaceas have been pushed aside and are now more like 'Wallflowers'. Believe me, they are still very wonderful with near perfect shape and fully saturated with magenta pigment to the very tip of the petals and sepals. Only the green tip is noticeable and adds to their beauty.

About two years ago, we noticed a bud which was about to open. This causes a stir in the greenhouse because all three of us make a beeline to the violacea table every morning from July to October looking for the telltale blue lip that is the first clue that you may be blooming another blue. This particular bud looked like it had a green lip or at least there was something different about the whole bud. As it opened it became the most beautiful clear white violacea that I have seen. We named this one Phal. violacea 'Pimlico' and it was awarded the Blue Ribbon at the last IPA Symposium, beating out 'Blue Chip' which was the trophy winner for the Best Phalaenopsis  in the show.    

January 2008 update -

Phal. violacea 'Blue Elegance' pictured on the left is a seedling from N0385 'Rachel's Blue Eyes' x
'Gulfstream Blue'
 

Price list for Phal. violacea seedlings:   In flask      Hardened off

With blue parents:

N0230	Phal. violacea ('Gulfstream Blue' JC/AOS x self)$30.00         $35.00
N0235	Phal. violacea ('Boden's Blue'  x 'Gulfstream Blue')  $15.00
N0385	Phal. violacea ('Rachel's Blue Eyes' x 'Gulfstream Blue') 'Rachel's Blue Eyes' was awarded the trophy for best phal. at the 2004 IPA Symposium.                                                         $30.00         $35.00
N0436	Phal. violacea ('Blue Genes' x 'Indigo Blue') $35.00
N0446	Phal. violacea ('Blue July 4th' x 'Gaston Bleu') $30.00        $35.00

Standard or magenta flowers were used in the following:

Phal. violacea 'Incredible'

One blue parent and one standard parent: 

A glimpse into the future: 

• N0556  Dtps. Orglade's Puff  'Snowball'      x
              Phal. violacea 'Blue Chip'

• N0558  Phal. Golden Peoker 'BL' HCC/AOS           x
              Phal. violacea 'Blue Suede'

• N0559  Phal. violacea 'Blue Chip' x self

• N0560  Phal. violacea ('Bonnie Blue' x 'Bluebeard the Pirate')

• N0562  Phal. violacea ('Peek-a-Blue' x 'Blue Chip')

• N0563  Phal. violacea ('Thanks Michael Ooi' x 'Bluebeard the Pirate')

Hope that you see something that you would like to have growing in your greenhouse or grow-shelves. The first 'Gulfstream Blue' x self that bloomed was growing on grow-shelves in California. Please let us know when you bloom some of our line of Phals. If you will send a picture we would love to post it.

Phal. violacea 'Summer Snow'

The rest of the Story of Indigo Phal. violacea

In the early 1980's we were sent twenty five Phal. violacea plants as a gift from Mr. Michael Ooi of Malaysia. Immediately after two bloomed we made our first violacea cross. Thus we started our line of Phal. violacea breeding, using the best two from each subsequent cross for the next step. In 1996 we chose Phal. violacea #1 and Phal. violacea 'Harvey', both were progeny from N9146 Phal. violacea 'Orchidview' x Phal. violacea 'RedBank'. Our Ooi line of Phal. violacea has, we believe, produced revolutionary characteristics in Phal. violacea.

Our first note about blue violaceas came in an e-mail message from Miller's Tropical Plants in Miami. They had bought a flask from us at the IPA Symposium in Coral Gables and had bloomed three blue violaceas from the flask. He sent pictures that made us proud and envious at the same time. Then came a call from Ken Avant, he had three blues from one of our flasks. We still had not seen one in the flesh, only in e-mail pictures. Ken sent us pollen from his best and we made a cross, N0154 Phal. violacea 'Royalty' x Phal. violacea 'Ken's Blue'.

This was listed on the website too soon, before final flasks were set, and we were inundated with orders. Almost a year passed before we could fill all the orders and I am wondering who has flowered any of these? We sold flasks as long as we had orders and then grew a few for ourselves.

Our first one flowered on May 27 and it is spectacular!!! Wish all of you had a color chart to see #47 Royal Purple. It exhibits both the magenta of 'Royalty' and the blue from 'Ken's Blue'. Our hope is that we will begin receiving pictures from some of you flask buyers who are now flowering yours.

In August 2001 we bloomed our first blue 'Gulfstream Blue' which received a JC/AOS the day after it opened. We were taking some other plants to Atlanta's AOS Judging Center for consideration and put it in the car just to show it off. Lo and behold, they gave that one little flower a JC/AOS and mentioned its deep #53 Purplish Blue color.

Phal. violacea 'Rachel's Blue Eyes' was awarded the 'Best Phal' trophy at the 2004 IPA Symposium in Indianapolis last summer.

With all the talk about blue violaceas you would believe that there is nothing else that excites us about our line of Phal. violacea , which is certainly not true. Along with the flowers we have mentioned, Phal. violacea 'Royalty' came from that 1996 cross as did 'Incredible' and 'Amazing Grace' which is a polyploid that is as thick as cardboard and has leaves as round as a dinner plate and just about as heavy. 'Star of Bethlehem' has attributes of an all but perfect Phal. violacea. These are all fully saturated with magenta to the very tip of the petals and sepals.

Not only has the Ooi line of Phal. violaceas produced deep magenta, royal purple to violet blue, but we have a few white phals from this line.