Question
Orchid
What kind of orchid is this? I have had this about a year and a half and the flowers have always been purple. Now, I have two stems with light green/yellow blooms. How unusual is it to have two colors on one plant? Thanks for your help.
AnswerJennifer, this is a dendrobium orchid and, more specifically, a dendrobium-- phalaenopsis type. That means it is a warm grower. Congratulations on growing this plant so well. The simplest explanation for the different colors is that you really have two different plants. The plant with the yellow green flowers probably had canes too small to flower, thus, previously only the canes of the older and larger plant flowered. Now, the second plant is old enough to flower and both plants are flowering. To confirm this guess, check to see if there is any physical connection between the vegetative parts of the two plants. My guess is that there aren't any physical connections between the plants. They just happen to be planted together in the same pot. This means that when you repot, you should be able to pot these plants separately if you wish. Any other explanation for the difference would be an extraordinary one and there is no reason to invoke an extraordinary explanation when an ordinary one will do. If you find a physical connection between the canes with the purple flowers and the ones with the yellow green ones we will have to revisit this issue. Thanks for the picture, it was helpful.
