Phalaenopsis (moth) orchid

I'll end 2006 with this blog.

This white orchid was sold at a 70% reduced price so we couldn't pass it up. It didn't have the name tag on it so I don't know what it is other than Phalaenopsis or commonly know as the moth orchid because it rather obviously looks like a swarm of moths hovering over the plant. Orchids are starting to bloom now so they are wonderful plants to have, giving long lasting color and light, momentarily banishing the dark bleak months of winter.

It is a good orchid for the beginner as it is rather hardy and tolerant of conditions that would kill other orchids...at least we haven't killed one yet. It has become ubiquitous probably because of its toughness and can be found in all sorts of stores including supermarket flower sections. Phalaenopsis comes in various colors, purple red, white, yellow, some with a mottling of contrasting colors and of various sizes with some the size of an orange and others only an inch in diameter. I especially like the form of the flower for its sculptural quality with its large overlapping petals and contrasting protruding throat. I prefer the white ones for the subtle tonal shifts as the light rakes over the petals. The flowers are very long lived lasting two months or longer. We have a tiny flowered one that has kept blooming for over 6 months. Now that's what I call a good flower.

I called it a butterfly orchid when I first wrote this but read later that it is actually called a moth orchid. I made the necessary correction in the title and the body of the post.

Happy new year!