PHALAENOPSIS vs. PHALAENOPSIS | Complex vs Novelty Hybrids vs Species Comparison #ninjaorchids 🤞🏼🌸

#Speciesphalaenopsis #Noveltyhybrids #Phalaenopsis
SOO many different varieties of Phalaenopsis orchids! SOO many mistakes to be made, & I have had my struggles with Phalaenopsis Complex Hybrids. I break down the differences between them, and briefly touch on the care for each category. ... I attempt to verbalize my thoughts as to why I struggle with the complex hybrids. Why they do well, sometimes, and other times, just insist that 'we go our separate ways'. If my thoughts didn't come across coherently, please use the comments' section to make me aware of that and let's continue the discussion there. Sometimes thoughts take me down rabbit holes, and then I do not circle back to the original thought... for which I apologize in advance!
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My environment:
Mediterranean climate, hot summers and mild winters
45% - 85% humidity, with regular airflow
Summer temperature range: 20ºC-35ºC
Winter temperature range, exterior: 5ºC-20ºC
Winter temperature range, interior: 16ºC-23ºC
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Blue Macaw - Quincas Moreira
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Orchid growing supplies:
Pots Outer Mask: Artevasi
Pots Inner Pot: TeraPlast
Media: Siro Leca, Lava Rock 2cm-4cm, Besgrow Sphagnum
Moss, Perlite, Seramis
Water: Reverse Osmosis
Fertilizer: MSU, CalMag, Mg, KelpMax, Silicone
General PPM: 300 Summer, or in active growth
150 Winter, RO Water and KelpMax only
General PH: 5.8 / 6.0
Hygrometer: BADLR Wireless with Exterior Sensor
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Editing Software: iMovie

[sylviabeichert]

Hi Nina. Advice, experience and theories can often be quite different according to eg growing conditions and maybe some complex phals can't regenerate well because they're over exhausted from such concentrated flowering. Another youtuber I follow that lives in Melbourne Australia said he finds some warm climate eg phals don't seem to tolerate the cooling evaporative evaporative effects of leca (in his climate) but grow better in bark or lava rock instead. (Crossing fingers), one of my lovely hybrid phals has just started blooming & is growing in lava rock with a few thin shreds of chux wicking cloths so I know not to overwater it.

[liverocks]

There is so much information in this video I will have to watch video again to get everything in

[lynnbrooks]

This could be lengthy. If you look at the way the producers grow these complex hybrids, they’re grown for a disposable market. They don’t really want you keeping them for years, what they want is for you to dispose of it after flowering and buy a new one. In most instances, apart from us orchaholics, that’s exactly what happens.
The way they grow them, manipulating day and night lengths, force feeding them with complex hormones for faster growth and to produce multiple spikes at an early age. Once they leave the growing area and go to market, all that ceases. They are lucky to get watered correctly in the shops/market places.
Then they come into our caring hands, who knows how long and far they have travelled before we buy them.
It’s no wonder they are confused and stop their wondrous growth patterns out of the hands of their original growers.
Look at their beginnings, probably starting in Taiwan as seedlings, being shipped into Holland to grow on, then shipped all over the world.
Once they get to their new homes, ours, the climate is different, the season is different, the food is different.
They are so confused with 24 hr day cycles, instead of 3 or 4 crammed into a 24 hr period.
What about season changes? They only know one season for 18-24 months with the grower in their tightly automated world. Then, what’s this? I’m in winter? Summer? What’s happening to me?
Now I have to learn to live a different way, I’m confused!

[FernandaNascimentoOrchids]

Hi Nina dear friend 🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️ I am a watching and leaving my comment a bit later than usual, busy food shopping morning, needs must 🥗🍖🍗🥩🧅.
Very interesting points of view
The wonderful thing about orchids is that the family is so vast that we have lots of choices. And as if species were not enough there are new hybrids released every year.
However Phalaenopsis complex hybrids are the thorn on our side and they come as a challenge because there are growers out there that grow them very well. Your species and novelty are wonderful, I want mine to keep growing that way too. Taking that into consideration you do well in expanding on growing them and go on with the ones that bring you more satisfaction !!!!

Wonderful friday Rafiki yangu 🦒 !!!!

[KP-gwzv]

It's funny, My complex hybrid Phals grow leaves and roots all year round and are spiking and blooming at the moment. I also have a Phal that is blooming for the third time. So I not sure of funny phals I have. I know for sure they are not summer bloomers. With the complex phals you have to be aware that nurseries are growing them so that when you go to the grocery store they are in bloom. They are forced to bloom out of season. So sometimes they are at a rest stage to get back in to the proper grow season. Just an opinion. I have a story from my twin sister: She had a phal that did not bloom for 11 years. Yes not kidding. It grew roots and leaves but who not bloom. Then on the 11th year she bloom and was gorgeous. It was a complex hybrid orchid. Have a great day and sorry for the novel.

[trendworld]

WOW your videos are really next level helpful and in depth very happy to find your channel!! 🤗

[ntshs]

Hi. Winter bloomers need to dry between waterings. If not provided, it tends to create fungus problems (like fussarium), especially in winter time. I am in France and i never succeded to grow complex winter hybrids in leca. Also, it is kind of artificial to oppose complex hybrid phalaenopsis to the species in therms of care. The comparison that would be more occurate may be is to oppose summer and winter bloomers. Did you watch the video of Here but not about the differencies in care of different categories of phalaenopsis ? If not, i recommand. It's title is "Phalaenopsis care & culture: advanced tips and tricks for growing summer & winter blooming types".

[daniellesorchidranch]

I have to say I find my species Phals are much easier as well. I just started adding them to my collection last year because I thought they’d be harder to grow but the reverse is true. They take to WC so easy.
I think this is true about most hybridization. I find complex intergenerics are sometimes difficult as well. The more man gets involved the weaker the plant. Beautiful blooms but much more fussy and more likely to die for no good reason.
I’ve also found I get ‘good’ spikes every other year on my hybrids. After a large spike it takes their vigor away and the next spike is usually smaller.

[megank]

I have very few problems with complex phals these days, but they are what I started out with on my orchid journey. I'm the daughter of avid gardening parents, and my mother in particular took up the hobby of hybridising tall bearded irises. In Australia, there are standards, tests and years of trial garden growing required for new iris hybrids before the breeder can officially register them and sell them on the markets. Something that occurred to me very early on with my orchid hobby, is that complex phals have untested and often unstable genetic make-up. That I believe is the key difference between the complex and species phals. Mother nature tested the genetics of the species phals over millennia and removed the weak, but no one has given the complex phals time to show their strengths and weaknesses, or removed the duds. And that, combined with the repeated stress of mass blooming, pests and infections, increased sensitivity to light, water and root disturbance etc, often results in complex phals just suddenly keeling over. I grow all my phals in transparent pots with transparent outer masks, and I've found that they really don't care what media they grow in, it's the other factors (water, light, temperature, nutrients and pH) that matter. I allow my complex phals to dry out to the point where the roots in the pots are silvery for up to a week or two before I water again and leave enough water in the mask to rise upto 1cm of the actual pot. I don't allow that water to remain for more than 1-2 days in winter or 3-4 days in summer. I don't know if any of my thoughts or growing methods will help, but I hope it gives others some food for thought. Thanks for the great video, Nina 🦒💖

[scottdevito]

You have made some interesting arguments that seem logical to me. Something else to consider is that complex hybrids are bred for fast development in greenhouse culture for the plant market and not be grow by hobbyists. By contrast, the novelties and species are bred for hobbyists and therefore home culture.

[sandrag]

Only difference I csn see, is that the summerbloomers like to stay moist, and that complex hybrids like to dry between waterings. Maby that is not the case in your setup?

[michelleslifeonrepeat]

I thought of you today.i went to a local store known for their great phals.. Trader Joe’s And came home with 6 for me and 1 for my mom.for 7.00 and 12 dollars they do better than my shipped in ones. And I can check the roots. I’ve killed 2 or 3 this month so I needed more blooms in my life.

[dannisorchidjourney]

My novelty phals, even when they are looking like they are knocking on deaths door.. they are still sending out spikes. I was like 😱😱🤯 grow some roots! Lol.
I think the big box store phals just do poor in general more often because they aren’t taken care of as well as the novelty phals we buy from orchid growers that LOVE growing. Versus the big growers growing the grocery store phals. Idk
I’ve noticed it also takes the big box store phals longer to adjust to my environment..
I have a big box store Phal forming a spike right now for the first time since having it for 2 years. The spike is at 3 feet long and it still forming buds. 😝

[shirleyholt]

I wish I had answers for you. My growing conditions are totally different from yours. I have to grow my orchids indoors, and I grow in organic, mostly orchiata and fir bark. You will get it figured out because you are a good orchid grower, and you care very deeply. 🤗

[esthersorchids]

Hi Nina, I have mostly complex hybrids and sometimes I struggle with their roots. Poor care in retail environments, sellers wanting a quick sale of a sick plant etc are purchasing problems you inheret but generally speaking they need more air around their root systems. I've very chunky bark with lots of gaps between make roots grow to seek out moisture. But when too much moisture is there with little to no air or cold Temps rot sets in very quickly. They love good light (artificial lighting) with it their roots grow in the air, if humidity is sufficient they grow like mad.

[juliazolotareva]

Nina, I still think it is temperature related. Complex phals are bred mostly for indoors - homes, appartments, lobbies etc, where the temps are kept 22-25'C. I have read the comments and it does look like people living in cool climates and growing their orchids in homes rarely have problems with complex phals. Take Anabel for example - cooler country, indoor growing room (before moving the houses), artificial lights - it hardly ever got hot and when it did it was not for long. And her complex phals are super happy in inorganic media. Another example I can offer - Latvia, my home-country - cold to cool climate, overcast skies for most of the year - complex phals do really well in homes along with oncidiums and miltoniopsis...but vandas and cattleyas need major adjustment to thrive. Kindly forgive me for repeating myself on this matter (and being a bit pushy), I do strogly believe there might be connection, but at the end You are the judge! 🤗💕

[someusername]

I have only 3 complex hybrids mostly because they are simply too large and the colors are just not as impactful. I try to stick to primary hybrids because the complex hybrids are always doing weird things for me: spikes with half keikis that don't develop, blooming to death (especially minis do this), bud blast, terminal spikes, etc. I don't see as much strange behavior in the primary hybrids and novelty phals. I have noticed that my complex hybrids have a lot more sensitivity in their roots too, like they will get setback easier and dump their roots even more than my bifoliate cattleyas which can be incredibly frustrating. I used to have more complex hybrids, but I lost most of them in a move including a sogo yukidian from my mom which made me very sad.

[MelissaWalker]

Very interesting, Nina! I don’t have problems with most complex phal hybrids but the oncidium tribe and I don’t get along great. A few do well for me but the rest are so so at best! We all have our easy growers and our struggle bus plants and it’s sometimes frustrating but also interesting to try to work out their preferred care. Thanks again for sharing!

[michaelmccarthy]

Some of the roots on the species are silver and flat as a pancake (especially the mottled leaf types such as schilleriana and stuartiana), they are so weird to look at. And they break way too easily.
So my two cents on the complex hybrids, I find in a warm/hot climate, they don't like their roots contained in a closed container. Maybe yank one out, or buy a new one to experiment with, and put it in an orchitop pot. Or, if you can get a mesh pot and use that in the self watering, allowing for an air gap between the mask and the net pot.

[LeahPurtee]

Wow! At least you only having problems with the hybrids. Me, been having problems with both. But I think I solved my problem already. Well, I hope I did already. Heheheh
Anyway, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and your way of growing them. 💞🌸🦋