Phrag delassandroi x Phrag longifolium

[phraggy]

This has been in spike and flowering since May. There are still 2 buds forming out of a total of 12/13 flowers since blooming began.
Hope you like

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Ed

[gardenguysorchids]

Wow! What a beauty! Congratilations and thanks for shring. Welcome to the forum and am looking forward to more pics of your beauties. You have a real winner here.

[pavel]

Excellent! Nice flower color and flower count.

[Kmac]

Wow, that is impressive...and very lovely. Congrats!

[catttan]

Great shot, great blooms beautifully presented!!!

[Chris1140]

Spectacular! Love all the blooms open together.

[PetSlayer]

Awesome, congratulations! This one is if I ever saw one! And btw, welcome to the forum
/L

[mauraec]

Wow - I am speechless with wonder and envy! My phrag hybrids never bloomed simultaneously. And what color! I'm not familiar with dalssendroi - does it have a lot of red/pink in it? I would have guessed some schlimii or besseae and flava in there somewheree. Stunning. What's your secret??? And WELCOME to OT!

[Dorsetman]

Nothing short of astonishing this ; both parents are successional flowering , not true multiflorals , in fact I can;t think of a Phrag which is. As an English grower you will be a member of the British Paph Society, or if not you should be . Take this along to a meeting and show it, and you will sweep the board. You will also surely (?) know the Eric Young Foundation displays, at London etc ; I am one of many who have marvelled at the Phrags they show - how do they keep so many flowers on the spike we ask each other ? The best answers so far have been superglue ( joke) since for all the rest of us, a plant which eventually has 10 or more flowers on a spike never has more than 3 or 4 out at once, but I have never seen EYF show a spike like his.

BTW it seems that the RHS Register treats delassandroi as a mere variety, not a ssp of P bessea. So the cross is named Phrag Eric Young. This has been heavily awarded in USA - perhaps in UK too - but Orchidwiz is best on US (AOS) awards. 37 awarded plants are listed, and the average has 3.5 flowers and buds per inflorescence - which makes your plant all the more remarkable - although incidentally the flowers are not typical of Eric Young - the nearest is the one shown on the Isles of Jersey 17p postage stamp, but yours has a much better colour. If it's still going, and you get a chance, put it up to the RHS orchid committee - it should do very well indeed.
Well done indeed - can you/will you, tell us how you do it ?

[phraggy]

Thanks Dorsetman for your kind comments. I bought this plant some 5 years ago as a Phrag Eric Young which produced just two flowers in the first year. Last year it produced 2 flowers on the single spike but this year it has gone ( I'm pleased to say ) absolutely crazy, It started to spike in May and is still in flower with just 4 flowers but with a further two buds yet to open and still on the single spike. I have now found that the plant should be named as Nichole Tower. It has this year also grown two very nice growths so I'm hoping that each growth will produce the same as the parent. I'm not aware that I do anything special with the plant it is grown in a greenhouse with and abundance of Phrags, Angraecums and Cattleyas. I do however water the plant with cold tap water 24/7 on a garden drip system but only feed twice per year with a tsp of blood and bone namely November and May. The temp doesn't drop below 12C in winter and rises depending on the weather conditions which has reached 16C this month!!! As soon as I have posted this reply I will join the Paph Society as you say. Your words have pleased me so much as I have shown this plant in all its glory and was luckky to get a second card.. Thanks again Ed