Orchid royalty

[OrchidAddict]

I don't know why but I've always considered paphs to be the top in orchid hierarchy, then cymbidiums, then vandas and catts, phals and dens as pawns. I'm basing my answer from working in flower shops where all you used were phals and dens. I think a well grown multifloral paph is the most regal of all orchids and commands attention. My opinion, nice topic thanks, interested in what others have to say

Well said, Stateless! I just got my hands on a Sanderianum, and I'm SOOOOO excited. To me, there's nothing more regal than those long, twisty petals! And the paphs that open with just one big flower are so stately, and the fact that they make you wait a year or so for that one bloom makes it a real treat when they finally do flower. I just love paphs! Perhaps the "waiting game" is part of what makes them seem so special to me.

I'm probably going to incite a riot by saying this, but I've always seen catts as being the "pawns." They remind me of the daffodils and day lilies I grow in my garden and see in everyone's landscaping in my neighborhood. They just look "common" to me. But what's an orchid collection without at least a couple of them, right? The few catts I own are fairly complex, with splash petals and peloric traits, to distinguish them from the general masses of floof that you see everywhere.

But I think my feelings stem from the fact that I tend to gravitate toward more "quirky" plants...the weird-looking ones that have character. The Catts always seem to be trying just a bit too hard to get noticed...all puffed up and floofy...if any orchids were snobs, it would be the catts. The dens and phals (especially species phals) just are who they are....a little weird, a little offbeat...and that's why I love them.

If Lady Gaga is a Vanda, then Catts are the Celine Dion of flowers: mass-produced, soothingly fluffy, and totally mainstream.

But hey...to each his own.

Now I'm going to hit "post" and mentally prepare myself for the onslaught of protests that will certainly ensue from my "hatin' on the catts!" LOL

[Magnus A]

If Lady Gaga is a Vanda, then Catts are the Celine Dion of flowers: mass-produced, soothingly fluffy, and totally mainstream.

Now I must protest!
Lady Gaga, a Vanda???? Vandas are way to plain and not enough extravagant!


And you all have missed the true King and Queens of the orchids!
Both on complex flowers, fragrance, performance and diplay! Yes on everything

The ones that win the battle on walkover just by showing up is the species of Stanhopea! The true King and Queens of orchids.

/M

[OrchidAddict]

Now I must protest!
Lady Gaga, a Vanda???? Vandas are way to plain and not enough extravagant!

/M

Hee hee! I actually agree with you on that one...I just used the vanda as a reference for Lady Gaga because Kelly holds them both in such high esteem. I personally think Lady Gaga is a dendrobium spectabile!

[Kassie]

Now I must protest!
Lady Gaga, a Vanda???? Vandas are way to plain and not enough extravagant!

/M

I agree, Magnus. Nothing about vandas says "Lady Gaga" to me.

I see her more as a bulbo--flamboyant lines, bizarre shapes, occasionally emitting the unexpected odor of unrefridgerated flank steak. . .

[OrchidAddict]

I agree, Magnus. Nothing about vandas says "Lady Gaga" to me.

I see her more as a bulbo--flamboyant lines, bizarre shapes, occasionally emitting the unexpected odor of unrefridgerated flank steak. . .

Haha!! I'm ROFL over here!


I think I see a new thread coming..."If you were an orchid, which one would YOU be...and why?" It could be the "Cosmo poll" of the orchid forum! I can see it now...a fun (yet oversimplified) questionnaire, followed by an analysis that goes as follows:

"If you checked mostly A's, then you're a conformer. You don't like to push boundaries or stand out from the crowd. You're a traditional purple or white phal or a mass-market phal hybrid. If you're mostly "B's," you think outside of the box a little, but for the most part, you still want to be accepted. You're a dendrobium nobile or phalaenopsis-type den. If you checked mostly "C's," you have a slightly offbeat sense of style and like to push the envelope a little, but you still want to relate to the majority. You are an antelope dendrobium or funky oncidium hybrid. If you checked mostly "D's," appearance is VERY important to you...you like to "dress to impress." You are the life of the party, and everyone loves you. You're a ruffly Cattleya or a showy Miltoniopsis. If you're mostly "E's," you have a penchant for the strange and bizarre, and you enjoy surprising people with your personal, shocking sense of style. You're a bulbophyllum or a stanhopea. If you chose mostly "F's," you feel you are above all the competition. Your style is simple and regal. You are a Vanda. If you chose mostly "G's," you're a loner who doesn't give a hoot about what other people think...you're just doing your own thing in your own space. You're a dracula lotex or a rare, tricky species plant.

Admittedly, this "personality test" would be a bit more complicated than the traditional girly-magazine ones with simple categories of A, B, C and D. But it would still be a super-fun survey!

So, do any of these categories make any of you go, "Ooh, ooh...I'm a Cattleya!" LOL

Gosh, I'm enjoying the heck out of this conversation! He hee!