This has to be the wackiest name for a plant ever. Does anyone know if it's supposed to be "Lc Netrasiri Faiball" as it says on tag, or if it should be "Lc Netrasiri Fireball?" I don't know.

Anyway, all I know is that I fell in LOVE with this gorgeous plant when I went on a trip to a local greenhouse recently. I took my mom there to buy her an orchid for her birthday, and, well, let's just say I ended up buying myself an early Mother's Day present! This one is the absolute pride and joy of my collection right now!!!

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The color you're seeing should be correct ... it's a flaming orange flower with darker orange spotting. The lip is best described as fuchsia (I think the next photo shows the lip color a little better), and it has some yellow flaring up around the anther cap, which is lavender.

I have NEVER seen an orchid this boldly beautiful in person. It just demands attention. It's also EXTREMELY fragrant. The fragrance is practically impossible to describe; the best I can do is say that it smells somewhat like an expensive, high-end women's perfume. In the afternoon, this one flower scents my entire living room. It's just amazing!

I have a feeling this bloom has been open for a while ... it appears to have had another one behind it that had been removed before I purchased it ... so perhaps when it blooms again I'll get a nice surprise and have a cluster bloomer!



Anyway, this is technically a "mini" catt, although the flowers are of decent size; it's just a very compact plant. The waxiness adds to its charm, as it makes the flower super-shiny and quite attention-getting!

Here's another picture that I just HAD to capture as the sun was moving across the room and the light was "kissing" my flower at a different angle. Ahhh....

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I think this beauty deserves a better name than "Lc Netrasiri Faiball x Thihty 'Casen's choice'", which is what it says on the tag. If anyone finds a registered name for this grex, please let me know. My internet search didn't turn up a thing.

Oh, and in case you're wondering what orchid my mom ended up getting... well, even though we were literally surrounded with jaw-dropping gorgeousness, she couldn't find a single orchid she wanted. Instead she gravitated to a table of half-dead unnamed succulents which she asked me if I'd let her pick from instead. I told her it was her birthday; she could get whatever she wanted. The succulents my mom picked were in such bad shape that the owner of the greenhouse gave them to her for FREE.

I thought they were rather hideous, but my mom was over the moon with getting these bizarre-looking plants. Ah, well, I suppose she'll never understand my love for orchids any more than I'll understand her passion for shriveled-up cacti.

Anyway, thanks for looking at my beautiful new baby!!

I'm in love... so in love...