Phal I-Hsin Living Fire 'Sweetheart'

[Slyjester]

Ok,

So after waiting for 5 1/2 days (I paid for 2nd Day Air--only option available to me--not sure why it took forever)...I FINALLY received my Phal. I-Hsin Living Fire 'Sweetheart'. I was torn between this one or Phal Tetraspis. While looking for information (mostly more photos) on this particular Phal, I was unsuccessful...and truth be told, I was surprised.

Anyway, I decided on this one based on the photos I DID see, and I'm soooo glad I have this one because it's a real beauty! I can't seem to stop staring at it. My other half ACTUALLY commented and said it was "pretty". The flowers are an INTENSE purple color! OMG it's magnificent! The flowers are a little over an inch in size as you can see in the photo. The roots, leaves and stem are an amazing lime-green color--complimentary color contrast!! The tag says it's a cross between Phal. I-Hsin Butter Ball x Phal. Equestria. I've read that Equestris has keiki tendencies and that excites me even more! I want to put it into Hydroton, but I may hold off for a while.

I wanted to share my photos so someone else doing "research" has something to see and compare. You'll have to excuse the FLASH...sometimes it overpowers. I didn't want to edit them either. What you see is what you get (WYSIWYG)! When I made the purchase, I was told that it had a sweet vanilla scent, but I can't seem to be able to pick that up. Instead it's more of a "freshly mowed lawn" smell. It's not bad, but it's not VANILLA either. Maybe it's fragrant at night?? We'll see.

On with the show!

[dougroc]

Wow, Jake, those are awesome blooms. Thanks for showing the bloom with a ruler, I wish more folks (including me ) would do that people would have idea of the bloom size.

[margo]

OMG Jake, she is fantastic! Congratulations!!!

[Brutal_Dreamer]

outstanding blooms, Jake!!

Cheers,
BD

[orchidlady]

Jake, it's beautiful. I can definitely see the equestris influence. And yes, equestris tend to be keiki factories (ask me how I know ).

Susan

[Diamond]

very very beatifull. and the colour's contrast is really great

[Halloamey]

Gorgeous ! The colours are electric !!

[Meg25]

Wonderful flowers! They are such a great color and they look very waxy, I'll bet they will last a long time! Great purchase.

[Slyjester]

An Update: 9/3/09
---------------------------------

So, we've had an unusually cold summer in Minnesota. Needless to say, some of the blooms have already fallen. The remaining 3 buds have opened and THEY ARE fragrant! Wow, it may be that I have been keeping this plant in direct sun every other day for at least 30 min. To prevent burns, I mist the leaves every 5 min. It's definitely a chores sometimes.

I set up an orchidarium yesterday (photos will be posted later today still setting it up) and when I lifted the plant, it had an intense fragrance. It's still NOT very vanilla...more like a sweet candy or something. Hard to describe. You can't smell it across the room, you have to be close to it to be able to pick up a whiff. On my other Phal, you literally have to stick your nose to it to pick up the scent.

Anyway, I just wanted to update.

[Cjcorner]

Gotta love it when the pretties smell good too! Lucky you...