Bloom Event - Ascovandoritis Thai Cherry

I am very taken with this plant. I'm not sure if the name is still correct as I know a lot of Ascocentrum species have now been included in Vanda. It is surprisingly difficult to find out. At any rate, this is a very beautiful little hybrid with lovely flower shape and colour. They might be a little small, but they are produced in quite a quantity and have excellent spacing on the spike.

I got the plant a couple of years ago, already flowering size, from a  nursery in Germany. They were superb quality and I have sold the other plants, but I had to keep one for myself because I love random hybrids like this. It has been growing steadily ever since, both root and leaf. It has had what I took to be the beginnings of a spike from between some lower leaves for absolutely ages, but the spike blooming now has come from nearer the top (what I would call a more normal place for a spike to appear). I wonder whether the bud lower down might eventually become a new crown of leaves. I can but hope.

Isn't that just the most lovely flower? The colour is much more vibrant than the photo shows, its really eye catching. It seems very like both its ascocentrum/Vanda and Doritis pulcherrima (now properly Phalaenopsis pulcherimma) in both flower shape and colouring. No scent that I can detect, but I wouldn't expect one from a hybrid like this. I have no idea whether the flowers at the bottom of the spike will still be in good condition by the time the flowers at the top open; I hope so. The spike is long and there are a lot of flowers to come.

I said the flowers were small, but I don't think they are out of proportion with the size of the plant overall. It is a slight pity that the leaves don't stay very 'clean' but this isn't uncommon; some orchids do have a proclivity towards this. It's not too bad, but not perfect either.

Still, I'm very pleased indeed with this one, definitely a keeper. For anyone who bought this off me on eBay, now you know what it looks like!