TheNaturePlanet

Phalaenopsis orchids have a unique flower shape and have become increasingly popular in recent years. After purchasing one for your home, regular care is essential to avoid unnecessary diseases. In fact, to prevent problems, it’s important to start from the very beginning—choosing a healthy orchid can avoid many potential issues, reducing the chances of diseases.

In the flower market, you can find commercial orchids, seedlings, wild species, and hybrid Phalaenopsis orchids. How do you distinguish between them?

First, commercial orchids are like "standardized products" produced on an assembly line. These orchids are propagated using tissue culture technology, meaning a small piece of tissue is cut from a mother plant that has grown exceptionally well, and then cultured in a sterile environment where it is "copied and pasted" to produce new plants. The resulting orchids are genetically identical to the mother plant, with similar blooming times and flower sizes. Common varieties like "Big Chili" and "Big White V3" are all part of the commercial orchid family.

Next, we have seedlings, which are like "hybrid babies" in the orchid world. These are grown from seeds produced by manually pollinating two different Phalaenopsis orchids. Each seedling carries the genes from both parents, much like how a child inherits traits from both parents, but with unique characteristics of its own. Many seedlings in the market are from breeding experiments in orchid nurseries and are often "rejected candidates," meaning they may not be the best examples. The best seedlings are kept for creating new varieties, so these orchids may have weaker immunity than normal orchids and are more susceptible to diseases. However, it’s not impossible to find some that have stunning flower colors by chance.

Then, there are wild species, the "wild ancestors" of Phalaenopsis orchids, with over 70 species discovered worldwide. Although the wild species available in the market are descendants artificially propagated by nurseries, it’s important to note that collecting wild orchids from nature is illegal. Additionally, any further propagation of wild species without hybridizing them will still be considered as wild species. Wild species are known for their strong resistance, making them hard to kill even in less-than-ideal growing conditions.

Finally, hybrid Phalaenopsis orchids—those with "hybrid" in their name, like "Elephant Ear Hybrid Linden"—are usually created by crossing a wild species with artificially cultivated plants. These hybrids often have larger flowers and more vibrant colors, and they are considered "rare," making them more expensive than commercial orchids. However, they tend to have more delicate root systems and require higher care standards than wild species or commercial orchids. They are more sensitive to environmental changes.