Hi, I received an orchid a few years ago from my sister-in-law that she rescued from an office. I have neglected it but it is still alive. (Some of the leaves are corrugated which I guess is a sign of being too dry.) This spring it has decided to bloom for the first time and I don't know what kind of orchid it is. Since it was happy enough to bloom once I would like to take proper care of it and get some repeat blooms. Thanks for any help with the ID!
I'll take a shot and guess it is a Beallara. Beallaras (Bllra) are the intergeneric hybrid between the orchid genera Brassia, Cochlioda, Miltonia and Odontoglossum (Brs. x Cda. x Milt. x Odm.). I'm hoping Laurel will weigh in soon.
Jim
Hi Jim,
Wow, I have never heard of Beallaras. I had taken a book from the library to try to do an identification myself, but couldn't find a perfect match, hence my posting here. I do see the 4 genera separately, of course, in the orchid encyclopedia. So what you are saying is that there are many hybrids out there that might not be in an encyclopedia dated 1992. Very interesting! Thank you.
I'm guessing Jim's guess is pretty right on. :) It's one of the intergeneric hybrids with those qualities he has named. Hope this does not confuse you further but here is a link explaining intergenerics. http://www.aos.org/Default.aspx?id=411 You can learn about intergenerics with further Googleing. We'll probably not know exactly what you have. There has been much orchid hybridizing to get florist quality flowers on easier to grow orchids.
There are hybrids out there that might not be in an encyclopedia dated 2013. Mom, if your purpose is to ID the orchid so you know how to take care of it, just go with the general guidlines for Oncidiums.
Jim
Hi Laurel and Jim,
Thank you both for your information. I am doing both - reading up on intergenerics and care of Oncidiums. I have to admit, it's a very cool flower and it has to be an easy-grow orchid since it has survived my windowsill for several years. I hadn't realized that orchids have this special ability regarding hybridizing, so I learned something new today.
Alice
Oh, and by the way, I went to a used book store in town here and picked up a 1988 book/booklet called "Your First Orchids and How to Grow Them," published by the Oregon Orchid Society. It includes a short chapter called "How to Grow Oncidiums," which I had already noticed and read, and another chapter called "Intergeneric Hybrids in the Oncidium Alliance," which I had completely ignored because I had no idea what they were talking about. I'll bet the basic concepts are still the same today as they were 25 years ago when the publication was written...I will look at the American Orchid Society link and my book right away.
