Puneet Varma (Editor)

Phalaenopsis gigantea

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Kingdom
  
Plantae

Family
  
Orchidaceae

Genus
  
Phalaenopsis

Higher classification
  
Moth orchids

Order
  
Asparagales

Subfamily
  
Epidendroideae

Scientific name
  
Phalaenopsis gigantea

Rank
  
Species

Phalaenopsis gigantea httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommons00

Similar
  
Moth orchids, Orchids, Phalaenopsis amboinensis, Phalaenopsis bellina, Phalaenopsis violacea

How i water my phalaenopsis gigantea


Phalaenopsis gigantea is named for the giant size of its leaves, which can grown over 2 feet in length on a mature plant. This orchid is endemic to Borneo and was first described in 1909. It is the largest Phalaenopsis species.

Contents

Phalaenopsis gigantea IOSPE PHOTOS

Species Description


  • A very short monopodial stem with 5-6 large silvery-green pendent leaves that can measure over 60 cm across
  • flowers are ~5 cm across (up to 6.5 cm), cream background with raised red-brown spots, and varying degrees of green around the column, waxy
  • Mature, specimen-size plants are capable of producing hundreds of flowers on pendent, branching inflorescences reaching 40 centimeters
  • blooms have sweetly fragrant citrus scent
  • flowers can last many months
  • inflorescence can rebloom over many seasons
  • Although widespread belief that this orchid takes anywhere from 8 to 12 years for a seedling to reach flowering size, it may be possible to flower seedlings in 4 years with ideal culture

    • Species variants

  • Phal. gigantea var aurea: has a brighter yellow background color throughout the sepals and petals

    • Growing Conditions

    Phalaenopsis gigantea Phal gigantea slow death

  • warm to hot growing orchid
  • although not difficult to grow, (gigantea) seedlings take significantly longer to reach maturity than other species
  • particularly susceptible to rot if water gets trapped between the leaves
  • allow potting media to dry out completely between watering
  • Phal. gigantea needs its entire root system to keep the large leaves hydrated, so as a result is very sensitive to getting its roots disrupted
  • prefers higher light than most phalaenopsis


    • Phalaenopsis gigantea Phalaenopsis gigantea Orchids Forum

    Phalaenopsis gigantea Phalaenopsis gigantea presented by Orchids Limited

    References

    Phalaenopsis gigantea Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA