# Phalaenopsis bellina



## orchideya (Aug 1, 2012)




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## Paphman910 (Aug 1, 2012)

Nice! Is it one of Patrick's plants?

Paphman910


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## orchideya (Aug 1, 2012)

Thank you Paphman910.
No, the one from Pat was a seedling, although it grew two new leaves through the spring. Maybe it will bloom soon too.
I have three bellinas and would buy more anytime. They are my favorites.


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## Paphman910 (Aug 1, 2012)

orchideya said:


> Thank you Paphman910.
> No, the one from Pat was a seedling, although it grew two new leaves through the spring. Maybe it will bloom soon too.
> I have three bellinas and would buy more anytime. They are my favorites.



Thanks for for letting me know! Your bellina is beautiful! My compot from Pat is growing really well. He told me they are slow growers but I find them to grow much faster than some of my multifloral Paph species. Hope to flower it next year or two!

Paphman910


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## SlipperFan (Aug 1, 2012)

Beautiful -- bet the fragrance is wonderful, also.


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## orchideya (Aug 1, 2012)

Thank you Dot! Yes, the fragrance is very pleasant.


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## JeanLux (Aug 2, 2012)

Lovely, I like it a lot !!!! Jean


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## abax (Aug 2, 2012)

Oh my, a gorgeous bellina! I can grow and bloom violaceas well, but bellinas die almost immediately. A friend in Borneo says the two bloom side-by-side there.
I don't get it. Do you grow violacea with your bellinas?


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## orchideya (Aug 2, 2012)

Thank you Jean and Abax.
Abax, yes, I have three bellinas and many violaceas, they all grow together in the same conditions with all other phals and are doing fine.
I grow them warm and very humid, about 80-90%. I grow indoors and don't have a greenhouse, so when I started with named phals, I noticed constant buds blasting (I observed it with violacea, fasciata, speciosa C1, cornucervi) -the buds would appear, grow a little bit and then dry up and fall. I figured it was because of the low humidity, so I started using propagation trays with domes for my spiking phals:











Then I noticed that these conditions also promote nice growth, so I put all my phals in those trays. Now it is getting out of control because with growing number of my phals house gets filled up with the trays. I am looking into buying an orchidarium to have an enclosure that would keep humidity up.
How do you grow your bellinas and violaceas?


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## W. Beetus (Aug 2, 2012)

Stunning blooms!


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## SlipperFan (Aug 2, 2012)

Great idea!


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## Rick (Aug 3, 2012)

abax said:


> Oh my, a gorgeous bellina! I can grow and bloom violaceas well, but bellinas die almost immediately. A friend in Borneo says the two bloom side-by-side there.
> I don't get it. Do you grow violacea with your bellinas?



When was the last time you tried a bellina Abax? Now that you are using K lite, give it another try. I have one I got from Ed M several years ago (in bloom now). It's mounted and was holding its own, but with Klite it's doing much better.

Bellinas grow in lowland swamps in Borneo, so warm and very humid. But I believe you grow in a greenhouse like me with very high humidity.


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## abax (Aug 4, 2012)

*I grow in a greenhouse with very high humidity,*

warmth (minimum low 60F), lots of air movement and
rather shady. The violacea love my conditions and grow and bloom very well. Perhaps I'm cursed concerning bellina...they just die in the very same conditions as violacea. Most of the time I mount both on cork with a
bit of sphagnum padding. I love your beautiful bellina and
it frustrates me no end that bellina just withers and dies in my greenhouse. 

I might try bellina again, Rick, but I feel horribly guilty when one dies. The last one I ordered was early this
spring before K-Lite. It lasted about ten days going steadily downhill. It was a very nice small plant when
I got it.


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## orchideya (Aug 4, 2012)

If it died in 10 days, of you getting it, I don't think it was your fault Abax.
Probably wasn't healthy from the beginning. My bellinas are potted into clay pots with sphagnum and since they sit in those trays with no fans - there isn't whole lot of air movement. They get brief periodof sun very early morning.
I hope you will try again and succeed with this beautiful species Abax.


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## Rick (Aug 4, 2012)

Yes, 10 days isn't long enough to experience a nutrition problem. If you have violacias in the same spot thriving, then it can't be a physical condition either.

This sounds like a plant that couldn't handle the shock of new environment. These days I keep my brand new, out of the box phales in very low light for the first months or so (until I see new roots) before moving them out into what I consider better light for them.


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## cnycharles (Aug 5, 2012)

i've never seen grow domes that tall before. you can also make your own carts, shelves and all with plastic wrapped around to hold the humidity in. it can be more fun finding out what you want to make with the space you have, and how to accomplish it


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