Source – https://www.ohiotropics.com
Phalaenopsis (or moth orchids) come in a variety of beautiful colors. But have you ever seen blue orchids at flower shops or orchid shows? Are blue orchids real? Learn the obvious truth and everything you need to know!
Amazingly, blue phalaenopsis orchids have little, let’s say, human intervention to create this color. Blue moth orchids do not exist in nature!
Are blue orchids real?
The answer is no and yes (at least for phalaenopsis orchids)! The plants are real, but the blue color is not natural. Blue phalanopsis orchids are truly colorful by creative farmers.
We have all seen these plants in big box stores.
The fact is that the real blue flowers are really unusual in orchids.
In many cases people have real blue orchids (vandas), but they are more purple than anything else because it can be more confusing. There are many posters with “blue orchids” and they are clearly purple.
“Less than 10 percent of the 280,000 flowering plants produce less than 10 percent of the blue flowers,” writes the book Nature’s Palette: The Science of Plant Color.
How do orchids warm blue?
Different farmers use slightly different methods to grow blue Phalaenopsis orchids.
The “Add Ice” manufacturer uses the patented process to create blue orchids in the Watercolor Orchids line. (They even use color to create green, orange and fresh pink flowers).
To create blue orchids, blue dye is inserted into a small hole in the trunk of an orchid. The hole was then covered with wax.
After about 24 hours, the color works its magic and begins to change the color of the flowers.
When my orchid changes, will it be blue?
Not as unfortunate. It “returns” to any color it had before it bloomed. In many cases, white orchids are used.
So, as your orchid grows for you, the new flowers will not be blue and may be white. This is important to understand so as not to get upset!
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