Login
User Name
Password   


Registration is FREE. Click to become a member of OrchidBoard community
(You're NOT logged in)

menu menu
Sponsor
Donate Now
and become
Forum Supporter.


Many perks!
<...more...>




Sponsor

 

Google


  #1 (permalink)  
Old 01-06-2009, 03:37 PM
ronaldhanko's Avatar
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: The Beautiful Pacific Northwest
Posts: 1,176
Default Temperature and Flower Color

The flower shown, Slc. Dream Catcher, has just bloomed for the third time this year. When it flowers during the summer the flowers are a light orange with none of the red veining that is evident in these flowers. During the winter they are a dark orange with considerable red veining. This is typical of flowers (not only orchids) that are in the yellow to red range. Temperature affects the production of anthocyanins and carotenoids, the chemicals that produce these colors. At higher temperatures lesser amounts of these are produced and the flowers are paler in color. At lower temperatures the opposite happens, and the flowers can appear very different in color.
Attached Thumbnails
Temperature and Flower Color-slc.-dream-catcher-1-.jpg.jpg
Views:	119
Size:	93.3 KB
ID:	24507  
__________________
Ron Hanko

"Orchids are universally acknowledged to rank among the most singular and most modified forms in the vegetable kingdom" - Darwin

www.picasaweb.google.com/ronaldhanko/Orchids
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronaldh...7612821114155/

Last edited by ronaldhanko; 01-06-2009 at 03:39 PM..
Digg this Post!
Reply With Quote
Remove advertisements
Advertisement Sponsored links

  #2 (permalink)  
Old 01-06-2009, 03:41 PM
Ross's Avatar
Roots are good
 

Join Date: Sep 2006
Zone: 5a
Location: Cadillac, Michigan, USA
Posts: 9,288
Default

That's good to know and maybe a start of another thread regarding this tendency? Not just this plant but others as well. I, certainly, am interested in the answer to the question of temperature affecting coloration.
__________________
Ross

http://orchids-ross.blogspot.com/

I don't do most Dendros or large, "floofy orchids". For me it's minis (like Angraecoides), Masdies, Paphs, and others that crept in somewhere along the line. See my orchid list for complete collection (usually not current.)
Digg this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Old 01-06-2009, 04:18 PM
karren's Avatar
Member
 

Join Date: Apr 2008
Zone: 6a
Location: Ohio River Valley
Posts: 59
Female
Default

Best thing I've heard about colder temps.

I had a Bl. Morning Glory or Maidosa bloom last year with almost no color; ir was so pale it was just off-white, previously it had a lovely violet cast.

How about light affecting color? My Mtssa. Royal Robe 'Jerry's Pick' finished blooming with the deep, rich burgandy color and all the same color. I got a new bench and light for the greenhouse and stuck ithe plant right under the light. Well I sunburned many leaves and the flowers that just opened are paler in color and show more variation.
Digg this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #4 (permalink)  
Old 01-06-2009, 04:24 PM
MuscleGirl'sHobby's Avatar
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Jun 2008
Zone: 9b
Member of:AOS, TPSM
Location: Central Cali
Age: 30
Posts: 851
Default

Thanks for that information! I can now more clearly understand why a picture of the orchid might not match what blooms in my care. For orchids that bloom multiple times in a year, this could be pretty neat though. It's like having 2 (or more) orchids in one!
__________________
Nichole

Hubby: "Where'd all these Orchids come from?"
Me: "Uh, they followed me home... can I keep them?"
Digg this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #5 (permalink)  
Old 01-06-2009, 04:58 PM
Tindomul's Avatar
Moderator
 

Join Date: May 2005
Zone: 7b
Location: Queens, NY, USA
Age: 30
Posts: 8,831
Default

Light could also be a factor, as light intensity rises in the summer as well. Does your orchid receive more light in the summer time as well? I guess the only real way of controlling for light is to grow under lights in a basement.
__________________
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
-J.R.R. Tolkien, LOTR, Fellowship of the Ring
Digg this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #6 (permalink)  
Old 01-06-2009, 07:55 PM
ronaldhanko's Avatar
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: The Beautiful Pacific Northwest
Posts: 1,176
Default

From what I've read it is not so much light intesity as temperature, but obviously a plant that is getting more light is probably also getting higher temperatures, if not ambient temperatures then certainly at the leaf and bud surface.
__________________
Ron Hanko

"Orchids are universally acknowledged to rank among the most singular and most modified forms in the vegetable kingdom" - Darwin

www.picasaweb.google.com/ronaldhanko/Orchids
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronaldh...7612821114155/
Digg this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #7 (permalink)  
Old 01-07-2009, 11:07 AM
tuvoc's Avatar
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Aug 2007
Zone: 7a
Member of:AOS
Location: Reno, NV
Posts: 3,337
Male
Default

This reminds me of an informal and very unscientific experiment I read about in the AOS Bulletin many years ago.Three members of the staff each acquired a plant of Vuyl. Cambria 'Plush', a very famous clone at the time. Each took it home, and grew it under thier own conditions. When they bloomed, they compared the resulting blooms, which showed such dramatic variations, they appeared to be three different crosses altogether. The conclusion was that different growing conditions can affect flowering characteristics significantly.

Kim
__________________
Oh don't the day seem lank and long, when all goes right, and nothing goes wrong.
And isn't your life extremely flat, when you've nothing whatever to grumble at. W.S. Gilbert
Digg this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #8 (permalink)  
Old 01-07-2009, 11:28 AM
ronaldhanko's Avatar
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: The Beautiful Pacific Northwest
Posts: 1,176
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by tuvoc View Post
This reminds me of an informal and very unscientific experiment I read about in the AOS Bulletin many years ago.Three members of the staff each acquired a plant of Vuyl. Cambria 'Plush', a very famous clone at the time. Each took it home, and grew it under thier own conditions. When they bloomed, they compared the resulting blooms, which showed such dramatic variations, they appeared to be three different crosses altogether. The conclusion was that different growing conditions can affect flowering characteristics significantly.

Kim
Do you have a reference for that article, Kim? Sounds like something I'd like to read.
__________________
Ron Hanko

"Orchids are universally acknowledged to rank among the most singular and most modified forms in the vegetable kingdom" - Darwin

www.picasaweb.google.com/ronaldhanko/Orchids
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronaldh...7612821114155/
Digg this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #9 (permalink)  
Old 01-07-2009, 12:36 PM
tuvoc's Avatar
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Aug 2007
Zone: 7a
Member of:AOS
Location: Reno, NV
Posts: 3,337
Male
Default

Ron, it was a VERY long time ago, when they were still in located in Cambridge, Mass. I'm not sure if I still have that issue. Might check the AOS website.

Kim
__________________
Oh don't the day seem lank and long, when all goes right, and nothing goes wrong.
And isn't your life extremely flat, when you've nothing whatever to grumble at. W.S. Gilbert
Digg this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #10 (permalink)  
Old 01-08-2009, 01:28 PM
ronaldhanko's Avatar
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: The Beautiful Pacific Northwest
Posts: 1,176
Default

On this particular plant the light intensity is the same year around - so are watering and fertilizing regimes. It is very definitely the temperature that affects the flower color and I have noticed the same with other hybrids of Sophronitis coccinea. This has been demonstrated with other flowers as well: carnations for example (http://sciencelinks.jp/j-east/articl...6A0491900.php). Some commercial growers of cut orchids even recommend placing the plants in a cool house for a time before cutting the flowers in order to strengthen flower color.
__________________
Ron Hanko

"Orchids are universally acknowledged to rank among the most singular and most modified forms in the vegetable kingdom" - Darwin

www.picasaweb.google.com/ronaldhanko/Orchids
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronaldh...7612821114155/

Last edited by ronaldhanko; 01-08-2009 at 01:33 PM..
Digg this Post!
Reply With Quote
Sponsored links Remove advertisements
Advertisement

Reply

Bookmarks


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
5 Good Neofientias Everyone Should Have Fuukiran Vanda Alliance - Neofinetia 54 10-18-2008 03:03 AM
Getting large cymbidiums to flower in warmer climates SueK Cymbidium Alliance 4 10-03-2008 06:47 PM
aging/temperature and flower patterns philoserenus Hybrids 2 12-03-2007 12:40 AM
Flower Question eorchids Cattleya Alliance 7 07-12-2006 02:08 PM
doritaenopsis(limon living color) tshalack Hybrids 3 06-29-2006 01:37 AM

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 10:21 AM.

© 2007 OrchidBoard.com
Ad Management by RedTyger

SEO by vBSEO 3.3.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65