Phalaenopsis Journal First Quarter Vol. 21(3) 2012 | Page 18

A Decade of Chasing
the Elusive Blue Phalaenopsis
I
Rob Shepherd
n recent years the color blue has increased in popu-
larity to become one of the highly coveted colors in
orchids while also being one of the rarest colors found
naturally in the orchid family. My interest in the coe-
rulea form started well before this latest surge in pop-
ularity. For many years the coerulea form was one of the
least explored color forms in Phalaenopsis breeding, very
likely because coeruleas had proven to be extremely diffi-
cult to attain through hybridizing. Early hybridizers found
themselves completely frustrated by failed attempts to cre-
ate more complex hybrids that would bloom true coeru-
lea and most abandoned their efforts after hitting multiple
dead ends. It has
only been in the
last few years
that we have
begun to under-
stand how to ef-
fectively breed
for the pigments
that give us the
lovely coerulea
form in Phalae-
nopsis that we
af fe c t ionately
call orchid blue.
With these re-
cent advances,
consistent com-
mercial produc-
tion of coerulea
Phalaenopsis hy-
brids is now on
the horizon.
Those recent
advances did not come easily. Like those before me, I’ve
experienced the frustration of a very large number of failed
“coerulea” crosses. But after years of focusing on coerulea
Phalaenopsis I’ve been able to successfully navigate my way
through this unmarked path as a result of unrelenting de-
termination and probably a lot of luck. I’ve always had an
Phal. Equalacea grex Sapphire’s Indigo Equalacea ‘Anacapa Beryl’ AM/AOS
(P. equestris var. cyanochilus ‘Martel’s Blue’ × P. violacea ‘Sapphire’s Navy’)
18
“I can do anything” attitude and I have never been one to
shy away from a good challenge; well my journey with coe-
rulea Phalaenopsis has turned out to be one of the greatest
challenges I have ever embarked upon. The year 2011 was
a significant milestone year for me as it concluded the first
decade of my quest to improve upon coerulea Phalaenopsis
and bring this color form up to modern day hybridizing
standards. While I have accomplished a great deal over
these last ten years, I have to say I really had no idea what I
was getting myself into back when I decided breeding coe-
rulea phals was going to be a good idea. Seriously what
was I thinking when I thought this was going to be easy! In
reality this has
turned
into
such a com-
plex endeavor
that I find it
very difficult
to concisely
write
about
my breeding
program and
the
lessons
that have been
learned along
the way.
To many
of you, I am
largely a new-
comer into the
orchid indus-
try, so I feel it’s
probably im-
portant to not
only tell you
about my experience with coerulea orchids but to also give
you some of my background as an orchid grower. While I
decided to start my quest for blue back in 2001, my journey
with orchids began much earlier in 1984 at the age of 11. As
a child I loved growing any plant that I could get my hands
on and the allure of orchids provided a challenge I was
quick to entertain as soon as the first opportunity arose.
Like so many other beginners, I promptly killed my first
First Quarter, Vol. 21(3) 2012 - Phalaenopsis