A recent complex hybrid (registered in 2017 by the company Orchis Flor.), with Asian origins, impressive with its chromatic contrast, medium size, abundant flowering, typical of the multiflora group, Phalaenopsis Yellow Chocolate amazes and attracts orchid collectors and enthusiasts alike.

Remarkable for its robustness and prolificacy, as specialists are known to produce both flower stalks and keiki, occasionally at the same node, Phalaenopsis Yellow Chocolate rewards its followers with easy care and spectacular flowering. The high productivity associated with the sequentiality of flowering suggests the total avoidance of removing the flower stalks (always multiple, not single!) after the flowers fall, as this vigorous hybrid is known for the variety of surprises it offers, especially in case of adequate care.

As a culture medium , it lends itself equally to classical culture, where it prefers pine bark of moderate to large sizes, like the rest of the Phalaenopsis hybrids, mixed with one part sphagnum moss to 3-4 parts bark, and possibly ceramic balls expanded or large-grained pumice stone, in a ratio of 1 part to 4 parts total substrate, but it also gives exceptional results when growing in a semi-hydroponic system, as long as the addition of nutrients and fertilizers replaces the lack of them from the inorganic culture medium used in the this method. At the same time, however, this hybrid can be successfully cultivated by various other methods, which are related to the ingenuity and spiritual initiative of the grower. Thus, it is possible to experiment with cultivation in containers made of coconut fiber, Kokodama type, on plates of bark or cork, in a hanging system, as in the species of the Vanda genus, if a ball of sphagnum and bark is provided around the parcel, and if fertilization and irrigation will be adapted to this type of culture, by increasing the frequency.

Since the species of the genus Phalaenopsis and implicitly their hybrids are sensitive to rotting of the roots, of the package, to bacterial infections that generate wet rots, it is recommended to carefully supervise the irrigation, the administration of fertilizers at the correct dilutions and appropriate intervals, in order to prevent chemical burning of the roots, spraying, because it is not recommended to let the water stagnate on the leaves for a long time, to ensure adequate ventilation, and to quarantine for at least two weeks the newly introduced plants in the collections.

The containers used for the culture of Phalaenopsis Yellow Chocolate are represented by the standard pots for orchids, made of transparent plastic material, to allow continuous observation of the development and health of the roots, provided with additional perforations in the side walls, which will ensure good drainage of of the water administered for irrigation and at the same time an efficient aeration of the substrate and the roots.

Irrigation will be carried out weekly, as a general routine, or as the case may be, testing the humidity of the substrate either by direct observation (drops of water and condensation deposited on the inner walls of the pot), or by the method of testing with a bamboo tutor, embedded in the substrate. If it is dry when extracted, watering is recommended, otherwise, if there are signs of moisture, wait until they disappear. The fertilizer will be administered every 4th watering, leading to a monthly routine of feeding the plants, but in the case of the hot season, when the temperature, the photoperiod (the length of time in which solar radiation is available) and the light intensity have high values, you can opt for decreasing the interval between fertilizations, in order to stimulate and accelerate the vegetative growth processes. You can use either fertilizers with balanced formulas, type 20-20-20, or you can opt for a complex scheme, of fertilizers with specific formulas for growth and respectively for flowering.

The plants can either be separated individually in growing containers or specimens can be grown to keep groups of keiki on the stems or the stem, to increase the spectacularity, give the volume to the flowering and preserve a more stable culture environment, with a thermal, chemical inertia , hydric, bigger.

In this hybrid, some breeders maintain the existence of a strong, room-filling chocolate-like scent , an aspect also suggested by the name of the taxon, but at the same time, a good part of the enthusiasts who have experimented with this taxon do not notice the presence of the scent, probably correlating this aspect with the lack of appropriate parameters, similar to the case of Liodoro Sweet Memory, where the intensity, presence or absence of the perfume are deeply influenced by the temperature and brightness present in the culture area.

The recommended growing temperature will not negatively exceed the minimum value of 15.5 with the average located around 21 and the maximum no higher than 26.

The brightness recommended for this hybrid is typical of the values ​​for the Phalaenopsis genus, which includes species with preferences for low to medium values ​​of light radiation, at least in the case of light intensity favorable to orchid species. In growing conditions (in this respect) similar to the genera Ludisia, Zygopetalum, Paphiopedilum, falling within the range of 10,000 - 16,000 lux.

Regarding the ancestry of this hybrid, its scheme is complex and equally interesting, as it contains perhaps the most attractive botanical species of the Phalaenopsis genus, and their number, no less than 17 species, is at least impressive even for a hybrid taxon of Phalaenopsis, where specific crossing is the order of the day. Its detailed composition is as follows: Phal. equestris 25.07%, from which it inherits the multifloral characteristic and abundant flowering, Phal. Amboinensis 23.45%, whose presence stands out in the impressive color palette, Phal. Stuartiana 12.51% revealed by the shape and size of the flower, as well as by the specific chromaticity present at the level of the column, the labellum and the two lower petals, Phal. Mannii 12.5%, the other specific defining taxon of chromaticity, along with amboinensis, Phal. Micholitzii 9.38% from whom he inherits the small waist, Phal. amabilis 5.69%, Phal. venous 3.13%, Phal. violacea 3.13%, Phal. amabilis subsp. amabilis 2.35%, Phal. lueddemanniana 0.98%, Phal. aphrodite 0.92%, Phal. sanderiana 0.27%, Phal. hieroglyphica 0.2%, Phal. fasciata 0.2%, Phal. pulcherrima 0.1%, Phal. aphrodite subsp. Formosan 0.01%, Phal. schilleriana 0.01%.

In turn, Phalaenopsis Yellow Chocolate is one of the parents of the hybrid Phalaenopsis Joy Spotted Cat, along with the botanical species Phalaenopsis lueddemanniana.

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