Origin

The Phalaenopsis bellina is native to Borneo, an island in Southeast Asia. It is one of the most popular and widely cultivated varieties of the Phalaenopsis orchid (Butterfly orchid). They grow epiphytically on trees in Borneo, where they receive a lot of indirect sunlight through the canopy of these trees. They experience wet and dry seasons.

Characteristics

The Phalaenopsis bellina formerly had the name Phalaenopsis violacea var. Borneo, but over time has been subsumed into its own species name (bellina) due to differences in habitat and plant morphology. Well-known varieties are alba, rubra, coerulea and murtoniana. The coerulea version of this is very popular because of its blue-violet-like color. The common bellina has more of a color leaning more toward magenta. The rubra has a solid magenta color in the flower, but it is thought to be a cross between the Phalaenopsis violacea and the Phalaenopsis bellina. The alba version is pigmentless and the flowers are white or light green. The murtoniana verise has a yellow-orange base color in the flower with red spots.

Because they are hybrids, the flowers can sometimes differ somewhat in appearance and fragrance.

Care

Care of most Phalaenopsis orchids is fairly simple. Nevertheless, this version is a bit more heat-loving and likes to be in a medium-high to high humidity environment with nice air movement and plenty of indirect sunlight. In addition, this orchid likes to receive clean rainwater at room temperature or ambient orchid temperature. A temperature of 23-26 degrees Celsius likes this orchid in summer. Then this orchid likes to be misted often and may be slightly damp before the next watering or soaking. Do not put the Phalaenopsis bellina in moss or any other compact medium where the water stays too long. Use a medium to coarse bark and, if necessary, supplement lightly with sphagnum moss to keep the roots from drying out too quickly. In fact, this butterfly orchid likes air movement around the roots.