Promise of colorful blooms or magnesium deficiency??
I have several neo and crosses that have purple coloration, especially near the base of the fan, when they get very high light (which makes the blooms with color fabulously darker it seems). When they come in for display for a few weeks the color reverts to plain green. I keep them growing in morning sun where they will go purple but pull back when the purple turns to almost looking black.
Dr. Martin Motes, a wonderful vanda grower and general orchid expert, says that reddish pigment can be a sign of needed magnesium, remedied with a few doses of epsom salts (1 T/gal.) instead of fertilizer. All my orchids get regular doses of Epsom salts (magnesium sufate) nad potssium nitrate, so my purple is not a deficiency or a reaction to cold.
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