I have a plant-judging question - Orchid Board

cb977 · #1 04-25-2010, 10:17 AM

Can an unregistered primary hybrid be judged for an award?

I have a Den farmeri x Den griffithianum that I bought as a seedling on May 22, 2005 at Redlands. I mounted it and over the past 5 years it has grown...and grown...and grown some more but never any signs of spikes

Well, a few weeks ago, my friend The Orchid Whisperer...otherwise known as Laura

...came over and had one of her "talks" with it

A few days later, I noticed a spike...and then another...and another and another..and now there are 7 spikes...on a first bloom chid!!!

I looked up previous awards for either of the parents and they both have a lot.

My questions for this plant:

a) can it be judged?
b) is it a "plus" for it to have so many spikes as a first bloomer? Does that make it stand out?

Judging in Tampa is on Weds and I think by then two of the spikes will be blooming

mormodes · #2 04-25-2010, 11:22 AM

Yes, you can bring it in for judging. The judges do just what you did: compare the awards to the parents and see how yours stacks up. Yours should fall somewhere between either parent in terms of form, color, flower count, number of spikes etc.

Yes in this case it is a plus for yours to have a high number of flower spikes because either parent is quite floriferous. In fact you may not have enough. But you won't truly know until you show it to the judges. Ask the head judge if you can listen in on the judging session. Usually if you sit quietly and don't interfere with the judging process you can hear what they say.

Never prejudge your own plants but do try to understand where yours falls in terms of previous awards. You never know what a team will do and nothing ventured nothing gained, except for some education. Feel free to count spikes, count flowers and take a few rudimentary measurements without damaging the flowers (use the largest one). Then see what you think about your plant and whether you want to take it to judging. Or take it anyway just to see the process. Or take it for the judges education, too. Maybe they've wondered what theirs will look like when it blooms, *G*

flhiker · #3 04-25-2010, 11:28 AM

I certainly have No glue to your question but would love to see a picture!!

PaphMadMan · #4 04-25-2010, 11:35 AM

mormodes covered it pretty well. Yes, it can be judged. The choice to formally judge it or not will be up to the judges when they see it. Comparison to the parent species will play a large part in that. Any award would be provisional until the hybrid is registered, which is up to whoever made the cross unless they give you permission. Good luck, and please show us some pcitures if you can.

OrchidSue · #5 04-25-2010, 11:38 AM

Yes, the plant can be judged for an award. However, if awarded, I think the award is provisional until the grex is registered. I like to observe at my local judging center and for quality awards the judges look at the plant and compare it to other awards (if any), and then look at the plant in comparison to the parents. What they especially look for is improvement over both parents with respect to size, color, and form. From what I have observed, first bloom or not doesn't play a major role in the final decision but may factor into the discussion or make the plant stand out for initial nomination for award consideration. Of course other judges may be different.

Susan