Category Archives: Plant table

Plant Table Awards, May 4, 2011

In May 28 plants from 8 exhibitors were shown.

First Place: Vascostylis Crownfox Red Gem ‘Ruby’ HCC/AOS

Grower: Peggy Fahrenback

Two arching inflorescences of bright burgundy flowers impressed the judges.  This hybrid is a cross of Rhynchostylis gigantea and Ascosenda Red Gem, registered in 1998.  It has earned 6 AOS awards.  All of the awarded clones have solid, intensely colored flowers.

Second Place: Phalaenopsis Brother Spring Dancer

Grower: Mary Ann Degrazia

This hybrid of Phalaenopsis Brother Spring Dancer was registered by Brother Orchid Nursery in Taiwan in 2000.  It is a cross of Phalaenopsis Be Tris and Phalaenopsis Timothy Christopher.  Phalaenopsis equistris is in the background of this hybrid several times, and the plant shown looked like a larger and  improved P. equistris.

Third Place: Phalaenopsis Little Gem ‘Stripes’

Grower: Bob Wallace

Another Phalaenopsis hybrid with Phal. equestris in its background as a grandparent.  In this case P. equestris was used to create the bright red lip.  The plant provided a full display of flowers on a relatively short stem.  It was a good example of a short-stem Phalaenopsis with moderate size flowers.  The grex was originally registered in 1962, and it is unknown whether this plant originated then or through a remake of the hybrid.

Members’ Choice: Angraecum Memoria Mark Aldridge ‘Corinne’

Grower: Bill Timm

A hybrid of Angcm  sesquipedale x Angcgm. superbum registered by Fred Hillerman in 1993 and named after Connie Timm’s son Mark who died at age 13. Bill and Connie received an HCC award on this plant that year.  Fred Hillerman was the leading breeder of the andgrecoids for many years and passed away this April at the age of 96.  Bill, Thank for you for bringing this plant for us to see.

Species of the Month: Brassavola tuberculata

Grower: Bill Timm

A species that is grown because it makes exceptional cultural specimens and the plant shown presented an outstanding display.  Each inflorescence holds about 4-6 flowers that form a full mound of blooms.  The plant has been known by several other names, most frequently Brassavola perrinii but the name Brassavola tuberculata was the first published for this species.

Speaker’s Choice: Dendrobium spectabile

Grower: Bill Timm

A small plant of this species with unusual flowers was exhibited.  The species can grow into a large clump – a plant at the Miami International Orchid show in 2007 had 1050 flowers on 70 inflorescences.  Although it has an unusual shaped flower and muted colors, it has been used as a parent in 18 registered hybrids of which at least 5 have won AOS awards.  The species occurs in the Solomon Island, New Guinea and Vanuatu.

In April, 33 plants from 14 exhibitors were shown.

First Place: Epicattleya Kyoguchi ‘Fumi’

Grower: Bill Timm

Shown as a hybrid of Guarianthe skinneri (Cattleya skinneri) and Epidendrum aromaticum (Encyclia incumbens) this plant had three densely flowered inflorescences.  The current genus name would be Guaricyclia.

Second Place: Den. thyrisflorum

Grower: Roy Klinger

A beautiful example of this Southeast Asian species from the Callista section of Dendrobiums.  This species is grown primarily for the great display of flowers that last for about a week.  Twelve of the 13 AOS awards to this species have been for culture, the other award was an HCC.  It blooms in April or May.

Third Place and Members’ Choice: Jackfowlieara Appleblossom ‘Fantastic’

Grower: Barbara Bauer

A nicely grown, floriferous plant that attracted the attention of both the members and the judges.  The grex Appleblossom illustrates the confusion caused by reclassifying many species in the Cattleya group.  It was originally called Iwanagaara (consisting of Cattleya, Brassavola, Diacrium. and Laelia), then it was a Leonara (consisting of  Cattleya, Caularthron, Guarianthe, Laelia, Rhyncholealiocattleya, Sophronitis) and now Jackfowlieara (consisting of Cattleya, Caularthron, Guarianthe, Laelia, Rhyncholealiocattleya).  During these name changes nothing about the plant grex changed, it is still made with the same parents.

Species of the Month: Bletilla ochracea

Grower: Bill Timm

A terrestrial orchid from China and Vietnam.  It blooms successively in the spring with only a few flowers open at the same time and each lasting up to two weeks.  A few years ago this species was distributed in the Selby Plant sale and is probably grown by many orchid enthusiasts in the area.

Speaker’s Choice: Schombolaeliocattleya (Laeliocatanthe) Newberry Lava Burst ‘Venice’

Grower: Bob Wallace

This hybrid of Cattianthe Rojo by Laelia undulata earned the speakers favor for its large heads of bright red flowers on moderate length stems.   The hybrid is relatively new, introduced by Carter and Holmes in 2005 and has earned 11 AOS awards, 8 for quality and three for culture.  The hybrid is a fast grower and a prolific bloomer.

Notes on names.  The type of name changes referred to above also applied to several other plants on the show table.  The named hybrids were shown as listed on the left, the current correct genus is on the right.

Laeliocattleya (Lc) Fire Dance                                 Cattlianthe (Ctt) Fire Dance

Sophrolealiocattleya (Slc) Jewel Box                      Cattlianthe (Ctt) Jewel Box

Potinara (Pot)Paradise Ruby                                   Rhyncholaeliocattleya (Rlc) Paradise Ruby

Laeliocattleya (Lc) Tropical Treat                          Cattlianthe (Ctt) Tropical Treat

Sophrolealiocattleya (Slc) Kagaribi Dawn              Cattleya (C) Kagaribi Dawn

Sophrolealiocattleya (Slc) Love Excellence                        Cattlianthe (Ctt) Love Excellence

Brassolealiocattleya (Blc) Ojai                                 Rhyncholaeliocattleya (Rlc) Ojai

Plant Table Awards, March 2, 2011

In March, forty-two plants from 18 exhibitors were shown.

First Place and Species of the Month: Brassavola martiana

Grower: Ted Kellogg

A seldom seen species, the plant provided a mound of flowers complimented by the many pencil-like leaves.  This species is from the northern part of South America and is widely distributed.  Carl Withner in  The Cattleyas and Their Relatives – Vol V., that was published in 1998, suggested a hybrid be made with this species and Rhyncholaelia digbyana to produce frilly-lipped offspring.  That cross has yet to be registered.

Second Place and Members’ Choice: Blc. Zul

Grower: Peggy Fahrenback

A hybrid of Guarianthe skinneri (Cattleya skinneri) and Rhyncattleanthe (Brassolaeliocattleya) Orange Nugget, showed the floriferousness and vigorous plant growth of the parents and was covered with rose-orange flowers with a yellow lip.  This hybrid was registered n 1997 as Brassolaeliocattleya Zul, then Thwaitesara Zul, and now Rhyncattleanthe Zul, as the names of the genera in its background were been changed.

Third Place: Lc. Gold Digger ‘ Fuchs Mandarin’

Grower: Carol Wood

This hybrid of Lc. Red Gold and C. Warpaint has produced 16 AOS awards.  All but three of the awards were for culture.  The hybrid grows quickly to form large plants and blooms at one time in the spring of the year.  The clone exhibited does not resemble the awarded clone, and is either a mutation from the cloning process or is a case of an incorrect label.  The current accepted name is Cattlianthe Gold Digger.

Speaker’s Choice: Schombolaeliocattleya Memoria Doug Lace ‘Roseminah’ HCC/AOS

Grower: Noreen Chervinski

This hybrid of Smbl. (Lc.) Lancer by Cattleya (Guarianthe) aurantiaca earned an HCC award for this clone exhibited in 1984, the year the cross was registered.  The presentation of the three-staked inflorescences was perfect – displaying the plant to its best.  It is another plant that has gone through name changes. Registered as show above, it was known as a Guarisophilia for a while and now is a Laeliocatanthe.

A note on new names.  Numerous name changes are the result of better understanding of the genetic/evolutionary relationships of the orchids.  In many cases names have changed more than once in the past decade.  A tag on a plant may reflect an old or a new name.  All the names identify the same plant; focusing on what the plant looks like and its appeal to you outranks ‘getting the name right.’