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