A Winning VAOS Exhibit at EAOS Show

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A Winning VAOS Exhibit at EAOS Show!

The Venice Area Orchid Society exhibit at the Englewood Area Orchid Society show is wearing blue!

Today (March 25, 2011), the exhibit won the First Place trophy for Most Outstanding Society Exhibit and the AOS Show Trophy. Three plants in the exhibit garnered trophies as well – Most Outstanding Small Cattleya, Most Outstanding Large Cattleya, and Most Outstanding Miniature Plant. There were 13 other blue ribbons placed on members’ plants. A sea of blue!

The show continues tomorrow from 10 to 5. Take time to visit.

Congratulations, Bob Wallace, and all the VAOS members who helped with the exhibit and who brought in plants to show.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, April 6th at 7:00 p.m.

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Phillip Hamilton

Topic: “Phalaenopsis”

Phillip Hamilton grew up among orchids in his parent’s greenhouses in Kingston, Jamaica. His father, Claude, is known around the world for his work in breeding broughtonias, cattleytonias and schomburgkias – an orchid hobby that evolved into one of the major orchid nurseries on the island – Hamlyn Orchids.

Having collected orchids since a young boy, his orchid interest peaked when he attended his first orchid show away from Jamaica, the 11th World Orchid Conference in Miami, Florida at the age of eight.  That experience inspired him to become more involved in orchid breeding, growing and exhibition.

In his early teens, he began participating in orchid judging with the Jamaican Orchid Society and was an accredited judge of that society before graduating from high school.  He headed for college in the U.S. at age 18 and entered the AOS judging training program that same year.

Phillip has since received his udergraduate and graduate degrees in Environmental Horticulture from the University of Florida and has been an AOS accredited judge for almost ten years. Upon graduation, he worked as a grower for a large orchid production facility and is now managing an orchid production facility for Better-Gro Companies in Apopka, Florida.

His personal collection consists primarily of Phalaenopsis and more recently, Paphiopedilums.  He also enjoys the challenge of growing large specimen plants, for which he has been recognized with several AOS cultural awards in recent years.

March 2011 Plant Table

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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.’