Gene Schurg wrote:
Last evening I was looking through my June Orchids magazine (my July issue
hasn't come yet...hmpht). I was admiring the FCC awards and was
thinking....
Most of the plants were scored a 90 which was the minimum to get an FCC. A
few were 91 and one was a 94. What are some of the highest points awarded
an FCC/AOS awarded plant?
Good Growing,
Gene
I looked once, and I think the highest award I could find was a 97 point
FCC to one of the first (if not the first) Paph. armeniacum shown.
There are three other armeniacums shown around the same time which all
received 96 point FCCs. An example of irrational attraction to color,
they really weren't that good compared to even the ones that were shown
in the months and year after it. But they were canary yellow and bigger
than a tennis ball, so... Anyway, never spend good money for an FCC
armeniacum clone. If you want an awarded one, go for a recent AM. The
only other plant to score 96 points was a simultaneous FCC/CCM (96/91
pts) to Vanda Onomea (a very old cross). That is all according to
Wildcatt, they may have missed a couple.
I've been sitting on judging teams for well over 10 years (as an
observer, student, or judge) and I have never been on one that has
considered an FCC. We've awarded a few at our center. I've been on
several teams that have awarded 90+ CCMs (now CCE), that might be an
easier descision. I think there may be a psychological barrier, in that
if you award an FCC somebody will notice it... If you do it wrong,
somebody will notice that too. That and our 'standard of perfection'
bar is set pretty high. On new hybrids or new species, the lesson of
Paph. armeniacum has sunk in - regardless of how good it is, a team is
unlikely to award it as a high FCC (or even a low one) without seeing
some of the potential for the cross.
Rob
--
Rob's Rules:
http://www.msu.edu/~halgren
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a. See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to purchase
more orchids, obtain more credit
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