danny wrote:

At our local judging center when they say "the plant is too small, bring it
back later" that means either the flowers are too small, there aren't enough
flowers per inflorescence, or both. In that case submitting cut flowers
wouldn't help.



Actually when judging a paph, for example, the plant often is too
small (or in poor condition). That usually means that we don't think
the flower is up to its potential, and that we think a more mature plant
will have superior blooms. It is well known that paphs (especially
complex or multifloral) don't express their full potential until the
plants are quite large and vigorous. You never see the best bloom on a
seedling.

When I refuse a plant with the excuse of "too small", I usually am
thinking about something like a Masdevallia. I don't like awarding
young masdevallias with only one flower, because I know that for most
hybrids a mature plant will have many inflorescences at a time. And
frankly, if the mature plant doesn't, then that is a very detrimental
factor in my scoring - they are supposed to be floriferous. Also, a
large portion of the aesthetic for masdevallias is all of the flowers
being similar and evenly distributed around the plant. Plants which
exhibit flowers of widely differing forms (very common, actually) should
be frowned on - no way to judge that based on a single flower. For some
types of orchids, you want to select for vigor and floriferousness. A
minicatt with only one flower is not as desirable as one that has
several blooming leads with a few flowers each, simultaneously.

I'm not a judge, but I would guess that sending cut flowers would limit you
to just flower quality awards. For some awards (CCM/CCE) both the plant and
flowers are being judged, and I don't know if you could get a CBR or CHM on
a cut flower? There are some cases where sending cut flowers might increase
your odds, like when the foliage is in really bad shape or the flowers seem
small compared to the size of the plant. I've been to at least a dozen
judgings, and I've only seen one cut inflorescence. I don't remember if it
got awarded.


You would certainly be excluded from cultural awards (CCM/CCE) on a
cut inflorescence. The judging handbook states for CBR (botanical
recognition) that "The entire plant must be exhibited, not just the
inflorescence". That is pretty clear... The same language exists for a
CHM (horticultural merit).


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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