Vanda Yellow Butterfly ‘333,’ HCC 79, Award #20224137 (annulled, see note in text)
—Dennis Tomjack
Photos: Malcolm McCorquodale
Award Granted by Houston Judging Center on September 17, 2022
The Houston Judging Center’s monthly gathering on September 17 proved most interesting. Four visitors and 16 judges plus two students attended. Because only three plants were entered and two of those were the same, there were only two teams but lots of discussion!
One award was granted to Vanda Nopporn Yellow Dream ‘Nellie Plus,’ presented by Dennis Tomjack, with an HCC of 79 points. The main problem was that name tags were either missing or wrong, and it took a lot of detective work to figure out what we had in front of us. Because they were two meristem plants, they bear the same clonal name but only one was awarded.
FLASH: Because there was so much confusion with name tags and identification of the awarded Vanda (the name was wrong!), Chair Fr. Ted made the decision, with consultation, to annul the award. The owner, who is not upset, can resubmit the orchid on its next blooming under the correct name. We can still enjoy the photos by Malcolm.
The other plant judged was a delightful but flawed Phalaenopsis owned by yours truly. The name on the tag was “almost” right, since it was not complete: Phalaenopsis Norman’s Yellow Butterfly ‘Sweetheart’ (Lioulin Magic Lip x Chiada…). There were many flaws and no award, but the students got a great lesson on judging plants that are not quite good enough for an award. Congratulations to both teams!
All photos of Houston Judging Center awardees were taken by Malcolm McCorquodale and are copyright 2022 by Malcolm McCorquodale, Houston, Texas. Houston Orchid Society and the American Orchid Society have permission to use these photos on their websites and in their publications provided credit is given to the photographer and the copyright statement is not removed.
A reminder: If you wish to bring in a plant for judging you may pre-register it on this website. If it is a hybrid and not a species, please, please check the name ahead of time with the Royal Horticultural Society to determine the parents. Also, it’s a good idea to clean up your plant (leaves and old, dead growth, plus spent flower spikes)—exactly what I didn’t do. This was a second blooming on a plant I bought from Norman Fang in Florida in March, but the old inflorescence was still there . . . ugly!
The next judging is October 15, 2022, starting at about 11am. Bring your plants before 11:30. Know that you will always be welcome.
Phalaenopsis Norman’s Yellow Butterfly ‘Sweetheart’ (Lioulin Magic Lip x Chiada…), owned by Fr. Ted Baenziger (photo by Fr. Ted Baenziger).