Grow Award Winning Plants!

[Cach26]

Hello everyone

Now (after many deaths XD) I have mastered growing Phrags and Paphs to the point where they bloom, grow like crazy and have shiny leaves.

However, I have everything standardized, I take care of them all equally (Phrags Macro-Petalum and Micro-Petalum, Paph Maudie and Complex)

But, I want to give a finer and more detailed cultivation to specific plants (Species and Hybrids) to of course aspire to be able to win a prize in the future (Or enjoy the reward of hard work). For example, speaking of the Phrag Kovachii, o Phrag Schoredae:

What should I do if I aspire to an FCC/AOS?

What should I know, investigate?

What special treatment do you recommend (Ph of the water, little fertilizer frequently, ice cubes XD)

What do professional growers do so that a specific plant obtains an OSA?

Any plant can win an AOS if it is grown perfectly, or can only those with good genes aspire to it?

I leave a photo of my Phrag Cardinale "Boycott lithophyte"

 

[big923cattleya]

If you aspire to grow award winning plants, I would suggest a few things.
#1 if you desire AOS awards, where can you go to have them evaluated by AOS judges? They are the ones that can grant AOS awards.
#2 these are tropical or semi-tropical plants so never water using ice cubes. Just how many times are orchids exposed to ice cubes in tropical climates?!?!?!
#3 if you can, join the American Orchid Society, and you automatically get the magazine “Orchids”. It comes in an on line version. I don’t know if a print addition is possible. If you join at one of the upper levels of membership, Orchid Pro is included. Within that program, you can keep track of AOS judging standards. You could learn about what makes a good flower in terms of size, color, form etc. etc. A membership comes with such things as the Handbook On Orchid Judging.
You could learn yourself to some degree as to what makes an awardable orchid. You could end up getting a HCC, AM, FCC, a CCM or a CCE. To put it simply, your plant needs to meet with the currents standards for getting an award.
Of all of the awards granted, the FCC is the rarest!

Lastly, join any local orchid clubs. Hopefully some long time members could offer you additional advice.
That’s it for me. Good luck.

Bill
AOS Accredited Judge, Great Lakes Judging Center. Growing orchids for 49 years

 

[Tony]

There are two paths to AOS awards, either spending a ton of money on selected award quality blooming plants or spending a ton of money raising up as many seedlings as your circumstances will allow and culling for quality as they bloom out. Genetics are the biggest consideration but culture is certainly important in allowing good genes to fully express themselves.

 

[Ozpaph]

Grow you plants well.
Buy high quality seedlings from reputable breeders...............then get lucky.

Most importantly, grow what you love!

 

[big923cattleya]

To add a little bit more after I read your question again.
There isn't any special treatment, no magic wand, no special thing that you can do in order to get an AOS award. What you need to do maybe to increase your chances is to specialize. Just as was suggested above, buy quality plants, grow and flower as many quality plants as you can. Buy community pots of good crosses, flower them, hopefully one or two will be better then the others.
You have to read and read and read and read!!!! You have to recognize quality in your own plants. You have to learn what quality is and you have to learn to recognize it. There are no short cuts to that.
Once in a great while you may be fortunate enough to purchase a random little plant here and there that is good enough to win an award but you have to do research and learn to recognize quality.
There are two types of awards, flower quality awards, FCC, AM and HCC. And cultural awards CCM and CCE. By reading what is in the AOS Handbook on orchid judging, that will help. And by subscribing to Orchid Pro, that will grant you insight into thousands of images of award quality plants and descriptions which provide details as to why they were awarded.
Remember, shortcuts really do not exist. It is knowledge, good overall culture and buying the absolute the best plants that you can is what will get you there quicker then any shortcut or magic potion. I agree with Ozpaph above, grow what you love!!!

In looking at your image, I see a flower with a dorsal sepal that is rolled at the margins. Flowers as flat as possible win awards. It doesn't have to be as flat as a wooden board but without rolling. Two, look at the petals, they roll up at the ends. Was this flower fully open or was it just starting to open? A big part of good form leading to awards are full, flat flowers.

 

[Cach26]

#1 si deseas premios AOS, ¿dónde puedes ir para que los jueces de AOS los evalúen? Son ellos los que pueden otorgar premios AOS.
#2 Estas son plantas tropicales o semitropicales, así que nunca riegues con cubitos de hielo. ¡¿Cuántas veces están expuestas las orquídeas a cubitos de hielo en climas tropicales?!?!?!
#3 si puedes, únete a la Sociedad Americana de Orquídeas y automáticamente recibirás la revista “Orquídeas”. Viene en una versión en línea. No sé si es posible agregar una impresión. Si se une a uno de los niveles superiores de membresía, se incluye Orchid Pro. Dentro de ese programa, puede realizar un seguimiento de los estándares de evaluación de AOS. Podría aprender qué hace que una flor sea buena en términos de tamaño, color, forma, etc., etc. La membresía incluye cosas como el Manual sobre evaluación de orquídeas.
Podrías aprender por ti mismo hasta cierto punto qué hace que una orquídea sea premiada. Podría terminar obteniendo un HCC, AM, FCC, CCM o CCE. En pocas palabras, su planta debe cumplir con los estándares actuales para obtener un premio.
De todos los premios otorgados, ¡el FCC es el más raro!

Por último, únase a cualquier club de orquídeas local. Esperemos que algunos miembros antiguos puedan ofrecerle consejos adicionales.
Eso es todo para mí. Buena suerte.

#1 There is no association nearby, much less an AOS, I just want to grow them as "Award Winning" plants, for fun
#2 The ice cube thing is an old joke from the Orchid Guild XD
#3I'm going to try to join to learn more!

 

[Cach26]

There are two paths to AOS awards, either spending a ton of money on selected award quality blooming plants or spending a ton of money raising up as many seedlings as your circumstances will allow and culling for quality as they bloom out. Genetics are the biggest consideration but culture is certainly important in allowing good genes to fully express themselves.

In short, it is Pure and Hard Genetics, only that proper cultivation develops it fully.... But I don't have good genes XD