Judging and staking

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Tossing my two cents about staking naturally arching spikes like phil or parishii....Whereas some of the multiflorals you can train the stake almost as str8 as an arrow, I agree that there are times where the habit of the plant wants to be more arching. It may not need any staking if the spike are arranged well around the plant....BUT if they are crowded or not arranged in the most pleasing way, (pleasing by AOS judging standard..balance and symmetry in overall presentation) then placing a stake support on the lower 1/4 to 1/3 on the spike might be advantageous. It gives you some wiggle room with being able to move things around, while still keeping the natural arch.
 
Good advice, Leo.

I would add that if we are talking about a "specimen" plant, flowering all around is desirable, not just facing the "front."
 
When I have a long petaled multi in spike I use wire to stake...that way I can bend the wire to allow the spike to arch, while giving it the support. It helps to make a good final presentation for judging. If a spike is one that should bee vertical I use a wire that only comes 1/3 to 1/2 way up the spike. I don't care much for bamboo/wood stakes myself, mainly because I like to take my plants for showing/judging and the wire makes the presentation more natural looking. It tends to blend in much better than a wood stake. IMHO
 
Good advice, Leo.

I would add that if we are talking about a "specimen" plant, flowering all around is desirable, not just facing the "front."

That last point is interesting of which you are correct. I prefer to have all the flowers facing one direction as it is so much more visually pleasing as you can see all the flowers open at once. It really loses its impact if you can only see 2 or 3 flowers opened at a time. But from a judging point you would be penalised for all the flowers facing the same way.

It is like the following Paph I entered in our show. It failed to win best specimen even though it was the only Paph eligible. One of the numerous criticisms from the judges was that it was not flowering around the pot. I deliberately grow it like this as it is the way I like it. I won't be changing anything.

David

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