Paph tigrinum opening....

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gore42

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This tigrinum is the same one that's in my avatar... it bloomed last Feb. and is now blooming again... last time with 2 spikes, this time with three! The first bloom to open will be a couple of weeks ahead of the other two, for some reason. They all started growing at the same time, but then two of them stalled for a little while, and then started again, while this one just kept going strong the whole time.

paph-tigrinum1a.jpg


I'd sorta like to take this one down to the judging center next month. It's different from many of the other tigrinums I've seen or grown... it has a very flat dorsal sepal, and it's nice and wide. But, I have a seed pod developing on this plant that won't be ready for harvest for another couple of months... and I doubt that the plant would even be considered for judging with big ugly bare stem on it. Oh well, maybe I'll have to keep it to myself for a while :)

- Matt
 
Sorry for the photo quality... I didn't want to move this one while the other two buds are still swiveling around to face the same direction as the first. The fan was blowing right on this, so the bud was swaying and I had to steady it with my hand.

- Matt
 
gore42 said:
I'd sorta like to take this one down to the judging center next month. It's different from many of the other tigrinums I've seen or grown... it has a very flat dorsal sepal, and it's nice and wide. But, I have a seed pod developing on this plant that won't be ready for harvest for another couple of months... and I doubt that the plant would even be considered for judging with big ugly bare stem on it. Oh well, maybe I'll have to keep it to myself for a while :)

- Matt

If you don't plan on pollenating this flower, couldn't you cut the spike and bring it to judging?

I could be wrong, but I think Paph roth 'perfection' was awarded on a cut spike.

Kyle
 
Lien, I'll take a picture of the whole plant as soon soon as all the blooms are open :)

Kyle, thats not a bad idea... I had forgotten that that's even a possibility. Maybe I'll talk to someone who's a judge and see what they recommend... I don't know whether it would be better to take the bloom as a cut flower or to have something ugly on my plant buy with three blooms open.

- Matt
 
Here's this morning's progress...

paph-tigrinum1b.jpg


The color isn't exactly accurate... the petal tips are less blue and more purple :) Looks like I didn't get my white balance adjusted properly. Anyway, it should be fully developed in 2 days, and I'll post more pictures then (if I can wait that long).

- Matthew Gore
 
That is one heck of an orchid, Matt. Congrats on the bloom. Those big, spatulate petals seem to be reaching out to me, maybe for a hug. ;) I need one now.
 
Matthew, that is fabulous, ever seeing your first post of your trig, I have wanted one...well it is on its way from the USA, thanks to Paul...I can't wait
 
That's one heck of a nice tigrinum, Matt. You should take it to the judging.

Technically, the judges are supposed to judge the flowers, not the plant, or any seedpods. If the flowers are award worthy; but, the judges don't, or won't, recognize this because they dislike the presence of a seed capsule, they aren't giving you a fair judging. They should make their decisions about flower quality without taking the plant or any seedpods into consideration. That's why it's okay to exhibit just a cut inflorescense; because the plant is not what's being judged, just the flower. Therefore, if you present a cut flower, or a plant with flower(s) and a developing seed capsule, it should make no difference to the judging process. If you're looking for a CCM, or CCE, then, that's a different story; the flowers and the whole plant are taken into consideration for a cultural award. Quality awards are supposed to be for flowers only.

All this being said, it is true that many judges will be put off by a plant, even though the flowers are spectacular. I once had a Rossioglossum schleperianum turned down for pointing because (even though the judges admitted that the flowers were more numerous and of better quality than anything previously awarded), the blooming was from a P-bulb that was slightly smaller than the previous one. Therefore, the judges got themselves all caught up in a debate about how much better quality the flowers might be if they were produced by a stronger p-bulb. In the end, I was told to rebloom it on a nice, big, fat p-bulb and bring it back for its' "slam-dunk" award! In this case, they did judge the plant and they put its' importance ahead of the fantastic flowers that were right there, in their face. Sometimes, if the judges get out of the wrong side of bed, you're just screwed, no matter what. Good luck.
 

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