Phrag Kovachii awarded

[ehanes7612]

this plant grown by Jerry Hoffmeister

received an 87 point AM/AOS.i sat in as an observer, according to AQ only CHM previous award for a kovachii...from a glenn decker flask

 

[e-spice]

That's a pretty one. I think if that one is AM quality, there was one from Orchids Limited that Robert posted that should have been FCC awarded.

 

[Shiva]

If a plant is to be awarded, it has to be judged first.
I would be more than happy with this one. :drool: Great growing Jerry!

 

[Rick]

Great color and big spread.

Do you know what the flower span is?

 

[ehanes7612]

Great color and big spread.

Do you know what the flower span is?

i think it is 13 cm x 10 cm

 

[toddybear]

Wow!

 

[SlipperFan]

That's beautiful. But I don't believe the color.

 

[John M]

It's very beautiful! It'd be nice if that were the true colour; but, I'm with Dot right now. The colour just seems too intense and too blue. Of course, I've never seen a kovachii in person; so, I'm hoping my impressions are wrong and colour like this does actually exist with this species. I've got some seedlings that originated from Glen Decker and if I got something like this, I'd be thrilled!

It is just me; or is an 87 point AM a bit high? I mean, we've all seen better shaped flowers (flatter, fuller), by now and 13 cm's is only about 5 inches....for a species reported to have flowers as large as ~9 inches. So, what's the reasoning for 87 points?

This Phrag. kovachii thread is in the Paph gallery. I wonder if Heather can move it to the Phrag gallery so that it will show up in future reference searches?

 

[SlipperFan]

Good idea, John. It's done -- with a redirect that will expire in a month. But it will always be in the Phrag photo section.

 

[ehanes7612]

It's very beautiful! It'd be nice if that were the true colour; but, I'm with Dot right now. The colour just seems too intense and too blue. Of course, I've never seen a kovachii in person; so, I'm hoping my impressions are wrong and colour like this does actually exist with this species. I've got some seedlings that originated from Glen Decker and if I got something like this, I'd be thrilled!

It is just me; or is an 87 point AM a bit high? I mean, we've all seen better shaped flowers (flatter, fuller), by now and 13 cm's is only about 5 inches....for a species reported to have flowers as large as ~9 inches. So, what's the reasoning for 87 points?

one of the benefits of no previous quality awards...difficult to compare gainst just pictures on the internet and the northwest doesnt have the benefit oif having seen these in bloom as much as some areas

 

[Orchidzrule]

and the northwest doesnt have the benefit oif having seen these in bloom as much as some areas

I think this underlines a problem with any "new" plant, be it a species like kovachii, or the first bulldog paphs or harlequin phals. Judges are fallible and their enthusiasm colors their judgement when they first see them. You almost need someone who hates everything (is there no Simon Cowell amongst AOS judges?) to bring the others down to earth. I'm sort of tongue-in-cheek with the previous sentence, but you get the idea.

 

[ehanes7612]

I think this underlines a problem with any "new" plant, be it a species like kovachii, or the first bulldog paphs or harlequin phals. Judges are fallible and their enthusiasm colors their judgement when they first see them. You almost need someone who hates everything (is there no Simon Cowell amongst AOS judges?) to bring the others down to earth. I'm sort of tongue-in-cheek with the previous sentence, but you get the idea.

i think in the greater scheme of things...with the inevitable awards that will be placed on this species, that its not that big of a deal...it was exciting being a part of the judging team, even as an observer, and everyone there was excited to be judging this plant ...in my opinion it was a solid AM/AOS award

 

[tim]

please god not armeniacum again...

 

[John M]

Thanks for moving the thread, Dot. Yes, good point, Ed. Time will tell how this one measures up to future awards. I presume that it will grow larger. I hope it keeps it's shape while it does that. Phrag. kovachii could prove challenging for judges because of the continual changes in the flower shape and size that most clones are reported to express. Whatever the challenges and quirks this species brings to the table, I don't think the orchid world is going to lose interest in this amazing beauty. Hard to believe that such a thing went undiscovered for so very long.

 

[Stone]

What do I have to do to get one:drool:

 

[Shiva]

What do I have to do to get one:drool:

Getting one is easy. Keeping it alive up to flowering size is the challenge. I've killed four so far and with any luck, #5 may flower some day, but don't hold your breath.

 

[phrag guy]

very nice to see,and they are not hard to kill

 

[quaker]

No matter what awards this plant has got it is one beautiful flower.

Ed

 

[Rick]

please god not armeniacum again...

Well at least the 1st award was not an FCC.

 

[Rick]

one of the benefits of no previous quality awards...difficult to compare gainst just pictures on the internet and the northwest doesnt have the benefit oif having seen these in bloom as much as some areas

It definitely happens, but AOS is national and judges are supposed to be aware of national standards/trends and not be regionally unaware or influenced. I hang out periodically at the Atlanta center, and there is always a program of review of new awards and periodic reports of trends different orchid groups. The Atlanta center also maintains a library of taxonomic references. I've had plenty of good looking species flowers turned down (even though the judges had never seen the species in life) because when the taxonomic description was reviewed, the flower fell into the "normal range" of what the species was expected to do in the wild.

If it was an obscure species its easy to get isolated regional results, but kovachii has been making international orchid headlines for years, and its hard to believe that a regional body is behind the times.

Yes, with the lack of quality awards all you have is the CBR's and CHM's to compare too. I can't recall the specs on Glenn's original CHM plant so instructively we could compare this flower to the CHM if someone still has that info around.

There are a lot of different judging philosophies from one center to the next. Some have much less concern over lateral awarding and can produce a lot of different quality awards without concern of "locking out" newer plants based on past award history. Some are very strict with precedent.

So I'd rather not try to spend a lot of time 2nd guessing judges decisions and enjoy the flowers.