1st bloom seedling

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Fairorchids

I know people who use Q-Tips (to avoid causing pressure point marks on the flowers).

However, I generally do not try to enhance the flowers. I want to see what the plant does naturally, so I can judge whether it is worth using as a breeder.

Thanks for letting me know about the Q-tips. The metal clips of the helping hands probably don't cause pressure points. It's just like using our finger to gently prop-up the petal a bit. But definitely nice to know about the Q-tips! May come in handy.

The flower that I had manually 'adjusted' slightly recently had opened fantastically - naturally - for the previous flowering (not the most recent flowering). I think that sometimes - how a flower ends up depends on environmental conditions. I grow my orchids outdoors (semi-outdoors) - so depending on whether it's windy or dry etc ----- I think it can affect how the opening flower ends up (in shape) - aside from other factors. So a touch-up or tidy-up may be nice sometimes (for aesthetic purposes) hahaha.

I personally don't mind if a flower doesn't open to 'text book' level.