My judging rant....

[got ants]

So I bring my L purpurata weckhauseri in for judging at the Redlands Orchid Festival They have 2 judging clinics going on, the Redland doing thier own judging, and after that, AOS is also judging.

The Redlands did their judging, and my plant received a 3rd place ribbon. Out of curiosity, I looked for the 1st place winner. It looked like a dowianna type orchid (not sure it was species or hybrid, and since it was in the back, I dared not dig to see what the tag name was.

Here is my perpexity. The dorsal petal was folding down and almost touching the lip. The other petals and sepal were droopig as well. Don't get me wrong, I admired its bright vivid colors. Also looked like it had some flairing to it too.

My concern is, will this affect (the awarding) what plants AOS will pic to judge?

[Discus]

It's possible the other plant deteriorated after it was judged; you can only really comment on this if you saw the other plant as both were being judged. Orchid judging often works in mysterious ways...

I have no idea how Redlands works, but it's possible the AOS and Redlands teams work independently, so their Redlands positioning shouldn't impact on the AOS judging. Of course, it's possible the AOS judges use the Redlands choices to narrow down the field...

[Orchidsoutdoors]

I really dislike orchid judging for the same reason I hate animal judging, it's an arbitrary set of rules that are often a very narrow view of beauty of aesthetics, sometimes not even that appealing at all. Moreover, it then includes breeding along those often narrow criteria. I've come myself looking at incredibly beautiful specimens that have speed poorly because they didn't fit the ordained rules for that species/breed.

I'm not sure about the plant world, but amongst animals, that sort of being has lead to some very poor health outcomes and genetics. Given so many orchids species are threatened or extinct in the wild, I would have thought more variation and genetic diversity, the better.

[Discus]

Most orchid "ideals" tend towards a big, round dinnerplate. That's kind of boring!

Things awarded in categories like CBR or CCE are usually much more interesting that FCCs.

[cbuchman]

I too have seen some weirdness in the orchid judging. I asked a probationary judge about this and was told that the AOS judging is against very strict criteria, but the non-AOS judging is pretty subjective, even when it is the same judges! I'm clerked for the general judging too and hence heard what is being said.

P.S. Here is the link to the AOS judging handbook, if you're interested
Judging Handbook

At the Philadelphia Flower Show this past March, I saw AOS awarded plants that had not received any ribbons in the general judging. In my opinion, the general judging looked for showiness and flash and did not take into account the difficulty of growing/blooming a particular plant. That's my opinion, of course.

Nonetheless, I enjoy showing my orchids and seeing what people say and then improving. I'm no where near an AOS judging caliber plant, but maybe some day.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by got ants

So I bring my L purpurata weckhauseri in for judging at the Redlands Orchid Festival They have 2 judging clinics going on, the Redland doing thier own judging, and after that, AOS is also judging.

The Redlands did their judging, and my plant received a 3rd place ribbon. Out of curiosity, I looked for the 1st place winner. It looked like a dowianna type orchid (not sure it was species or hybrid, and since it was in the back, I dared not dig to see what the tag name was.

Here is my perpexity. The dorsal petal was folding down and almost touching the lip. The other petals and sepal were droopig as well. Don't get me wrong, I admired its bright vivid colors. Also looked like it had some flairing to it too.

My concern is, will this affect (the awarding) what plants AOS will pic to judge?

DISCLAIMER: I'm not a judge!! I have clerked for the past three years and I would like to become a judge, but am not currently in training.

I'm not sure about the Redland judges, but the AOS judges should be independent from any other influence and to honest, they might poo poo the Redland judges choices for ribbon anyway. Its pretty tough to just guess.

You've also chosen a difficult plant to show for an award too. L. purpurata is such a common species that has be extensively bred, re-bred and then bred again. To get an award for this species it has to be completely flawless and huge. This is especially true if it goes up against a much more difficult to grow and rarer species like C. dowiana.

[quiltergal]

Just to tag onto what Steve has said. An orchid may be an award quality plant, but if it is not significantly better than the last one awarded then it will probably never be awarded. Also AOS judging is only judging a plant against the criteria for that plant, not other plants. So it is entirely possible for a blue ribbon winner to not even be considered by AOS or conversely to be AOS awarded and not have won anything in ribbon judging. If you ever get the chance to clerk at a show do it! You'll learn lots.

[got ants]

Thankyou for your comments.

This is only the second time I've entered into an AOS judging event. I already knew it would be difficult to get my plant awarded, but wanted to give it a shot. The first time I brought an orchid in was with C. Mendelii, and was told by the AOS judges the reason ut was not even picked to be looked at, was because of the flower's form. The dorsal was plexed back, which is common og mendelii, but the judges want to see flat flowers.

So, this is why I chose to bring this plant in this time. Here is a pic, and you can see by the other flowers in the background, it is pretty darn flat...
[/URL]

Again, my comcern was that the other plant was so poorly shaped, and awarded higher, it may, and this may be premature of me to say, a effect what plants get chosen for AOS judging.

---------- Post added at 10:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:42 AM ----------

btw, this pic was taken with a cellphone, and placed in front of my tv. It doesn't show off the true coloration of the flower.

Again, thanks for the input.

[isurus79]

That's a beautiful flower for sure! Is it a clone because I'm not sure how the judges view clones.

Also, some species naturally have "poorly shaped" flowers while others (like purpurata) have very "well shaped" flowers, so comparing the two like that is like comparing apples and oranges. You have to compare purpurata against other purpurata and dowiana (for example) against other dowiana. After that determination is made, then the judges decide which flower has the better shape relative to other species.

See if you can talk to the judges about their decision. That is really the only way you will know for sure.

[Leafmite]

That is simply beautiful!