By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
A judge evaluates a plant on his
personal idea of perfection.
Marvin J. GerberAmerican Orchid Society president and
a flower show judge
IT'S a peculiar coincidence, but the American Orchid Society has roughly 29,000 members, and that's about the same number of species of orchids -- so it would work out to one per member. It is the largest specialty plant organization in the world, with members in all 50 states and 50 foreign countries. The president of the American Orchid Society is Marvin J. Gerber of Houston, and he and his wife were on Oahu recently to judge the Windward Orchid Society's orchid show. Displaying good judgment
Visiting flower show judges point out
how plants are ratedThe Gerbers, as with the majority of the society's members, grow orchids as a hobby and not as a career. "I started first," said Renee Gerber, "just with a few plants that friends had given me. Then my husband got involved and it became an all-consuming thing. In 1983, we entered the judging program, which meant seven years of travel and study at our own expense."
Flower show judging, whether for orchids or cactus or geraniums, is a serious business because a first-place winner in a big show prompts interest in that plant among other amateur growers. And that translates to dollars for the professional nurserymen. So plants aren't judged by whim.
That means that a judge has to have a thorough knowledge of the plants he is judging, learned through attending workshops and flower shows all over the country. Then he must past a written test and be accepted by a vote of other judges. It's somewhere between joining a college fraternity and taking holy orders.
The Gerbers were on their 12th trip to Hawaii, each one of them planned around an orchid show. He ranks the Honolulu Orchid Society's show held here every October as one of the four major orchid shows in the country, along with Miami, New York and Santa Barbara. But if you're thinking of size, nothing beats the annual orchid show in Tokyo, he said.
"It's in February in the Tokyo Dome where they play football. There are 70,000 plants and this year they had 458,000 people at $17 admission each. The winner of the best plant in the show wins a new Mercedes and 2 million yen. They give a total of 16 million yen in prizes. In the United States, we mostly give ribbons."
TO learn more about judging, it seemed like a good idea to follow the Gerbers around the Windward show, to discover how an orchid judge works. Marvin Gerber said that no matter how much you've studied and learned, "a judge evaluates a plant on his personal idea of perfection." Each orchid plant is given a numbered rating by each judge, he added, and awards are given accordingly.
"One-hundred never happens. Anything above 75 receives an award. Seventy-five to 79 is Highly Commended. Eighty to 89 receives an Award of Merit, and 90 or above wins a First Class Certificate. Only 10 to 15 certificates are awarded in the nation each year. There is also a Certificate of Cultural Merit that is awarded to a grower, not to a plant, for an exceptionally well-grown specimen."
HE said that a judge examines the plant to be sure no leaves are missing, that the plant is healthy and clean, and that it has the maximum number of flowers for its variety. The winning plant will have its flowers at the peak of bloom. This is pretty much out of the hands of the exhibitor. "Every grower has gone through the experience of having a plant at absolute perfection two weeks before the show. By show time, the flowers have drooped and it is past its prime."
Looking at five yellow cattleya orchid plants, it was impossible for the untrained eye to pick one as being better than the other four. They all looked perfect. "If that's true," Renee Gerber said, "one is more perfect than the others. That's what took us seven years to learn."
She picked up an orchid judge's score sheet and explained the process. "The first standard is color, worth a maximum of 30 points. Each orchid has its desired color, and the closer the flower comes to that standard, the more points it earns.
"Then, for another 30 point maximum, we consider the form of the plant and the flowers as compared to the ideal. Cattleya blossoms, for example, should be full and round. You should not be able to see through the flower."
FINALLY, for a maximum of 10 points each, the judge considers the number of flowers on the plant, the way the flowers are displayed on the stem, the substance of the blossom and the size of the flower. The flowers should be displayed so that they aren't crowded together and they should be fully opened. The substance refers to the quality of the flower, which should not be flimsy or floppy.
If the petals curl back, it suggests the flower is past its prime. Notches on petals lose points because petals should be absolutely smooth. Ten blossoms on a dendrobium spike aren't enough to earn more than 5 out of a possible 10 points.
If an orchid is supposed to be fragrant, and a surprisingly high number are, then the judge must be able to discern its unique aroma. "The fragrance attracts pollinators," Marvin Gerber explained. "The main job of an orchid is to reproduce itself, and it needs help. That's why brightly colored orchids are pollinated by daytime flyers while white orchids are pollinated at night by flying insects or bats. White shows up better than color by moonlight.
"When Charles Darwin was on Madagascar at the end of the last century, he was shown an orchid in the Angraecum family. It had a large, star-shaped flower with a 10-inch spur coming out behind the lip. Darwin looked at it and said, 'There must be a moth with a tongue at least 10 inches long to get the nectar and pollinate the plant,' but nobody believed him.
"So he sat up for three nights watching the orchid, and on the third night four huge moths with 10-inch tongues lighted on the flowers, just as he predicted. There are so many interesting stories about orchids, and we're always learning new ones from the people we meet at shows."
Then the Gerbers left to consider a display of oncidiums.
Gardening Calendar in Do It Electric!
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