I would like to present very unusual and cool plant - Paraphadenia Juraj Kojs 'Crownfox' (Seidenfadenia mitrata x Paraphalaenopsis labukensis).

The cross came from Kultana Orchids in Thailand and was registered by RF Orchids in September 2019.

Previous Awards:

There has been only one HCC/AOS award of 78 pts for this cross on 9/28/2019 with similar segment sizes and one inflorescence. Base flower color of this candidate is cream with an overlay of olive brown and then a flush of pink on the sepals and petals leaving a cream picotee on the margins. The lip is cream with bright fuschia and some fuschia spotting.

Description:

The plant is 18 cm wide and 40 cm in vertical length mounted on natural wood. There are 68 flowers and 5 buds on 9 inflorescences to 9 cm. The blooms are held just above the plant, and because of the way it is mounted it almost gives the appearance of a bouquet on top of the curved terete leaves hanging vertically below. It has a pleasant lemony scent with a hint of jasmine during the day. The nature of the inflorescences and the floriferousness seem to come from the mitrata parent. The labukensis parent has a similar stem and leaf habit but inflorescences tend to stretch out a bit more and the flowers are larger but not as attractive in either color or form as the other parent.

Flower Measurements:

NS H - 2.7 cm; NS V - 2.9 cm;

Dorsal Sep. W - 0.7 cm; Dorsal Sep. L - 1.6 cm;

Petal W - 0.5 cm; Petals L - 1.5 cm;

Lat/Sepal W - 0.7 cm; Lat/Sepal L - 1.6 cm;

Lip/Pouch W - 0.7 cm; Lip/Pouch L - 1.7 cm.

Judges' Comments

Al Messina

This rarely seen cross is beautifully grown and displayed carrying 73 flowers and buds on 9 inflorescences. While the candidate's flower count per inflorescence is about half of the prior awarded plant, the total flower count is easily in the cultural award range. Paraphals are not easy to grow well in the northeast, and judging by the plant's surroundings, it appears to be a sun belt resident, perhaps Florida.

I have considerable difficulty seeing the rationale for the HCC, Sept, 2019. Whoever wrote the description begs the inference of his/her displeasure with the award in the first four words: “Thirteen consistently reflexed flower”. If each ans every flower is reflexed, there must be a mitigation feature (or several) of the plant observed by the judging team to warrant the commendation. There is/are none, at least none of significance was indicated in the description. So no flower award for me. But that’s only my opinion.

However. I would easily score a mid to high CCM with no difficulty. Great job growing this.

Thanks for allowing me to participate.

Al Messina

Trevor Yee

My judging observations will be undertaken to OS-NSW/AOC standard for Multiflowered floriferous hybrids.

Shape 30, Colour 30, Substance/texture 10, Habit arrangement 10, Size & Floriferousness 20 = 100 pts

Shape - the shape has taken on more of the parent Seidenfadenia, with floral segments mildly reflexing back. The narrow star shape of Paraphalaenopsis does not appear to have detracted from the overall form. I would assess as being slightly better than both typical parents. Segments are consistently similar for the flowers.

Colour - Seidenfadenia is typically a pick/fuchsia with a pink lip. Paraphalaenopsis is brown to tan coloured. I can see that this brown tone has overlayed on to the pink - causing a slightly dull colour. Overall the pink lip stands out as the focal point.

Substance/texture - appears thick and fleshy (good without actually feeling the flower)

Habit and arrangement - very well grown and flowered. All flowers are well arranged and looking outwards. Well filled around the plant.

Size/Floriferousness - excellent in both aspects. I would even recommend it for a cultural award.

I would consider giving a HCC 78-79, plus Cultural merit.

Thanks,

Trevor

Carrie Buchman

Paraphadenia Juraj Kojs ‘Crownfox’

What an interesting cross that certainly makes a nice show. The flower petals appear to be asymmetrical and the lip markings, though colorful, are not crisp. Since this clone already has an HCC, I would not recommend it for a flower quality award as I do not think this flower is a significant improvement over the already awarded ‘Crownfox’ clone

This plant has 68 flowers and 5 buds nicely arranged on 9 inflorescences which is approximately 8 flower & buds/inflorescence. The HCC award plant has 18 flower & buds on one inflorescence that is substantially longer that those on the candidate plant. So, there is more potential in the candidate plant. Its floriferousness appears to take after the Pps. labukensis parent whose awards average 7.5 flower & buds/inflorescence (vs. 36/inflorescence for the Sei. mitrata parent). The foliage looks good with only very few blemishes. It could be considered for a cultural award, but I am on the fence.

Kind Regards,

Carrie Buchman

Tom Mirenda

Paraphadenia Juraj Kojs 'Crownfox'

(Seidenfadenia mitrata x Paraphalaenopsis labukensis)

A new and welcome hybrid of two species generally overlooked as subjects for hybridization with truly interesting and promising results. The plant habit appears to be intermediate between the two genera: both being terete pendent species, with rather long succulent whip like foliage. The Paraphalaenopsis has longer usually single growths with just one or two sub-umbellate inflorescences…..while the Seidenfadenia tends to clump more with grassier leaves. But often multiple multifloral inflorescences.

Floristically the flowers inherited good features from each parent, S. mitrata flowers are plentiful and colorful but rather small, while P. labukensis flowers while lovely, and larger, tend towards tawny coloration and twisted segments. This clone of the hybrids has a good quantity of inflorescences, with good flower count of medium sized reasonably well-formed flowers with interesting and beautiful coloration, particularly in the lip.

It is difficult to know if this particular clone is exceptional or not as it is the only one I’ve ever seen. My guess is the RF Orchids would be able to provide the necessary baseline for the grex. Even so it is a remarkable and very different cross clearly deserving of a JC or AQ. While the flowers and the habit make the plant very exotic and quite lovely as well as floriferous, I’m not convinced (until I see some other examples), that this is award quality for the grex.

Tom Mirenda

Alan Koch

I can see where a lot of judges would say this plant is way too crowded to be scored, buy when breeding with Paraphalaenopsis labukensis it is, very recessive in its progeny. I grow and have started to breed with Seidenfadenia mitrata which has very crowded flowers close to the base of the plant this has to be taken into account when we consider type and breeding. This plant does not have as many flowers per inflorescence, but has 9 inflorescences with 68 plus 5. When you look at the photo of the awarded plant the flowers are not well arranged. Based on type and breeding I am going to likely score the plant from 79 to 82 points. At first the flowers looked muddy to me but when Ed's pictures came to me the color was way cleaner than the ones I got from Sergey. More than likely I would be above 80 when I saw the plant in front of me.

Alan Koch

Bob Winkley

Paraphadenia Juraj Kojs ‘Crownfox’ HCC/AOS

Thank you again for giving us some lovely eye candy to explore.

Looking at the candidate and the previous award to this clone from 2019:

• Flower and bud count per inflorescence on our candidate are significantly lower - 8 per inflorescence as compared to the awarded plant with 18 on the one inflorescence – and the inflorescences here are less than half the length of the awarded clone.

• Horizontal spread is similar while the vertical is a bit shorter, giving the flower a slightly fuller appearance than the awarded plant.

• Segment lengths and widths are comparable, though the petal width is narrower on our candidate. Margins of the petals are more undulate on our candidate than on the awarded plant.

• Overall coloration is like that of the description, though the suffusion of rose pink over the olive base appears to be a bit stronger in this flowering of the clone.

Based on these observations, I would not recommend considering this plant for an upgrade to its flower quality award as it’s not a significant improvement over the prior award.

Culturally, the plant looks robust and healthy. As a primary hybrid, we can look at its parents for cultural awards of which there are none to the Seidenfadenia and just two to the Paraphalaenopsis. However, looking online we find that the former can be very floriferous on multiple upright inflorescences; the latter appears to be shy in terms of inflorescence production as well as flowers per inflorescence. I love the way this plant presents its flowers – an elegant bouquet. While there are many inflorescences, none of them are displaying the capacity of this clone as demonstrated by its previous award.

At this point in its life I would not nominate it for a cultural award; if it were judged I would be on the fence but could probably get to 80 points. Given that the grower’s culture appears to be to its liking, I think it is well on its way to being a true showstopper.

That said, I could envision it being awarded a JC for its bouquet-like display, which would not be possible if the inflorescences were 21 cm long!

Congratulations to the grower on a job well done!

Christian Carrillo

Comments on the current candidate:

Excellent blooming of the candidate with a high number of consistent flowers. Even though the form is not necessarily flat and all within the same plane, the flowers do look consistent from flower to flower -- and this is very important to me.

The color on the petals and segments is also very consistent in appearance, with a deeper flush of color in the center of the segments. My concern about the color is that, from the photograph, is that it's hard to distinguish an actual color. Is it pink? Is it tan? Is it both? I can't tell and this makes me very hesitant about a nomination. Again, seeing the plant in person can easily resolve my concerns.

The presentation of the flowers & inflorescence is a little crowded but this is what I would expect from this line of breeding. With the high number of flowers, the presentation is not as harmonious as I would like but this is definitely a decision to determine in person, when seeing the plant.

The best part of this flower is the lip -- what color! It draws my eye immediately. The overlay and spotting of the fuchsia is stunning. The lip also looks very consistent from flower to flower.

Overall, I don't see any improvement in flower color, size and form from the candidate to the previous award. The improvement obviously comes from the number of flowers.

Would I nominate, based on the photo, probably not. This is one of those examples where you need to see the plant in person for a three-dimensional perspective.

All the best --

Christian

Mark Werther

Both the Paraphalaenopsis and Aerides were very popular in Florida in the 1980's. The para was much rarer and there was limited hybridization taking place. The strange shape of the Paraphalaenopsis was often not helping most hybrids and I think I heard stories of difficulty in breeding.

I have always liked the Aerides/Seidenfadia. I had not realized that its inflorescences could produce from 30 to 50 flowers in upright position, and the clear dark pink lip against the white sepals and petals is attractive and well-shaped.

So here comes Paraphedenia Juraj Kojs. I am prepared not to like it mainly based on the tannish rose color. But one must keep an open mind. Let me look at this more carefully.

1. The mitrata has produced some very well-formed flowers without the curving Para characteristics.

2. The browns of the Para have been transformed into tannish-rose and dark pink.

3. Ten flowers per inflorescence is not 30 - 50, but I like the way they are displayed and they are over an inch NS. The display comes from mitrata - very different from the contortions of the Para.

4. This flowering is vastly superior to the one award.

Therefore, I have no problem designating a low AM for this flowering. Based on the attractiveness of the plant: 17 Plus growths and the flower display I could also suggest a low CCM.

Mark Werther

Elena Skoropad

This is something we don’t see in Northeast and MidAtlantic JC!

Paraphadenia Juraj Kojs 'Crownfox'

Beautifully grown plant - kudos to grower!

This primary hybrid has one award HCC 78 points received in 2019 (exhibitor RF Orchids). These types of plans are very popular in Florida and apparently these plants are enjoying hot and humid weather.

Our candidate has slightly larger 2.7 cm flowers compare to awarded plant (2 cm) and much more floriferous. One small issue - flowers are crowded. If flowers would be spaced out a little bit, the plant would have a better presentation and would qualify for a higher AM.

Let’s looks the the parents:

Parent 1 - Sei Saeidefadenia mitrata has one award given in Taiwan in 2014 TOGA 79 point for alba variety - plant had 73 flowers NS 2 cm

Parent 2 - Pps Paraphalaenopsis labukensis

Has 40 awards, most recent in 2014

Average number of flowers 7-10, NS from 7 to 8.2 cm

Our candidate:

I would be in AM 81-82 points range for flower quality award and CCM 84 for culture award.

I assume the plant is fragrant with similar scent to awarded one.

Once again - the grower did a very good job!

This is very happy and healthy looking plant, grow it well and bring it next year!

All the best,

Elena

Cathy Higgins

I sometimes wonder if beauty matters in an AOS award. There is not, after all, a category for "gorgeous" or "I love it." In this case, the presentation is so captivating that a judge (or this judge) must search for reasons not to give an award. OK, back to business. The hybrid presents a very interesting marriage of two very different species. Aer. mitrata has brought up the flower count of Pps. labukensis and Pps. has added color to the Aerides. With Aer. mitrata in its background, a very high flower count is possible. I would nominate for a culture award and expect to score in the mid to low range with the expectation that we'll see higher flower counts in the future. The hybrid already has a flower award, but the color on this one looks much richer than the plant in the AOS photo. Can't trust color in photographs, however. Need to hold off on that one until we can put virtual judging behind us.

Cathy Higgins

Sergey Skoropad

Paraphdenia Juraj Kojs ‘Crownfox’

What a wonderful cross!

This type of plants rarely seen in north east US, they probably like Florida conditions better!

This primary hybrid between Seidenfadenia mitrata x Paraphalaenopsis labukensis was registered by RF Orchids in September 2019 and originated by Kultana Orchids (Thailand). There’s only one award in September 28 2019.

Awarded plant has one inflorescence with 13 flowers and 5 buds.

To compare current candidate with awarded plant I would like to look at the parents first:

- Seidenfadenia mitrata has only one award (in Taiwan), var. alba. This species from Thailand and Myanmar produced many small flowers (2+ cm) on compact inflorescences. For example clone awarded in Taiwan has 73 flowers on 2 inflorescences!

- Paraphalaenopsis labukensis has 40 awards (Including FCC and CCE)! This species is native to Borneo and produced 3 to 7 flowers per inflorescence (7+ cm NS).

Our candidate has 68 flowers and 5 buds on 9 inflorescences. Flowers shape and color remind me more Seidenfadenia mitrata than Paraphalaenopsis labukensis. Soft color is stunning, great contrast with dark pink lip.

Shorter inflorescences than in awarded plant created perfect distribution of these flowers.

Presentation looks just perfect, no big space between flowers and not crowded! Plant is clean and very well grown.

I definitely see CCM 83-85 pts.

Also, flowers itself looks better in the shape than parents (reflexed flowers doesn’t bothers me). Not all awarded flowers should be flat and round - just need to be beautiful. For flower award I will be on low AM range.

Kudos to grower 👍

Thanks

Sergey

Exhibitor - Bill and Deb Bodei, NJ (Associate Judge, Northeast Judging Center)

Grower's Advice

Thank you to all of the judges who took time to comment on our plant.

As a grower/exhibitor it is truly appreciated. As a student (nominated for associate) I have found these virtual judging to be a great learning experience and have made time to participate in each and every one of them. Sometimes it is a little intimidating to submit my commentary amongst the impressive list of judges here, but it is so well worth it for the learning experience. I am grateful to all of you who have submitted candidates. I thoroughly enjoy putting in the research time each week on every plant and have truly been the benefactor there. A huge thank you to Sergey for growing the participant list of this virtual judging to include more judges from around the globe to give us a larger scope of perspective.......and for keeping this big group so cohesive, wow!

This Paraphadenia has been happily growing in NJ in our greenhouse for almost a year since we brought it home from RF Orchids in Homestead, Florida. What a wonderful surprise when we brought our vandaceous plants out for the summer several weeks ago and saw all of the spikes on it! It grows among our Vandas hanging high in the winter months facing south with Spanish moss used to strategically shade them as needed.

Some plants just bring immense joy to the growers, and this is one of them for us. This bouquet hangs in our pergola over our hot tub now and it actually fills our outdoor deck area with a beautiful citrus fragrance. We are grateful to Bob Fuchs for offering such amazing plants like this one. I attached a photo from yesterday......with all of its great points it's also still going strong blooming for at least a month now!

Sincerely,

Deb