This week we have a Phrag. from miniature group - Phragmipedium Manzur la Aldea

(besseae fma. flavum ‘Chuck’s Choise’ x manzurii ‘Waunakee’).

This primary hybrid was registered in 2014 by D. Manzur using Phrag. besseae and nearly discovered Phrag. manzurii. Although Phrag. manzurii right now treated by WCSP as synonym of Phrag. schlimii var. manzurii it’s still listed in RHS as Phrag. manzurii as a parent of this hybrid.

Previous Awards:

There are 6 awards for this cross: 4 HCCs and 2 AMs, most recent in 2020.

Description:

Plant has one blooming inflorescence 39 cm tall with 1 flower and one bud and second upcoming inflorescence with 1 bud (looks like it is going to have one branch).

Present flower is the fifth flower on same inflorescence (sequentially blooming). First flower was opened in April (there are more flowers and buds coming).

Multiple growths plant (2 old growth, 2 blooming/spiking growth and 2 new growth), growing in 4” pot. Leaf span is about 50 cm.

Flower Measurements:

NS H - 5.7 cm; NS V - 4.0 cm;

Dorsal Sep. W - 1.5 cm; Dorsal Sep. L - 2.2 cm;

Petal W - 2.0 cm; Petals L - 3.0 cm;

Lat/Sepal W - 1.5 cm; Lat/Sepal L - 2.0 cm;

Lip/Pouch W - 1.7 cm; Lip/Pouch L - 2.5 cm.

Judges' Comments

Al Messina

One well formed flower on one erect, staked inflorescence of aprroximately average/median size relative to awarded clones. Form better than several awarded clones. Color less than exciting, suboptimal in intensity with less than sharply discrete markings. An excited exhibitor, writing with an eastern European accent and indicating that more than one person owns the plant(" We bought this plant") provides us with considerable information which is nice but useless in the judging process since we are only able to judge what is presented and viewed, not what was or what will be.

In my opinion the solitary flower should qualify for a low/mid level HCC. Multiple flowers certainly would increase the score and potentially enter the low AM level. Considering the good culture and the ablity of the plant to produce multiple growths, future CCM will be in store.

Thanks for allowing me to participate.

Omar Bounds

Some years ago...a least a decade ago, I exhibited a number of Chuck Ackers flavum crosses. Some were Eric Young made with bess flavum...others were Hanna Popow .. Mostly the better ones looked almost exactly like this although somewhat smaller.

The judges showed almost no interest in "pink" or "pastels" in those days, awarding only strong red or clear yellow color forms.

I see tastes have evolved somewhat.

The size and stance makes this one.

Trevor Yee

The blush pink colour is very good and attractive, with nice even distribution on all segments of the flower.

The outline of the flower is symmetrical and balanced, with the petal segments quite filled out and broad. However, upon closer inspection of the side view, I note that the petals are reflexing somewhat. One the basis of photographic evidence, I would not recommend it for an award on this flowering (perhaps if the other spike had a flower - it may have given it a higher consideration).

Thanks Trevor Yee (AOC Judge - Australia)

Bill Goldner

Very similar to Hanne Popow. Manzurii is thought to be schlimii by lumpers, but for breeders it's distinct. White petal midrib is manzurii trait. Hanne Popow rarely if ever has this.

This nicely grown cultivar has good form and size. Would hope to see branching as the plant matures. Doubt this blooming would be awarded in DC, but I have been surprised.

Carrie Buchman

Phragmipedium Manzur La Aldea

It is certainly a charming flower on a clean and well grown plant. The influence of the flavum parent is apparent in the underlying pale-yellow color with the schlimii contributing the pretty pink overlay. In terms of flower size, the candidate is consistent with previously awarded plants. In terms of color, is it most similar to the awarded clone ‘ThienNgo Le'. In one picture it looks a little like the petals have a slight undulation to the them, but I really can’t tell for certain. The staminode on the candidate plant with its gradation of color from sun-orange basally to pale yellow at the margin is stunning! Ideally, it would be brought to judging with more flowers. Even so, I would nominate it for a Flower Quality award.

Kind Regards,

Carrie Buchman

Bob Winkley

Thank you for sending this along. It's a truly lovely flower.

Looking at the award record for this cross it struck me how similar it is to Phrag. Hanne Popow, especially those which appear to be made with the flavum form of Phrag. besseae.

The nicest aspect of our candidate, compared to most of the awards to both this grex and to Hanne Popow, is how round the form is, especially the petals. The petals are relatively flat, with little rounding up along the lower margin. The dorsal sepal is a bit hooded, though not fatally so, and the synsepal appears to be beautifully cradle the pouch, which is both well-formed and balances with other segments.

Size of the flower appears to be in range with other awards, if a bit narrow for horizontal spread, but again this contributes to the shapeliness of the flower.

The color of the flower is pleasing - the pale cream base overlaid rose in the petals and sepals harmonizes well with the darker colored pouch. However, here we find the one factor of this flower of which I am not a fan and that is the lack of overlay along the mid-rib of the petals. While there is symmetry in the petals the photograph draws great attention to this break in the overall color of the petals.

All that said, I would probably nominate the flower and score it in the mid-HCC range. If on a subsequent flowering the break in color were not present I would definitely consider scoring it as a solid AM.

All the best -

Bob W.

John Sullivan

Several traits of this flower stand out for me.

At first, what I thought was color break along the petal midribs I believe is simply the base color of the flower where there is no pink overlay. This striping is the feature which first caught (and holds) my attention. This coloration is also present in the 77 point ’Thien Ngo Le’. The candidate does a better job however by its larger size and more rounded petals.

The striping on the sides of the pouch is more pronounced than in several of the awarded clones.

The contrast of the light pink petals to the more concentrated pink of the pouch is pleasing to my eye.

The staminode is a beautiful apparently smooth-textured yellow which sets off from the rest of the flower.

I could see a flower quality award in the 82-84 point range.

Thank you

Mark Werther

The VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS have proved to be very beneficial. A judge is on their own to make the determination that, in my case, generally requires a half to one hour or more of various reviews to absorb the effects of the parentage and make comparisons with sister awards. To do it right, the process then requires some thinking to express an opinion in a form that will be at the level of our growing and knowledgeable participants. Thank you Sergey and Elena for your dedication to the project.

The Phrag. has many attirbutes:

1. Good size for the breeding. I did not realize that the besseae could reach 7 - 8cm normally. I also did not realize that there seems to be two forms of the "manzurii" (schlimii); one with infolding petals and the other as almost flat. And also a large discrepancy in NS.

2. The use of the flavistic form has produced a pleasant peach-pink color range.

3. The form I find exceptional. The segments have jettisoned the sometimes pointed petals of the besseae. The flower is far superior to others.

4. The plant's consistent flowering schedule is what should be expected.

Now there are a few questions:

1. The petals are showing blotchy color distribution.

2. The mid-line is sometimes shown on a few plants, but could be considered a negative.

3. Both of these conditions are displayed evenly. The midline reminds me of the classic fight over the large Phalaenopsis mid-line. I generally do not mind it as a follower of "form follows function". In the Phrag., it was not detracting in my view.

Based on the flower as a whole, I could nominate reasoning that we must allow reasonable allowance for imperfections.

Mark Werther

Deb Bobei

General Observations:

This flower certainly made me look twice both in catching my eye with photos and then during research.

Specific Considerations

- The flower has good form and symmetry and is well-presented.

- The color is attractive and is similar to the awarded ‘ThienNgo Le’ which also has the flavum form of besseae as the parent. I find the consistency of this flower more attractive than the awarded.

- The plant is well groomed and shows promise of being a nice specimen plant with multiple spikes and blooms. The plant has the habit of besseae rather than manzurii.

- With a leaf span of 50 cm this is a very large plant, which raised some suspicion.

- I noticed that the cross for the candidate is listed as besseae x manzurii while the awarded plants are listed as crossing manzurii x besseae.

- I also did not find the flavum form of Chuck’s Choice or Choise (sp) in either OrchidPro or OrchidWiz.

- I did find Phrag Acker’s Starlight ‘Waunakee’ that received an AM of 85 points. It is a cross between Twilight and besseae but no manzurii or schlimii with that awarded name. Perhaps this hybrid could be a parent?

- I did not feel confident it was labelled correctly.

Recommendation for nomination:

I would not be able to nominate this plant for an award since I was unable to confirm its parents during research. I would have been interested to see how the judging group would have scored it if the parents were what was submitted. If the parents were confirmed and it was as it was presented, I could see this cross reaching an AM score.

Thank you for considering my recommendation,

Deb

Exhibitor - Sergey and Elena Skoropad, NJ