This week I would like to present exiting Vanda hybrid - Vanchoanthe Ben Mianmanus ( Vandachostylis Evergreen Magic x Papilionanda Mimi Palmer). Both of the parents has Vanda tessellata as a parents!

Previous Awards:

There are 6 AOS awards on Vanchoanthe Ben Mianmanus.

Papilionanda Mimi Palmer has 5 AOS awards;

Vandachostylis Evergreen Magic doesn’t have any AOS awards;

Vanda tessellata received 34 AOS awards

Description:

22 flowers on two inflorescences: one inflorescences is 26 cm with 10 flowers; the second inflorescence is 30 cm with 12 flowers

The plant is 160 cm in height and 50 with.

This Vanda hybrid been purchased from Banjong Orchids, Florida about 8 years ago.

Flower Measurements:

NS H - 6.2 cm; NS V - 6.2 cm;

Dorsal Sep. W - 2.5 cm; Dorsal Sep. L - 3.1 cm;

Petal W - 2.7 cm; Petals L - 3.4 cm;

Lat/Synsepal W - 3.0 cm; Lat/Synsepal L - 3.1 cm;

Lip/Pouch W - 1.7 cm; Lip/Pouch L - 2.7 cm.

Judges' Comments

Joanna K Eckstrom

My comments before name correction ... this looks like many of the previously awarded Mimi Palmer ... candidate appears to have very upright inflorescences. For me, arrangement is marginal in that flowers are caught in the fan. I'd like to see photo of Evergreen Magic to confirm/decline that this is an improvement ...

After name correction ... tesselata influence is very obvious. Flowers so similar to the six awarded Ben Mianmanus in color, size.

Candidate appears to be very robust but while it's great that a grower in the Northeast bloomed this plant, there are no points on score sheet for where plant is grown. I am bothered that flowers on one inflorescence are caught in the fan. If I were to score this, I might give high HCC...

Thanks for allowing me to participate ... Joanna K Eckstrom

Al Messina

Twenty-two larger than average flowers well spaced on two inflorescences. Arrangement better than most prior awards. Color and balance good(enough).Prior awards suffer from heritage: This cross is about 75% tessellata which has difficulty meeting the standard vis-a-vis form. I include the Handbook section on Vanda below. Note the third sentence which concerns the form of the petals: should fill the gap between the sepals. This candidate does not fill the gap! While this plant is better than most of those awarded, in my opinion previous awards were over valued. See section below related to arrangement: the flowers well-spaced and well displayed .Only one or two prior awards had anything close to acceptable arrangement. This, of course, is only from the photos, which could very well be misleading. While tessellata has produced (averaged) as many as 14 flowers on an inflorescence (See Friendship 2012), the average is about 8 per spike. This plant with 11 is in the range of prior awards to the cross.

In my opinion the flowers are HCC quality, perhaps 78-79.Certainly, this could change with direct (in person) visualization.

Thanks for allowing me to participate.

7.1.10 Vanda The general form of the flower is toward roundness, fullness and flatness. The dorsal sepal should be as nearly equal to the lateral sepals as possible. The petals should be broad and rounded, as nearly equal to the dorsal sepal as possible, and should fill the gap between the sepals. The lip should be harmonious with the rest of the flower in size and shape, in accordance with the ancestral species. The spur or nectary, if present, should be harmonious and compatible with the ancestral species. The color of the flower should be definite and clear; suffusion of one color over another should be regular and harmonious, not mottled or muddy. Colored venation, if present, should be definite and distinctive, or in regular lines and patterns. The lip should be distinctively colored. The size of the flower should be equal to or greater than the geometric mean of the size of the parents. Substance should be equal to or greater than the average of the parents. The inflorescence should be erect or gracefully arched according to parental background, with the flowers well-spaced and well displayed. The number of flowers will vary according to the species or the breeding. The inflorescence should be mature enough to show the full potential of the flower or flowers. Non-Euanthe type hybrids and species should be judged using the General Scale.

Trevor Yee

2 doses of V. tessellata is providing the dominant feature of this clone, yet somehow in my mind the tessellations are not very defined and clear, which has diminished the overall appeal of the flower.

The shape and floral segment arrangements of many of the flowers are not consistent. Some petals overlap with the sepals (which provides for a more filled in shape) - while others do not. There is noticeable reflexing on many flowers. (I also observe some of the pollen caps are either missing or have changed colour - I can't tell for certain just by the available photographic evidence).

2 inflorescences and flower count is good, but the primary attribute for a quality award is shape and colour.

I don't feel this is comparable to the recent AOS awards, nor sufficient to warrant a quality award on this flowering.

Carrie Buchman

Vanchoanthe Ben Mianmanus

A very attractive flower that is rich in color. It appears to be larger and rounder than the average of the previously awarded plants of this cross. The speckling on the lip side lobes contrasts nicely with the purple striated mid lobe, though the color of the mid-lobe is difficult to ascertain as it appears washed out in some photos and more vibrant in others. The mid and side lobes are nicely offset by the bright sunflower yellow at the base of the column that extends into the basal portion of the side lobes. The tessellation on the sepals and petals is even and subtlety outlined with the narrow lighter olive green picotee on the ruffled margins. Floriferousness of the candidate is on par with the high end of the awarded plants.

The candidate’s parents are Evergreen Magic which has no awards and I couldn’t find pictures (!) and tessellata which is highly awarded. Given that its generic pool is 75% tessellata, comparison can be made there. I would nominate this plant for a flower quality award. There are insufficient photos of the plant to assess for a cultural award nomination. (In one of the photos it looks like a possible bug on the leaf, I am assuming it is just a mar on the leaf itself. If it were, in fact, a bug, there would be no nomination.)

Kind Regards,

Carrie Buchman

Laura Newton

For this hybrid, the higher scoring cultivars show very little fenestration and have much fuller segments.

One of the things that really wows you about this hybrid is seeing it in person as the colors are so dense that the photographs never seem to do them justice.

I find this candidate very similar to ‘Garrett’s Brown Sugar’ AM/AOS. This flower has great size and decent color (hard to tell exactly how nice it is, the lip looks a little pale to me, but it could be the lighting.) There is fenestration but I find the width of segments and undulation quite pleasing.

The flower count is very good, and the arrangement is as expected, as are the substance and texture

Comparatively I would score this flower 84 points, as I find it fits right in with the previously awarded cultivars while showing great size and floriferousness.

Laura Newton

AOS Award Registrar

laura@aos.org

John Sullivan

Vanchoanthe Ben Mianmanus

The candidate is a well grown plant although there is an insect on one of the closer leaves. The flowers compare well to the 6 awarded clones. In size it is in the range the others and I like the intensity here better than some. However, before I consider what would be to me a parallel award I confess a lack of enthusiasm for this grex. The candidate displays fenestration as do most of the others. The undulations exaggerate the fenestration. I would not nominate it for a flower quality award.

An assessment of culture shows 11 flowers per inflorescence, only slightly better than the others. So far, no bar has been set yet for a cultural award to this grex, and I do not think this plant at this time presents the opportunity to do so.

I think the plant has the potential for cultural consideration on a future flowering.

Thanks for continuing to present these exercises.

Mark Werther

Right up front I will comment that I cannot nominate this Vanda.

Examples of previously awarded plants in Orchid Plus have a picture of the entire plant and inflorescences. Most show well structured inflorescences, properly spaced flowers and either off the foliage or above it. The photographs provided do not show the whole plant and only the upper section with the flowers interspersed within the foliage and some above. Many flowers are not evenly spaced and some are inconsistent.

The undulations and fenestration within the example's flowers are inferior to the better awarded varieties.

Mark Werther

Deb Bodei

Thanks for including me in commentary.

Observations and Commentary

I grow a few plants of this cross, they are floriferous, smell wonderful (hyacinth scent) and are certainly a joy to have outside all summer. Our candidate is certainly well grown and looks quite happy.

I would not consider the condition of the plant pristine enough for a cultural award so will look at flower qualities for this exercise. Some leaf tips look like they are cut and there is some browning on leaves.

There are not enough photos of this plant to fully assess it. The petal width and length appear very good and give the flower a nice balanced appearance with little undulation at the margins. Working with what was provided, flower form looks good on the close up and the petals and sepals fill in the circle on some flowers, but not consistent and show more typical window paning on others. I noticed the pollen is missing on a number of blooms, so I think the slight twisting and reflexing could be age showing on some flowers. The substance is normally very firm and individual blooms last well over a month.

The segment overlay color ranges widely on this cross and I certainly prefer this darker coffee coloring to the lighter browns to greenish-yellows. The photos are taken on an overcast day so the color is a little darker than in person I am guessing. The lip form and lip color are nice. The crystalline texture is typical and showing a golden glow from the light cast on it.

Finally, the arrangement of the flowers on the inflorescences is giving a crowded appearance and could have benefitted from staking while it was developing so the overall appearance would not have included the flowers intermingled with the leaves.

Recommendation

I would not nominate this plant on this particular flowering, but I would surely encourage the exhibitors to bring it back on another soon with a little extra attention to staking for presentation. It has potential!

Thanks,

Deb

Elena Skoropad

Beautiful Vanda! The name has changed to Vanchoanthe, but clearly we can see tessellata pattern. I am really impressed by quality of this plant taking into consideration the plant is from North East part of the country. We don’t see many Vandas on East Cost. Kudos to the grower!

The candidate plant is slightly larger than all 6 previously awarded plants. The number of flowers and inflorescences are in the range of awarded plants as well. The form is not perfect but I would not take many points off. The color is reach and verified contract between color of the lip and petals/ sepals is very attractive. I would be defiantly nominating this plant for the flower quality award and I would be in AM 83-84 points range. One more observations - the plant foliage is spotless; the plant is very well grown.

Elena

Exhibitor - Ken Reynolds, NJ