New candidate for this month is a Phragmipedium (Phrag. besseae 'Sterrettania' HCC/AOS  x Phrag. Asendorf Rose 'Penns Creek' AM/AOS).

This is an unregistered cross.

Phragmipedium Asendorf Rose (Phrag. Pink Panther x Phrag. fischeri) has been originated and registered by H. Bauch in 2015.

Our candidate has three Phragmipedium species in the background: Phrag. besseae; Phrag. fischeri and Phrag. schlimii.

Previous Awards:

There is no AOS awards for this cross. 

There are 131 AOS awards for Phrag. besseae, including form flavum. Cultivar 'Sterrettania' HCC/AOS 79 pts has been awarded in March 04, 2022.

There are 2 AOS awards for Phrag. Asendorf Rose. Cultivar 'Penns Creek' AM/AOS 82 pts has been awarded in Dec 01, 2018.

Description:

Our candidate has one flower and one bud on one 30-cm staked inflorescences. Plant is growing in a 8.5-cm square tall plastic pot with small bark mix. Plant has one mature flowering growth and one started growth. Plant is 36-cm wide and 15-cm tall. 

Flower Measurements:

NS H - 5.4 cm;                   NS V - 4.8 cm;

Dorsal Sep. W - 1.3 cm;    Dorsal Sep. L - 2.2 cm;

Petal W - 1.8 cm;               Petals L - 2.7 cm;

Lat/Synsepal W - 1.4 cm; Lat/Synsepal L - 1.8 cm;

Lip/Pouch W - 1.8 cm;      Lip/Pouch L - 2.7 cm.

Judges' Comments

Kris Mason (Accredited Judge, Cincinnati Judging Center)

Thank you for sharing this interesting and beautiful flower.  I like the shape and color of the pouch and staminode.  Overall color not as vibrant or interesting as parents.  Size is as expected for the cross.  The position of the petals causes windowing at the base of the petals and the pouch.  This gives the appearance of the flowers not being as full as parents and causes a visual separation between the top of the flower and the pouch reducing cohesion and visual appeal.  While I would gladly take it home and enjoy, I do not feel that this flowering reaches the level of an award.

Al Messina (Accredited Judge, Northeast Judging Center)

One pretty, relatively quite diminutive, flat flower (and one bud) displays ideal symmetry and almost perfect plumb, very desirable in judging. Petals symmetric narrowing results in bilateral inferior fenestration, unfortunately disqualifying for award on this bloom.

Color inhomogeneity/poor saturation on the inferior half of each petal is distracting, not pleasing.

But the exhibitor need not abandon all hope: All three progenitors have full flat petals; thus there is a good shot that in future blooms, genetics will triumph and fuller petals, larger overall flowers will resolve the fenestration and a flower award might be achieved.

Ramon de los Santos (Accredited Judge, California-Sierra Nevada Judging Center)

Very pleasing colored Phragmipedium and lip color and shape is very nice. It looks very similar to Phrag. Barbara LeeAnn and Phrag. Hanna Popow which is a parallel breeding. Comparing it to that breeding, the petal shape needs improvement and the concave shape is distracting. Its dorsal also is leaning towards left making it unsymmetrical. This is a very young plant and still small and may improve on a stronger plant. As for now, I will pass on it. Bring it on a stronger plant.

Christian Carrillo (Accredited Judge, Northeast Judging Center)

Overall, I like the form and the stance of the flower very much.  Even though the dorsal sepal is askew to the left a little, the overall presentation is still nicely balanced and well formed.  The flower looks flat and the segments seem to be in the same plane of presentation.  While its size is a little small – in comparison to both parents – the balance of the individual flower components is very nice.  Sadly, I find the color less than appealing and quite inconsistent.  The pouch has the best color and I wished the rest of the flower had this color.  The dorsal color is too light to be in harmony with the rest of the flower and while the color of the petals is rich at the center of the flower, the color seems to fade towards the end of the petals in an unharmonious way.  The color of the upper half of the petals also seems to be noticeably different than the lower half of the petals.  The color, and its intensity, is definitely not an improvement over the besseae parent.  Because of this, I would reserve a nomination. 

Mary C. Mancini (Accredited Judge, Louisiana Judging Center)

Lovely flower with good form.  Would give it an AM with a score of 80 pts.

Paul Wetter (Senior Judge, West Palm Beach Judging Center)

Thanks for sending this cute little “Christmas elf” flower for review and virtual judging. Very timely.

This is an interesting cross from parents with multiple awards and potential for interesting offspring.

We would expect to see a more fullness of petals in flower form and more floriferousness based on the background.  For instance, a larger flower from geometric mean of schlimii and fischeri then even greater when mixed with besseae plus perhaps with deep color saturation. Would be better if we saw fuller form of petals from besseae and fuller pouch from schlimii. 

Although I'm in the generous happy Holiday spirit of giving I would not nominate this plant but would nominate all of you for a very merry holiday and happy new year and here is another adorable red holiday elf for you.

Happy Holidays

Paul

MT Vijay (Student Judge, Northeast Judging Center)

One flower and one bud on one staked inflorescence on a plant that is a complex Phragmipedium hybrid between Phrag. besseae ‘Sterrattania’ and Phrag. Asendorf Ross ‘Penns Creek’.  Phrag. Asendorf Ross’s progeny arises from 25% Phrag. schlimii and 75% Phrag. fischerii. Comparing the parent plants with the candidate, the form of both Phrag. Asendorf Ross and Phrag. besseae is wholesome and rounded.  But Phrag. Asendorf Ross’s is smaller in stature with fuller rounded pouch like lip, characteristic to Phrag. fischerii.  The Phrag. besseae’s form is similarly rounded but its lip looks like the rear end of a wasp. Phrag. besseae coloration is velvety crimson while Phrag. Asendorf Ross’ is centrally pink with white petals. The color and form of the candidate flower show Phrag. besseae’s dominance in the partnership. Although pretty on its own, it is not an improvement over its parents. It is slightly tilted to the left with color pigments concentrated more toward the center in the petals and the lip, similar to Phrag. Asendorf Ross. And that the color is not uniform on the petals, which, with white peeking through, appears to be cut from Styrofoam. My scoring for Flower Quality in the Paphiopedilum column results in 29+27+18=74. 

Steve Gonzalez (Accredited Judge, Chicago Judging Center)

Phragmipedium (besseae x Asendorf Rose)

Very good to be able to see actual awarded parents along with actual photos in Orchid Pro. Good to see that we are documenting any clonal names as much as possible in awards, as we complete our work as judges – more info is always better.  Phrag. Pink Panther has certainly given us some very beautiful full flowers; one has been awarded.  The flower being judged has very nice strong, saturated color and although the petals slightly twist uniformly, it is a pretty flat flower (top view) compared to many twisted and unsymmetrical Phrags.  Overall, it seems to be a small plant (first bloomer?) and compared to actual awarded parents, there is petal upswing that, along with, the flower being slightly under the geometric mean for the parents gives a big petal to pouch gap (windowing) that I think it really detracts for form.  For these reasons I would pass on nominating at this time.

Andy Braun (Student Judge, Atlanta Judging Center)

The first thing I noticed was the petal presentation being slightly up.  The effect is an open presentation on the flower.  My expectation would be to see full petals from at least the Asendorf Rose to present in this cross.  A review of Phrag. besseae awards shows some incredibly full petals.  Should there be an expectation of full flowers with this cross?  I would think so.  Also noted is the balance of the dorsal to the right and the pouch to the left.  The synsepal also presents to the right.  I do not see this flower as an improvement of either parent. I would not nominate it for an award.  The plant is young and flower form may improve as it matures. Love the color in the pouch and staminode, nice contrast.  This is more apparent in the video than the pictures.

Andy Braun

Atlanta JC Student

Deb Bobei (Accredited Judge, Northeast Judging Center)

Phragmipedium (Phrag. besseae x Phrag. Asendorf Rose)

Asendorf Rose is essentially schlimii (synonym fischeri) according to POWO, so our candidate parentage is schlimii and besseae. The deeply saturated coral color result can be attributed to both parents and is certainly the standout on this flower. The contrast in saturation with some segments/partial segments lighter and others darker, is beautiful. The 'outline of the windows' on the pouch is very attractive as is the shading on the petals. The color on the back of the flower is as attractive as the front. 

It would be great if there were two flowers on this inflorescence, but the bud looks like it has a ways to go and the existing flower will drop before it is in bloom. The size tends slightly towards the smaller parent on this first bloom.

The pouch has a pleasing 'fuller' besseae form from the other parent. The overall flower is lacking symmetry. The petals are reflexed and have an 'upward winged' appearance leaving significant fenestration between the pouch and the petals.

The plant looks to be only one fan and very small. The color is not unique enough for a JC. I would not be inclined to nominate this flower for an award at this time due to the form issues, but would like to see it on the judging table in the future. 

Deb

Pam Noll (Student Judge, Alamo Judging Center)

The unregistered cross of Phragmipedium (Phrag. besseae x Phrag. Asendorf Rose) is a lovely flower. The overall color of the flower is pleasing a blend of the besseae red and the Asendorf Rose mauve. The petals held slightly above horizontal are wide and well-shaped, the yellow staminode reflects the schlimii in its pedigree, the pouch is wonderfully plump and well-shaped. The slight tilt of the dorsal sepal is a consideration. Based on its presentation, color, form, and measurements, I believe it merits submission for scoring.

Sincerely,

Pamela Noll

Student, Alamo JC

Bill Goldner (Accredited Judge, National Capital Judging Center)

This is a very good representative of this unregistered hybrid. Both parents are up to date versions of the species and hybrid, respectively.

The thought here was to generate a well-colored, well-formed compact growing hybrid, and this was achieved.

The size is ok for a first bloom seedling and the form and color are also good. If the judges were able to see the parents, they would see full flat petals and vibrant color. The color on the subject being judged is pleasing, fairly smooth, but not saturated. Consider that the hybrid is 50% besseae, 25% schlimii, and 25% fischeri, one could expect an outcome reflective of Hanne Popow (besseae x schlimii) or Barbara LeAnn (besseae x fischeri), and the example suggests a more intensely colored Hanne Popow, replete with the signature fischeri hairs toward the apical segments of the petals and a gradual central darker coloration.

I could score this flower.

Best,

Bill

Emily Quinn (Accredited Judge, Dallas Judging Center)

Lovely flower. Color is nice, if you like the two tone petals. Flower count is fine; size is fine. I would pass. The wide window between petals and pouch makes it easy to see the side-tipped dorsal and off-center lateral sepals. Multiple form issues would make it hard to reach minimum points for an award. Some of its form problems may stem from the size of the petals out of the schlimii parent and the long ovoid pouch from besseae..

Emily Quinn, Dallas JC

David Edgley (Accredited Judge, Western Canada Judging Center)

One brightly-colored, eye-catching, fairly symmetrical flower.  To me, the weakest area is the petal form.  At this time, both of the parents and even similar hybrids like Manzur la Aldea have fuller, rounder petals.  A pretty flower but I would not nominate it for a quality award.

David Edgley - accredited judge

Elena Skoropad (Associate Judge, Northeast Judging Center)

This is a very young plant! It looks like it is a first bloom. First parent Phrag. besseae is highly awardable and modern standards are very high, especially for form, color and presentation of flower. Our candidate is lacking color consistency, it looks like color saturation is not evenly distributed across the entire flower. Also, the form is lacking fuller and wider segments. The petals and dorsal edges have triangular shape rather than round. The pouch is too elongated. I am finding flower proportion is a bit distracting. I would definitely wait until next bloom to see what is the full potential of this plant. We may see an improvement in both form and color on its next bloom. I would pass on this plant at this time. This is definitely a keeper! Please grow it and bring to the judging next time

Thank you,

Elena  

Ellie van der Hoven (Associate Judge, Western Canada Judging Center)

The color of this Phragmipedium flower stood out and immediately drew me into wanting to research this flower further. It is well flowered on what appears to be a young plant, the flower size is not fantastic but acceptable – compared with the parents. I find the color exceptional and very uniform although the ventral sepal appears to be light cream in color. The overall form of the flower is pleasing, however not quite symmetrical, the petals are set fairly high in relation to the pouch and the pouch seem to have markings/indents on both sides that I do not like.  I will be prepared to nominate this flower for an award and will score it a high HCC.

Kind regards,

Ellie van der Hoven

Associate Judge; Western Canada Judging Centre

Tom Mirenda (Accredited Judge, Hawaii Judging Center)

Here is my assessment of Phrag (besseae x Asendorf Rose)

An exquisitely colored miniature slipper orchid hybrid.

There has been considerable progeny in this breeding group in the last decade, making the standard for awards rather high.

While this clone has terrific and admirable coloration and reasonable size, it falls short in terms of its form.

The petals are tilted upright, not necessarily a bad thing,,,but in this case leaves major window gaps between the petals and the lip.

In addition, they are incurved on the lower margin, contributing to the problem.

While it is possible that it could flatten somewhat with more time, I can’t see awarding at this time on this blooming.

It is nonetheless very lovely, and a plant I would happily add to my growing mini Phrag. collection.  If other judges felt strongly about its coloration, I could be convinced to bestow a low HCC….76 points.

I am also wondering about the status of Phrag. fischeri breeding…i. e. if it is considered synonymous with Phrag. schlimii.

According to the Kew checklist fischeri = schlimii….is this something we need to discuss?

Tom Mirenda

Exhibitor - David and Joan Rosenfeld, Central Jersey Orchid Society,  NJ

Grower's Advice

Phrag. culture is different from many other orchid genera. They like wet conditions. Many species grow in or near water. Often on a large rock in a stream.

I grow mature specimens in plastic pots. Media consists of medium and fine bark, perlite, and sphagnum moss (Promix). The pots sit in a plastic saucer with water.

I water once a week with dilute fertilizer. Monthly I water without fertilizer. Low to medium light is fine around 1500-2000. Less than that for a Cattleya.