Join us for a talk on the American Orchid Society Judging Process by Lucas Carreno from J&L Orchids!
Macroclinium confertum ‘J&L’ CHM
Meeting Date: Wednesday, March 11th at the Cheshire Senior Center. Doors open at 6:00pm for socializing and the general body meeting starts at 6:30pm, with the presentation at 7pm.
Where:The Cheshire Senior Center is located at: 240 Maple Ave, Cheshire, CT 06410
Event: American Orchid Society Judging Explained: An Introduction to (AOS) Judging
Lucas is a member of J&L Orchids, one of the oldest orchid nurseries in the Northeast of North America, and home to a great diversity of orchid species; he is also an accredited AOS orchid judge, involved in the program since 2017, and has personally received several awards for displays, specimen plants, and flower quality, in addition to the over 300 awards granted to J&L Orchids itself.
We’ll cover the basics of the judging process, especially regarding the different awards that are granted and the standards they are compared against, and how the audience can participate in the process.
The AOS judging program is about 100 years old, and while originally based on the Royal Horticultural Society’s orchid judging system, it has become much more structured and now focuses more on public accessibility and clarity. With about 600 judges spread around the continent, from Puerto Rico to British Columbia and frequent participation in the World Orchid Congress or South American orchid shows, there’s a great wealth of knowledge and record keeping involved.
In this talk, we’ll cover how you can look up awarded plants, how to read the records and use the information from the database, accessible for free to all AOS members, and then discuss what characteristics and factors affect if a plant may receive an award, as well as how awards are granted for displays at orchid shows, including the standards for a show trophy, or artistic and educational displays.
Please feel free to bring in plants to discuss how to transport, groom, and decide when to submit a plant for judging. Lucas will be bringing plants from J&L for sale to society members so check your windowsills, clear some space in your greenhouse, and support our local orchid nursery!
We hope you will come on out and join us at the March meeting, there is always something new to learn, and we encourage you to bring your blooming plants for the Show Table! It’s always exciting to see what’s coming into bloom, looking forward to an awesome show table! See you there! Please print and fill out the ID card for the show table here