Masdevallia decumana 'Nancy' AM-CCE/AOS

This plant was given a cultural award in November when it had 22 flowers and 7 buds.  It bloomed again this month with 32 flowers and 8 buds.  I brought it in again for judging last Saturday at the Northwest Regional Judging Center and it was given two awards, an Award of Merit for the quality of the flowers and a Certificate of Cultural Excellence for the number of flowers.

This plant is incredible.  I have another Masdevallia decumana that produces a fair number of flowers every time it blooms but this plant goes crazy when it blooms.  I worry sometimes that it is going to bloom itself to death, but it seems perfectly happy and just produces another crop of flowers.  I grow it mounted on a cedar slab with a bit of moss and water it every day.

Dryadella pusiola 'Erin' CHM/AOS

Dryadella pusiola is a tiny orchid species from Colombia.  The plant is about 5 cm tall and the tiny flowers are less than .5 cm.  The Dryadellas were at one time classified with Masdevallias but the genus was separated from Masdevallia and now contains a small number of miniatures species with flowers that are similar in shape to this, though they vary in size and coloration.  The genus is named rather aptly for the Dryads, the nymphs of the trees in Greek mythology.

This plant now has a clonal name and a provisional award from the American Orchid Society.  I brought it in for judging on February 18th to the Northwest Regional Judging Center in Seattle and it was given a Certificate of Horticultural Merit.  There was some question about its identity and so it has to be confirmed before the award is final.  I had kind of hoped that it would be given a cultural award but they wanted to know its identity first so that they could compare it to other plants of the same species.

Masdevallia Maui Lollipop 'Hannah' HCC/AOS

I've posted pictures of this plant and its flowers before and even though I don't grow many hybrids this is worth posting again: it is such a charming plant.  It's is a hybrid of Masdevallia mendozae and Madevallia Angel Frost.  It is most like Masdevallia mendozae, but has more erect flower spikes and a paler though brighter orange color, with slightly more open flowers.

This plant also has an award now.  At the monthly meeting of the Northwest Regional Judging Center in Seattle it was awarded a Highly Commended Certificate by the American Orchid Society and given the clonal name of one of my granddaughters.  The award is for flower quality and recognized the size and presentation of the flowers.  At the time of judging it had sixteen flowers and six buds.

Masdevallia constricta 'Kailyn' HCC/AOS

This is the other plant I had awarded at the last session of the Northwest Regional Judging Center.  It was given a High Class Certificate for the size of the flowers which are substantially larger than any other clone that has been awarded.  They are given a measurement of 13 cm in the awards description, which reads: "Four large, well-presented flowers and six buds; sepals white, sepaline tube orange color deepening toward column; petals hidden; caudae medium yellow; substance firm; texture matte."  Some of the flowers have been larger, however, as much as 15 cm.  The species is from Ecuador and this awarded clone is named after one of our granddaughters.

Masdevallia decumana 'Nancy' CCM/AOS

I brought this plant to the Northwest Regional Judging Center in Seattle last Saturday and it was awarded a Certificate of Cultural Merit by the American Orchid Society (CCM/AOS), with 22 flowers and 7 buds.  I've posted pictures of this plant previously, and it always blooms profusely, but this was by far its best blooming to date.

http://orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2010/11/masdevallia-decumana.html
http://orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2010/08/masdevallia-decumana.html