At shows I check entry lists before the plants are benched.
AOS judges should expect to have the plants benched in the correct classes. If in doubt ask the benching marshal before entering the plant.

Maybe the label should read.
Cattleya gaskelliana 'Coerulea Dragon' x 'Alexis'.
Of course that is my maybe because there was a famous old clone called 'Blue Dragon'

Nicely flowered and I hope you win a prize......

Added after looking around a bit more. Perhaps it is a hybrid???
Cattleya gaskelliana 'Coerulea Dragon' x Alexis

Sorry, not much help and muddied the waters.

This post was edited by arthurm on Wed, Dec 31, 14 at 23:21

Arthur, you might be right. The part of the tag that is faded is the Drago part. I just tried to copy what I could make out.

Could I leave the cross off completely? Just enter it as C. gaskelliana?

Thanks so much for your help.

Jane

Sorry, had a further look around and there doesn't seem to be a typical Cattleya gaskelliana shape. So that is why you should discuss your entry with the benching Marshall.

Is that what they call those guys over there?

I belong to a general orchid society (We try and grow everything) and my database has nil Cattleya gaskelliana entries out of 22,000 records.

There are quite a few hits on Google for "Cattleya gaskelliana coerulea (Drago x Alexis)"

The problem with the nomenclature was caused by having difficulty with Alexis.
'Alexis' This means it is a clone
Alexis This means it is a hybrid and there is a Cattleya Alexis in the register of orchid hybrids kept at kew.

I now think it is a species and you should drop the coerulea because there are no blue tones in the flower.

Consider this plant tag from an orchid nursery.
C. intermedia var .coerulea (4n) x
C.intermedia var.amethystina (4n)
Flowered with normal intermedia colours, so I benched it as C. intermedia 'Luther' because it had a large flower.

This post was edited by arthurm on Thu, Jan 1, 15 at 4:59

The benching Chairman listed it as C. gaskelliana. On the judges sheets put (Drago x Alexis). Commented his father sponsored Drago, (a breeder from Venezuela) to the US way back when. Had no idea about Alexis. Listed it as species.

I couldn't wait for AOS judging, had to leave. It was given a blue ribbon by the regional judges.

We'll see if AOS had anything to say about the listing.

Jane

Congratulations on the blue ribbon!!!!!

Congrats, Jane! It is a lovely plant.

Is it possible it will bloom twice a year? Maybe it hit some magical critical mass.

Well done Jane! Nicely grown.

It looks like my gaskelliana if that helps.

{{gwi:2119514}}

Jane I wouldn't be surprised if in Florida you get it to bloom twice a year. I usually get one big show in early June but right now have one pbulb blooming. It was a growth just starting when when it bloomed last summer.

Enjoy your blue ribbon and hopefully it caught the judges eye for additional awards.

Brooke

Thanks, Brooke. I would be pleasantly surprised if I got flowers in May!

Its always fun when you get a ribbon, especially when you don't expect the plant to do anything. This plant has been growing under a tree all year. I tend to forget the plants outside my growing areas and only check on them occasionally.

The weather in S. Florida has been cool and cloudy on and off for a month (Nov/Dec) had some really cool nights. The plants I thought I'd enter stalled. Buds sat there and are still not open. Couldn't enter them. Same happened to everyone in the area who was growing outside a greenhouse.

Club Chairman was concerned we wouldn't have enough plants to enter and sent out an emergency email to the club members to bring in anything that looked decent to fill the display at the show. I looked around and found this plant was budding and ready to open. I would have missed the blooms if the email hadn't been sent. It blooms in April/May!

So I brought it in as a filler in the Clubs display. Judges liked it because it was a species. No one commented on the name.

It's always fun to be surprised. It would be nice to get more blooms in the Spring.

Thanks for all the nice comments.

Jane

Mine currently has about 1/2" of new pbulbs growing. Check yours in a week and I bet you will have the same thing.

Sun, warmth, what is that. I usually have many sunless days in winter but I also had an entire summer of clouds. I feel like I am living in Great Britain or Scotland - clouds, rain or mist and fog. It has been an ugly year.

Brooke

Remember that weather! Warm here although, Nov/Dec had cool weeks which seemed to stall some plants.

Brooke, sounds like your plant will flower when it is supposed to. I'm sort of glad mine decided to send up one spike or it would not have been entered. I'll check it when I get it back.

Jane