2012 IPA Symposium Scott Ware
Not even an uninvited guest named Isaac , a tropical storm that was forecast to become a strong Category 2 hurricane , could keep people away from the 18th IPA Symposium in Orlando , FL August 24-25 , 2012 . Isaac had already left death and destruction in its earlier path and was , at the time , forecast to hit Central Florida directly , but Mother Nature ’ s threat had little effect on Phalaenopsis devotees in their determination to attend this much anticipated event . People had been arriving all week from every corner of the U . S ., Canada , Taiwan and even Europe . On Friday , registrants were welcomed by friendly volunteers who cheerfully handed over our symposium badges and the traditional orchid event goody bags containing a variety of treats and surprises . Registrants received information on local attractions , some delightful local Florida honey , taffy and marmalade courtesy of our host , Frank Smith , and a quart of Mega Thrive , generously contributed by Norman Fang .
A large number of AOS judges were in attendance , with AOS judging occurring immediately before the symposium began . Three AOS quality awards and one cultural award were granted – one HCC / AOS for a unique Phal . bellina , two AM / AOS – one for a Phal . bellina , and the other for a huge Cattleya tigrina , and finally , a CCM / AOS for a Phal . violacea with cascades of smallish but incredibly fragrant light pink flowers with just the slightest hint of blue . All four awards went to Frank Smith , who almost seemed embarrassed by this concentration of good fortune .
Immediately following judging , the sales room
opened , and the excitement over the selection of
16
Keynote speaker Chen-Chung Chen of Mainshow Orchids and Mike Mims .
plants was infectious . Lined three rows deep , people were pulling plants off sales tables and , for a moment , I fully expected them to start bidding against each other !
Norman brought wonderful oddities that haven ’ t even appeared on his website yet , and Mr . Lin of Brother Orchid Nursery had beautiful , robust seedlings of his latest crosses directly out of flask , ready to set out easily and immediately from very neatly labeled bags . Mr . Chen-Chung Chen of Mainshow Orchids had exotic and unusual species and even more unusual variants available at extremely good prices , while the Nortons offered beautifully-grown plants of their latest crosses and provided great advice to those who asked . Krull- Smith ’ s tables were covered with dream cross seedlings of various species sibs and outcrosses as well as some incredible intergeneric breeding by Dr . David McDaniel of Orchid Classics . Mark Srull and Joan Bateman of Orchidaceae tempted us with some of their exclusive
Photo : Leslie Keller stem-props and mericlones that were so magnificently grown , I could just take the plants home and admire them without flowers ! After the first shopping frenzy of the day , IPA President Carlos Fighetti opened the symposium with a few
HP and Katherine Norton on the left . Carol Campbell on the right . HP and Katherine always get the recognition , but Carol does a much of the work these days . Photo : Ben Belton
comments regarding IPA business and some acknowledgements for those who had worked so hard to put this weekend together and provide us with such a smooth-running and absolutely enjoyable symposium , notably , Carri-Raven Riemann and Lynn Fuller for their herculean efforts in coordinating and organizing all the de-
Fourth Quarter , Vol . 22 ( 3 & 4 ) 2012 - Phalaenopsis