A jewel of the orchid world returns for its 78th outing the 20–22 of this month. Visitors can enjoy an “Orchid Escape” into the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show, one of the oldest and largest orchid shows in the United States. Held in Santa Barbara, California, a tourist destination in its own right, the Show draws exhibitors and vendors from around the world.
[1] A virus-free mericlone of Cym. Alexanderi ‘Westonbirt’ FCC/AOS, FCC/RHS.
As with any orchid show, the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show has its own distinct character. Exhibits are garden–themed with designs ranging from the quirky to the sublime. The orchids in those exhibits are heavily weighted with species that grow locally. In Santa Barbara, cymbidiums reign supreme, boasting over a century of growing history, thriving in the mild Mediterranean climate of the south–facing coastal communities in southern Santa Barbara County.
[2] 1947 Grand Champion, Cym. Swallow.
Possibly the earliest mention of orchids in Santa Barbara cited a cymbidium display by a Dr. Yates at the 1882 Rose Fair (Merriam, 2005). In the early 20th century, large estates in Santa Barbara and neighboring Montecito became home to wealthy escapees from the East Coast’s harsher weather. Some of these individuals brought their orchid collections with them, particularly their cymbidiums. It is only natural that the proud owners would wish to display their blooms to the public.
[3] 1948 Grand Champion, Cym. Makeda ‘Copper Queen’ SM/CSA; exhibitor: Mrs. Edward Carpenter
The Show began its life in 1945 as the Santa Barbara Cymbidium Show — not an “orchid” show. The name would change in 1959 to the “Santa Barbara International Orchid Show” after the 1955 visit of the American Orchid Society trustees and the inclusion of other orchid genera. But the Show’s ties to cymbidiums remained; in addition to a Best Orchid in Show (typically something other than a Cymbidium), judges in Santa Barbara award a Grand Champion Cymbidium that carries just as much prestige.
[4] 1949 Grand Champion, Cym. President Wilson GM/CSA; exhibitor: J.A. Carbone, Jr.
The tale of Santa Barbara’s Grand Champion Cymbidiums carries stories of cymbidium growers and hybridizers. The list of winners is a reflection of over three–quarters of a century of cymbidium breeding trends. It is a look at the history of Cymbidium hybridizing distilled into a winning flower awarded every March.
[5] 1951 Grand Champion, Cym. Janette ‘Dolores Hoyt’ SM/CSA; exhibitor: Mrs. Norton Clapp.
In fact, the story of Santa Barbara’s Grand Champion Cymbidiums might best begin not in 1946 with the first award but in 1911 with the registration of Cymbidium Alexanderi ‘Westonbirt’, a cross of Cymbidium Eburneo–lowianum ‘Concolor’ with Cym. insigne ‘Sanderae’. The cross was registered by Colonel George Holford, at the time one of the richest men in England. His Westonbirt estate was a horticultural playground, and its orchid collection was overseen by H.G. Alexander, who sat with Holford on the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) orchid committee. When Holford died, he bequeathed his orchids to Alexander.
[6] 1952 Grand Champion, Cym. Janette ‘Memoria Mrs. A.A. McBean’ FCC/RHS, M/CSA; exhibitor: L. Sherman Adams Co.
[7] 1953 Grand Champion, Cym. Alexette ‘The King’ HCC/AOS, SM/CSA; exhibitor: L. Sherman Adams, Co.
These are romantic names in the annals of Cymbidium hybridizing. Cymbidium Alexanderi was a fine cross for its day, but the cultivar ‘Westonbirt’ was exceptional, earning a First Class Certificate from the RHS in 1922. This singular plant would go on to become the most important foundational parent in the cymbidium world, and although the cultivar of the parent is not recorded in official databases, unofficial records and word–of–mouth reports show that ‘Westonbirt’ is the most important plant of its grex. In the almost 80 years of Grand Champions at the show in Santa Barbara, every single one has at least a touch of Cym. Alexanderi ‘Westonbirt’ FCC/RHS in its ancestry.
[8] 1954 Grand Champion, Cym. Alexfrida ‘The King’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA; exhibitor: L. Sherman Adams, Co.
The first recorded winner of the Grand Champion Cymbidium trophy was indeed a direct descendant of Cym. Alexanderi ‘Westonbirt’ FCC/AOS, FCC/RHS. In 1947, Cym. Swallow took the honors, probably repeating a win in 1946, though the earlier win was recorded only as oral history. This creamy–to–blush white flower was a cross of Cym. Alexanderi with Cym. Pauwelsii, registered in 1916 by Sanders (St. Albans). As was the practice during the early years of the Show, the winner was exhibited as cut spikes. It was not uncommon in this era for cymbidiums to be grown in communal planting beds or even directly in the ground, making cut flowers much more practical for exhibition.
[9] 1955 Grand Champion, Cym. Alexfrida ‘The Queen’ AM/AOS, BM/CSA; exhibitor: L. Sherman Adams, Co.
Hybridizing in the United States had not come of age yet, and the first Grand Champions were imports from venerable British nurseries, either purchased before World War II or sent as “refugees” to safer places in North America. Both Cym. Swallow and the 1949 winner Cym. President Wilson (Alexanderi × lowianum, 1917) were relatively old hybrids from the venerable Sander and Sons nursery in St. Albans, England, which was at one time the largest orchid establishment in Europe. They appeared at the show as either cherished long–grown plants or remakes of the original crosses.
[10] 1956 and 1961 Grand Champion, Cym. Del Rosa ‘The King’ FCC/AOS;SM/CSA; exhibitors: Arthur Freed (1956), Stewart Orchids (1961).
The 1948 winner, Cymbium Makeda ‘Copper Queen’ (Baldur × Francesca, 1940) was registered by Alexander and had Cym. Alexanderi ‘Westonbirt’ FCC/RHS in the ancestry of both parents. The newly formed Cymbidium Society (later to become the Cymbidium Society of America) gave Cym. Makeda ‘Copper Queen’ a Silver Medal and the rose–flushed yellow Cym. President Wilson, the 1949 winner, a coveted Gold Medal. To our eyes, these are charming but unexceptional flowers, with soft colors, starry shapes, and moderate size.
[11] 1957 Grand Champion, Cym. Gladys Read ‘Gladys Hagar’ BM/CSA; exhibitor: Herb Hagar Orchids.
The 1951 and 1952 winners, both Cym. Janette (Alexanderi × Joy Sander, 1935), were similar in type. The cross itself was made by the English nursery McBean’s, which was founded in 1879 and is still in operation today. McBean’s exported many of its plants to the United States during the War, possibly including these two Grand Champions, and continued exporting orchids afterward. The 1951 winner, the pastel rose ‘Dolores Hoyt’ SM/CSA, was exhibited by Mrs. Norton Clapp, wife of the then chair of the timber company Weyerhaeuser. Sadly, she died in a private plane crash enroute to the Show. The 1952 winner, the pastel peach cultivar ‘Memoria Mrs. A. A. McBean’ FCC/RHS, BM/CSA, was exhibited by local grower Mrs. Edward Carpentier, who notably protected her orchids from dust with little umbrellas at her Montecito estate.
[12] 1958 Grand Champion, Cym. Jungfrau ‘Dos Pueblos’ AM/AOS,SM/CSA, AM/RHS; exhibitor: Dos Pueblos Orchids.
The 1950 Champion was recorded as Cym. Elizabeth Burrage Draper, an unregistered hybrid exhibited by Montecito grower Mrs. Chalifoux, who reputedly named the plant after her granddaughter. Mrs. Harold Chalifoux was an East Coast transplant, the daughter of copper and oil magnate Albert C. Burrage, first president of the American Orchid Society. Burrage was not unfamiliar with the West Coast, having spent his childhood years in California. As an adult, he would build a 28–room estate in Redlands, California, as a vacation home for entertaining (rahs.org). His daughter was one of the early supporters of the nascent Santa Barbara Cymbidium Show.
[13] 1959 Grand Champion, Cym. Lillian Stewart ‘Lyric’ AM/AOS,BM/CSA; exhibitor: Stewart Orchids
The L. Sherman Adams Company of Wellesley, Massachusetts, came to the Show in 1953, winning with Cym. Alexette ‘The King’ HCC/AOS, SM/CSA, their hybrid of Cym. Alexanderi ‘Westonbirt’ with Cym .Janette, which was itself Cym. Alexanderi progeny. Judges described the flowers as white with a light pink dorsal blush and “exceptional” size and substance (CS News, 1953). The nursery returned to win at the Show in 1954 with the pink–veined Cym. Alexfrida ‘The Queen’ AM/AOS, BM/CSA, another Cym. Alexanderi ‘Westonbirt’ cross (with Cym. Elfrida) that produced flowers faintly veined “rhodamine pink,” where rhodamine is a type of saturated dye used for paper. Cymbidium Alexette ‘Benvenue’ BM/CSA received top honors in 1955. Show history details that the nursery arrived with some 70 cut spikes of Alexettes and Alexfridas, all reputedly excellent. Likely the exhibitor was Lewis S. Adams, son of the founder, L. Sherman Adams, who died in 1951. L. Sherman Adams was president of the Adams Machinery Company and a director of several organizations, including 20th Century Fox and the American Orchid Society (Boston Herald, 1951).
[14] 1960 Grand Champion, Cym. Maxine ‘Noma’ AM/AOS,BM/CSA: exhibitor: John Baumgartner
By the late 1950s, whites and pastels were still the colors of the day, but the flowers were larger with fuller segments, as demonstrated by the 1956 winner. Arthur Freed, a Hollywood producer of musicals and owner of Freed Orchid Nursery in Malibu, purchased the winning plant from Ira and Enid Haupt of New Jersey. Note that Haupt, an orchid enthusiast, would go on to be “the greatest patron American horticulture has ever known” (Holley, 2005). Cymbidium Delrosa ‘The King’ (Alexander ‘Westonbirt’ × Peregrine, 1952, Cooke) not only won Grand Champion Cymbidium but earned an FCC from the AOS judges. The flowers were blush white with a blush red lip, and the high swept petals were from the Cym. erythrostylum ancestor. Interestingly, Freed’s name is not usually associated with cymbidiums. His nursery went to Amadeo Vasquez, father of George Vasquez, and became Malibu Canyon Orchids and now Malibu Orchids, known for exceptional phalaenopsis.
[15] 1962 Grand Champion, Cym. Harry B. Ireland ‘Surprise’ AM/AOS,SM/CSA; exhibitor: Dos Pueblos Orchids.
Similarly, the 1957 winning exhibitor was not known for cymbidiums, just as the registered hybridizer, British nursery Black & Flory, was known for cattleya hybrids rather than cymbidiums. The ice–green flowers of Cym. Claud Read ‘Gladys Hager’ BM/CSA had Cym. Alexanderi ‘Westonbirt’ ancestry from both parents Cym. Martha Church and Cym. Imogen. Exhibitor Herb Hager would later be recognized for his pioneering phalaenopsis hybridizing with the Herbert Hager Phalaenopsis Award, presented annually by the trustees of the AOS.
[16] 1963 Grand Champion, Cym. San Fran-cisco ‘St. Nadine’ AM/AOS,SM/CSA; exhibitor: Cobb’s Orchids.
Famed orchid nursery Dos Pueblos Orchid Company made a huge splash onto the cymbidium scene with the 1958 Grand Champion, Cym. Jungfrau ‘Dos Pueblos’ AM/AOS, AM/RHS, SM/CSA. The original cross of Cym. Alexanderi ‘Westonbirt’ by Cym. Eagle was registered in 1933 by Alexander, but ‘Dos Pueblos’ was the product of a sibling cross. The resultant seedlings were sown in community beds at Dos Pueblos Orchids, where legend has it, a worker was about to harvest the inflorescence for cut flowers when head grower Henry Tanaka spotted the huge spike of large flowers. This triploid cultivar was still being used as a cut flower into the 21st century by nurseries in New Zealand and the Netherlands.
[17] 1964 Grand Champion, Cym. Feather-hill ‘Heritage’ AM/AOS,BM/CSA; exhibitor: Stewart Orchids.
Dos Pueblos Orchid Nursery was the powerhouse of mid–century cymbidium growing. The wholesale nursery was the passion project of Samuel B. Mosher. Though his education was in agriculture, Mosher borrowed $4,000 (equivalent to about $66,800 in today’s purchasing power) from his mother in 1921 to drill for oil on Signal Hill. He founded Signal Oil and Gas, which became the largest independent oil company on the West Coast (NYT, 1970), eventually making Mosher the seventh richest man in the US (Gripp and Thompson, 2014). In 1945, Mosher purchased sections of Rancho Dos Pueblos along the coast northwest of Santa Barbara, partitioning 8 acres (3.2 ha) for growing cymbidiums under glass and creating what would be, at the time, the world’s largest cymbidium production facility. It was at Dos Pueblos Orchid Nursery that orchid cytogeneticist Don Wimber experimented with cymbidium meristems. He would publish his landmark treatise in the 1963 AOS Bulletin.
[18] 1965 and 1971 Grand Champion, Cym. Lagoon ‘Braemar’ FCC/AOS, GM/CSA.
[19] Cym. Balkis ‘Silver Orb’ AM/AOS
This was the “Golden Age of Orchids” at the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show. Orchids were becoming more accessible, transforming from grand estate showpieces to profitable enterprise. Wealthy private collectors yielded to premier nurseries producing cutting–edge hybrids. Among those cutting–edge hybrids was the 1959 Grand Champion Cymbidium exhibited by Fred A. Stewart Orchids. Registered by Stewart Orchids in 1955, Cym. Lillian Stewart ‘Lyric’ AM/AOS, BM/CSA bore five shapely 5–inch (12.5 cm) opalescent flowers with rose suffusion. This highly awarded grex combined the famous and prolific stud plant Cym. Balkis ‘Silver Orb’ with Cym. Carisona. Notably, Cym.Balkis lists Cym. Alexanderi as both parent and grandparent and is still being used by 21st century hybridizers as a parent. Fred Stewart, founder of Stewart Orchids, made his money in the post–WWII homebuilding boom. He made his nursery by hiring the esteemed Ernest Hetherington, known to a whole generation of orchidists for exceptional cymbidium and cattleya hybridizing, including the landmark Cym. Lillian Stewart. Hetherington’s accomplishments are recognized by the AOS with the annual Ernest Hetherington Cymbidium Award.
[20] 1966 Grand Champion, Cym. Samarkand ‘Montecito’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA; exhibitor: Cobb’s Orchids.
Large whites still ruled at the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show in 1960 and 1961. The 1960 winner, Cym. Maxine ‘Noma’ AM/AOS, was from a cross of Cym.Rosanna ‘Pinkie’ (an old but famous hybrid from Alexander) with Cym. Dorchester ‘Alpha’. The cross originated with Rivermont Orchids of Signal Mountain, Tennessee. The 1961 Show brought a reappearance of Cym. Delrosa ‘The King’ FCC/AOS, SM/CSA, exhibited this time by Fred A. Stewart orchids. It was the first orchid to win Grand Champion Cymbidium honors twice; its previous win was in 1956.
[21] 1967 Grand Champion, Cym. San Francisco ‘Dos Pueblos Special’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA; exhibitor: Dos Pueblos Orchids.
Dos Pueblos Orchid Nursery returned in 1962 with winner Cym. Harry B. Ireland ‘Surprise’ AM/AOS, a cross of Cym. Chesham with Cym. Shiraz, originated by Mary Bea Ireland and registered by Dos Pueblos. Ireland was a noted amateur hybridizer from Montecito whose first husband was Fred Noonan, the navigator who was lost with Amelia Earhart. Ireland’s collection would become part of the breeding stock of Gallup & Stribling Orchids, the dominant cymbidium nursery of the late 20th century. Local nursery Cobb’s Orchids exhibited the 1963 winner, the ice green Cym. San Francisco ‘St Nadine’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA. Stewart Orchids registered this hybrid of Cym. Blue Smoke ‘Pernod’ by the prolific parent Cym. Balkis ‘Silver Orb’.
[22] 1968 Grand Champion, Cym. Cleo Sherman ‘Memoria Robert Casamajor’ FCC/AOS, GM/CSA; exhibitor: Peterson Brothers.
The year 1964 saw the first deeply colored winner of the Grand Champion Cymbidium trophy with Stewart Orchids’ display of Cym. Featherhill ‘Heritage’ AM/AOS, BM/CSA, again originated by Ireland. The cross, registered in 1954 by Montecito grower Eliot Haberlitz, was of the red Cymbidium Spartan Queen ‘Mrs. Ireland’ with the pastel pink Cym. Babylon ‘Castle Hill’ and resulted in a flower with a lovely, deep red color and much better shape than either of its rather starry parents. The following year brought a return of the pastels and pale greens that dominated cymbidium hybrids of the period. It would be years before another richly colored cymbidium won top honors at the Show.
[23] 1969 Grand Champion, Cym. CleoSherman ‘Candy Cane’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA; exhibitor: Peterson Brothers.
The continuing trend of mid– to late–century champions at the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show was toward larger flowers with fuller segments on big inflorescences. This was the era of cut flowers and corsages, which helped define breeding trends in both cymbidiums and cattleyas. The search for the ideal large standard cymbidium was demonstrated by the 1965 and 1966 winners, Cym. Lagoon ‘Braemar’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA (Balkis ‘Silver Orb’ × Miretta ‘Glendessary’ 1961, Sherman) and Cym. Samarkand ‘Montecito’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA (Heathrow ‘Mary Bea’ × Alexanderi). Cymbidium Samarkand was a 1956 Dos Pueblos hybrid grown in beds at the nursery, where it would bloom under the cymbidium leaves. Winning exhibitor Cobb’s Orchids obtained a division of ‘Montecito’ and bloomed it with a spike of 18 flowers for display at the Show.
[24] 1970 Grand Champion, Cym. Via Real ‘Gail’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA; exhibitor: Gallup & Stribling.
In 1967, Cym. San Francisco ‘Dos Pueblos Special’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA won at all the major West Coast shows. The cross of Cym. Blue Smoke ‘Pernod’ with Cym. Balkis ‘Silver Orb’ (yet another Balkis hybrid!) was registered in 1956 by Stewart Orchids and exhibited in 1967 by Dos Pueblos Orchids. In a clever marketing ploy, Dos Pueblos already had meristems of the winning plant available for sale. It would be the nursery’s last Grand Champion before Mosher died in 1970, but the development of meristem techniques that the nursery facilitated was already changing the nature of hobby and commercial orchid growing.
[25] 1972 Grand Champion, Cym. HazelMcCabe ‘Pink Cloud’ SM/CSA; exhibitor:Universal Orchids.
A pair of Cym. Cleo Sherman (Alexanderi ‘Westonbirt’ × Babylon, 1956, Sherman) cultivars took top honors in 1968 and 1969. The 1968 winner was the white ‘Memoria Robert Casamajor’ FCC/AOS, GM/CSA, named in honor of a founding member of the Cymbidium Society and first editor of the Cymbidium Society News. Sibling ‘Candy Cane’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA won the following year and was notable for its blush coloration and candy–colored lip. Both winners were exhibited by the Peterson Brothers, Santa Barbara delivery truck drivers who built a nursery as a side business.
[26] 1973 Grand Champion, Cym. CleoSherman ‘Day Dream’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA; exhibitor: Universal Orchids.
The celebrated cymbidium nursery Gallup & Stribling Orchids won their first Grand Champion Cymbidium in 1970 with Cym. Via Real ‘Gail’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA (Sussex Dawn ‘Hot Springs’ × Etta Barlow ‘Ann’, 1970, Gallup & Stribling). The nursery began as a partnership between Aleck Stribling, whose father had worked with the gardens and orchids on the McCormick estate in Montecito, and father and son team Emmet and Gary Gallup. The winning hybrid demonstrated characteristics found in many of their cymbidiums: large blooms of full segments on tall spikes with many flowers. The white flower with its spotted lip was of a similar coloration to the very first Grand Champion Cymbidium, Cym. Swallow, but the size and shape show the tremendous developments brought by decades of hybridizing.
[27] 1975 Grand Champion, Cym. Via Real‘Alexander’; exhibitor: Gallup & Stribling.
[28] 1976 Grand Champion, Cym. Patrick ‘Mercedes’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA; exhibitor: Gallup & Stribling.
Universal Orchids exhibited the next three Champions, beginning in 1971 with Cym. Lagoon ‘Braemar’. This misty green (lagoon–colored, perhaps?) cultivar was the 1965 Grand Champion Cymbidium, but it returned to win in 1971 with FCC awards from both the AOS and the RHS, plus a Gold Medal from the CSA. The aptly named Cym. Hazel McCabe ‘Pink Cloud’ SM/CSA (Rusper × Balkis ‘Silver Orb’, 1963, Braemar) won in 1972 with soft pink flowers. In 1975, Universal exhibited a sibling cross of Cym. Cleo Sherman, a name familiar from the 1968 and 1969 champions. The clean white ‘Day Dream’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA carried a lip with a rose flush and maroon spots and would be the third cultivar of this hybrid to win Grand Champion Cymbidium. ‘Day Dream’ was also a winner at the San Diego show that year.
[29] 1978 and 1979 Grand Champion, Cym. Highland Mist ‘Dillabirra’ FCC/AOS;exhibitor: Sequoia Orchid Estate.
Gallup & Stribling Orchids returned in 1974 for a second win for Cym. Via Real ‘Gail’. The plant was shown with 19 massive flowers compared to 10 in 1970. The AOS and CSA judges were impressed, upgrading its awards to FCC and GM, respectively. The same cross with different parents (Etta Barlow ‘Ann’ × Sussex Dawn ‘Large Yellow’) won in 1975. The cultivar ‘Alexander’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA had only five flowers on the spike, but each was almost 6 inches (15.2 cm) in size. Cymbidium Patarak ‘Mercedes’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA, with its white segments and burgundy lip garnered top honors at the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show in 1976. This was a hybrid of Cym. Sussex Dawn ‘Ice Green’ with Cym. Joan of Arc ‘Arroyo Burro’ registered in 1970 by Gallup & Stribling. The nursery used several cultivars of Cym. Sussex Dawn (McBean’s, 1955), with its Cym. Alexanderi ancestry, to great effect.
[30] 1980 Grand Champion, Cym. Via Espiritu ‘Heather Christine’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA; exhibitor: Gallup & Stribling.
Gallup & Stribling Orchids’ breeding program came of age with the 1977 winner, Cym. Via Abril Verde ‘Irish Mist’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA, which impressed the judges with its 32 ice green flowers and nine buds on four inflorescences. The nursery registered the cross in 1969, and the parents, Cym. Raquel Abril by Cym. Green Spring were also Gallup & Stribling hybrids. Though the Cym. Alexanderi ancestry was distant in Cym. Green Spring, the storied cymbidium parent appeared multiple times in Cym. Raquel Abril’s background.
[31] 1981 Grand Champion, Cym. Fanfare‘Pedro’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA; exhibitor: Gallup & Stribling.
Exhibitor Sequoia Orchid Estate took top honors in 1978 and 1979 with the striking Cym. Highland Mist, a hybrid of Cym. Miretta with Cym. Mary Ann registered in 1968 by McBean’s. The cultivar ‘Dillabirra’ FCC/AOS, GM/CSA was from a remake by Australian hybridizer Tom Henry and was bloomed by Mr. Billings of New South Wales. Unbeknownst to him, the plant was mericloned, and many flasks were sold, including the “good white” Sequoia Orchid Estate received and exhibited as “White Fog.” Tom Henry happened to be visiting the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show from Australia, recognized the plant and told the story, and the correct cultivar name was applied. The plant was exhibited as a cut spike with 11 flowers in 1978 and 13 in 1979. It was the first to win the Grand Champion Cymbidium trophy in two consecutive years
[32] 1982 Grand Champion, Cym. ViaRincon Vista ‘Gold Ingot’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA; exhibitor: Gallup & Stribling.
In 1980, Gallup & Stribling returned to continue a streak of Grand Champion Cymbidium winners that remains unsurpassed. The 1980 winner Cym. Via Espiritu ‘Heather Christine’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA was a large paper–white flower with a pinkish lip outlined in red, registered by Gallup & Stribling as a cross of Cym. Via Ruborosa with Cym. Winter Fair. The 1981 winner was a large, striking lime green, but with a lip that tended to curl under. Cym. Fanfare ‘Pedro’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA was the result of a Gallup & Stribling sibling cross using a tetraploid cultivar. Braemar registered the hybrid of Cym. Verde Grande with Cym. Mount Everest in 1965.
[33] 1983 and 1985 Grand Champion, Cym. Via Nogales ‘Lori Jo’; exhibitor: Gallup & Stribling.
A new color came to the Grand Champion Cymbidium winners in the 1980s, beginning with 1982’s large–flowered, golden yellow Cym. Via Rincon–Vista ‘Gold Ingot’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA. This cross of Cym. Rincon ‘Clarisse’ and Cym. Via Vista ‘Yellow Giant’ was originated by exhibitor Gallup & Stribling but registered in 1994 by The Orchid Zone. In 1984, the judges awarded the top prize to Cym. Guadalajara ‘Siesta’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA. This Gallup & Stribling cross of Cym. Joan of Arc by Cym. Pearly Queen displayed a new coloration of golden–peach with rose suffusion. Gallup & Stribling exhibited it as a mature plant with 68 flowers blooming on four spikes to win at the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show.
[34] 1984 Grand Champion, Cym. Guadalajara ‘Siesta’ AM/AOS, SM/CSA; exhibitor: Gallup & Stribling.
White flowers still caught the eye of the judges, particularly large, showy whites. In 1983, Gallup & Stribling exhibited the Grand Champion Cymbidium Cym. Via Nogales ‘Lori Jo’ FCC/AOS, SM/CSA. The nursery registered the plant as cross of Cym. Sussex Dawn ‘Pink Pearl’ with Cym. Solana Beach ‘St. Francis’ 4N, another important plant in cymbidium hybridizing with Cym. Alexanderi ‘Westonbirt’ in its background. Cym. Via Nogales ‘Lori Jo’ FCC/AOS, SM/CSA won again in 1985, giving Gallup & Stribling their 11th Grand Champion Cymbidium trophy.
— Heidi Kirkpatrick would like to thank Jim Sloniker for his research on the Grand Champion Cymbidiums. The 2010 CSA Journal retrospective he wrote with Heidi formed the nucleus of this article. Heidi has contributed previously to Orchids, including an overview of the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show in 2025.
References
Boston Herald–Traveler Photo Morgue, Boston Public Library, January 26, 1951. https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:1544fr02p.
Burrage, Albert C. (1859–1931), The Redlands Area Historical Society Inc. 1956. https://rahs.org/photo/burrage–albert–c–1859–1931/.
Cymbidium Society Awards. 1953. Cymbidium Society News 8(5):13.
Dos Pueblos Orchid Company. 1956. Dos Pueblos Orchid Company. Goleta, CA.
Merriam, P.E. 2005. A Celebration of Orchids: 60 Years of the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show. Orchids 74(7): 508–511.
Samuel B. Mosher Is Dead at 77; Founder of Signal Oil, The New York Times. Aug 6, 1970. https://.www.nytimes.com/1970/08/06/archives/samuel–b–moshers–is–dead–at–77–founder–of–signal–oil–gas–co.html.
The History of McBean’s Nursery, McBean’s Orchids, https://www.mcbeansorchids.com/about–us/the–history–of–mcbeans–nursery/.
Wimber, D., 1963. Clonal Multiplication of Cymbidiums through Tissue Culture of the Shoot Meristem. AOS Bulletin. 32: 105–107.
