Judges' Forum—Judging Today’s Mini Cattleyas

Peter T. Lin presents a seminar on how to judge mini-catts (mini-cattleyas) with practice judging. He opens with a review of the species most commonly used in breeding and the most popular primary hybrids, using the AOS point scale to demonstrate how he would score each of his examples. He goes on to discuss new trends in mini-catt breeding, including hybrid remakes using what he calls “superior parents,” showing examples of each. He then presents examples of improved red flowers, micro min-catts, new hybrids with improved splash-petals, new hybrids with tip flares and spectacular examples of new hybrids with splash-petals and spots. In closing, he reviews the form, color, size and substance and texture criteria for judging. Mr. Lin received the Norito Hasegawa Award for Excellence in Hybridization from the AOS in 2023.