Phalaenopsis Charming Prince ‘Lee 1287’ was chosen as the most beautiful from a total of 1,327 different orchids at the international TIOS show in Taiwan. A snow-white orchid; even the flower’s lip is white. It was this unique aspect, combined with its abundant blooms, which convinced the international jury.
By Hans Neefjes
The cultivar was bred in 2013, at grower Tsang-Yu Lee’s company Char Ming Agriculture. The grower explained they saw the first bloom in 2016. The winning plant which he took to the show, is three years old. The international jury counted 142 flowers on the total of three stems. They also noted how all those flowers were facing the same way, creating what seemed like a white curtain of flowers.
The jury report also mentioned a resemblance to a bridal veil. There were a total of 180 judges, 50 of whom from outside Taiwan, to inspect the 1,327 different orchids (various types and species) that were on show this year.
The Taiwan International Orchid Show (TIOS) belongs to the top 3 of international orchid shows. It’s held at the so-called Taiwan Orchid Plantation, a location that the Taiwanese government assigned to orchid growers/breeders a while ago. It consists of 157 ha, cultivated by 84 companies. This makes it the largest concentration of orchid companies worldwide. The greenhouses are mostly used to cultivate phalaenopsis. The government funds the show, which has been held each year since 2005 in one of the greenhouses at the complex in the Tainan district, in the south of Taiwan.
The government’s aim with the orchid show is to help the growers, as orchid is an important export product for Taiwan. Industry professionals can attend conferences, talks, meetings and there’s also a trade hall, where Taiwanese growers can meet customers. Growers from all over the world come to the event in the beginning of March. Some even come well before the start of the show, to make sure they’ll be the first to choose from the latest selections of the Taiwanese breeders. According to Char Ming Agriculture, they had also received trial orders for the award winning novelty Charming Prince ‘Lee 1287’ before the start of the show.
Over 240,000 visitors
The ten-day event (from the 3rd until the 12th of March this year) also aims to strengthen the popularity of orchids. It attracted more than 240,000 day trippers from Taiwan in 2017. There’s plenty for them to enjoy across the five halls. In addition to growers’ individual entries, there are halls offering all sorts of orchid arrangements and various stands selling souvenirs as well as a wide assortment of the crop.
