The Santa Barbara International Orchid Show concluded with a range of awards recognizing excellence in display, cultivation, and plant quality across multiple categories. Held in Santa Barbara, the event brought together growers, societies, and enthusiasts to showcase orchids in competitive and educational settings. Winners were named for displays of various sizes and types, as well as individual plants and groupings that demonstrated outstanding horticultural achievement.
What a show trophy means
A show trophy at the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show is awarded to exhibits or plants that meet the highest standards in their class, as judged by experienced orchid experts. These awards recognize not only the beauty of the flowers but also the skill involved in growing, arranging, and presenting them. Trophies are given for displays based on size, theme, artistic merit, and educational value, while plant awards focus on form, color, vigor, and cultural excellence. Earning a trophy indicates that the entry stood out among competitors in a rigorous evaluation process.
Top honors in display categories
Bert Kallman of Cal-Orchid won the Sweepstakes “Best Display” award, the show’s top honor for overall display excellence. Fred A. Stewart of the Conejo Orchid Society received Best Display, any size, non-commercial. Ethel & Buzz Seeburg of Ambriz Kingdom of Plants were recognized for the Most Artistic Display. Eliot F. Haberlitz of Zuma Orchids LLC won Best “Theme of Show.” John A. Parma of Santa Barbara Orchid Estate took the Best Educational and/or Scientific Display award. Wilson Orchids earned Best Foreign Exhibit, any type orchids. For smaller displays under 25 square feet, Paph Paradise won the Open category, Harvey Bean of Frank’s Orchid Empire won the Amateur – Garden theme, and the Ventura County Orchid Society won the Non-Commercial, Societies/Organizations division. In the 25 to 100 square foot range, Ambriz Kingdom of Plants won Open, while the Vietnamese Orchid Society won Non-Commercial Societies/Organizations. For displays over 100 square feet, Cal-Orchid won Open and the Conejo Orchid Society won Non-Commercial Societies/Organizations, also receiving the Orchid Digest, American Orchid Society, and CSA Gold Medal awards for their Cymbidium and Paphiopedilum displays.
Standout orchid winners
The Best Orchid In Show award went to Gallup & Stribling for a Paphiopedilum Shin-Yi’s Dragon ‘Huntington’s Fire’ from the Huntington Library. The Grand Champion Cymbidium of Show was awarded to Samuel B. Mosher of TX Garden for Cymbidium Jacqueline Hatfield ‘Pretty’. Mary M. Chrisman of TX Garden received Reserve Champion Cymbidium of Show for Cymbidium Memoria Amelia Earhart ‘TX’. Ruth & Fred Castator of the Vietnamese Orchid Society won the Cymbidium Beauty Trophy for Cymbidium Mem Thuy Hon Bui ‘My Van’. Loren Batchman of TX Garden earned the Loren Batchman Trophy, CSA for Best Boldly Spotted Cymbidium Flower with Cymbidium Cray Cray ‘Super Cray’. Jensoa Enthusiasts, represented by Enming Chen, won Best Oriental Cymbidium for Cymbidium goeringii ‘Tenyuu’. John Rowe of TX Garden won Best Standard Cymbidium for a hybrid cross, and Paul Miller of Jon Palos won Best Miniature Cymbidium for a Fifi x floribundum cross. The Vietnamese Orchid Society also won Best Novelty Cymbidium for Cymbidium Memoria James Burson ‘Ryan’, and Keith Andrew of TX Garden won Best Pendulous Cymbidium with the same Cray Cray ‘Super Cray’ plant. Fang Hua Garden won Best Species Cymbidium for Cymbidium goeringii Tenyuu. Wm. R. Dickinson of Sorella Orchids won Best 1st Blooming Cymbidium Seedling for Cymbidium Nguyen Trung, and T.M. Storke of Orchids Royale won Best 1st Blooming Pink or Rose Shades Cymbidium Seedling. Amy Dupont received recognition for Best Group of 1st Blooming Standard Cymbidium Seedlings, though no exhibitor was listed. Ruth & Jack Hudlow of Gallup & Stribling won Best Group 3 Cymbidium Plants each a different clone for Cymbidium Dr Lloyd Hawkinson ‘Piedmont’.
Excellence across other genera
In the Cattleya Alliance, the Vietnamese Orchid Society won Best Division through Mosher, and Ronna & Eric Hoffman won Best Red Cattleya, both with Slc Jewel Box ‘Dark Water’. M.E. McCreery of Jim Sloniker won Best Group of 5 or more orchids excluding Cymbidiums and Cattleyas with a Paphiopedilum rothschildianum group. Keith Shaffer of Jim Sloniker won Best Group of Blooming Seedlings, any genera, with a Paphiopedilum Hawaiian Ruby group. Ruben Colmenares won Best Dendrobium Show Trophy for Den. Rainbow Dancer. Anne P. Gripp of Bill Gunning won Best Lycaste Alliance for Lycaste xytriophora. Gayle Brodie won Best Oncidium Alliance Show Trophy for Psychopsis Kalihi. Roy F. Wilcox of Huntington Library won Best Cypripedium Alliance Division for Paphiopedilum Shin-Yi’s Dragon ‘Huntington’s Fire’. Albert C. Svoboda, Jr. of Jim Sloniker won Best Standard Complex Paphiopedilum Hybrid. Arthur Freed of Zuma Orchids LLC won Best Phalaenopsis for Phalaenopsis Yu Pin Panda. T.S. Takafuji of Chris Spence won Best Vanda for Angraecum Crestwood. Jean Weeks won Best Miscellaneous Genera Show Trophy for Dendrochilum uncatum. James Rose of the Vietnamese Orchid Society won Best Specimen Cattleya Alliance Blooming Plant for Slc Jewel Box ‘Dark Water’. L.H. Nelson of Gallup & Stribling won Best Specimen Cymbidium Plant for Vidar ‘Harlequin’. Clayton Smith of Jean Weeks won Best Specimen Plant other than Cymbidium, Cattleya or Paphiopedilum for Dendrochilum uncatum. Finally, the Huntington Library won Best Cypripedium Alliance Specimen Blooming Plant for Paphiopedilum Shin-Yi’s Dragon ‘Huntington’s Fire’.
Sources
Based on: sborchidshow.com. Written and checked by the Orkpedia editors.