Question
The more I read, the more confused I become or the more questions I have.  So in theory, a flask of new seedlings can have a grex name given for each seedling (not practical, but for the purpose of clarification).  Is that correct?  Or can you only give a grex name if the plant is awarded?  And if a new cross is made, the owner of the cross has the right to name the orchid, if not registered with RHS, correct?

Answer
Hi Skylar,

Welcome to the club!  (grin)  Yes, what you describe is what I've found to be true, the more I read and learn the more questions I have which causes me to read some more.  Sort of a vicious cycle isn't it.  (grin)  

I'm not sure the correct term is grex for what you describe, I believe it is clonal.  I use the term "grex" to denote a new plant made by the mating of two other plants.  Clonal would be the many offspring or seedlings from that mating.  

An example would be Phal. Brother 'Sister' in which Brother is the grex name and 'Sister' is the clonal name.  Does that make sense?  If there are other seedlings besides 'Sister', they each can have a different clonal name.  Actually, it is sort of like us with grex being our family name and clonal being our first names (yours is Skylar and mine is Jim).  

As for awarded plants, almost all plants that are awarded have both a grex and clonal name.  Why?  Because as noted above, there can be many siblings but only one or a few actually got awarded, therefore they need to be differentiated from the others.  The award goes only to the one sibling that was judged, it does not go to the others.  

As for who gets to name a new orchid hybrid, normal protocol is the person who originated the hybrid.  If you were to get a new seedling plant and get it to flower, you should try to contact the originator to ask if they wish to give it a name or allow you to do so (give them several possible names to choose from).  Once a name is chosen, it along with a color photo (slide) of the flower and registration fee is sent to the RHS to be registered.  

Does all of this make sense?  I hope so but if not, write back and ask for clarification or a better answer.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.