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Owner of Hesperian Cleaners Wins Award for Fragrant Orchid

Sung Lee's Cymbidium won best of show in its class at last month's Pacific Orchid Exhibition, the biggest such expo in North America.

The Pacific Orchid Exhibition, the biggest such expo in North America, brought lovers of these exotic plants to San Francisco last month.

Included in their number was local dry cleaner Sung Lee, who walked away from the competition with a best of show award for the Cymbidium he entered.

Lee owns Hesperian Cleaners in San Lorenzo, Castro Valley and Danville.

Raising orchids is his off-duty passion.

He entered a Cymbidium, a popular varietal, prized for its beautiful flowers, frost-hardiness and peppery scent.

Lee said his Cymbidium sinense v.album 'Roshan' HCC/AOS competed in the medium-sized category ( flower 1.5" to 3.5").

He said judges considered presentation: how the flower blooms looked from a distance; was the plant balanced with flowers facing all the way around? 

Judges told him they were pleased with the color of his flowers, light green and almost translucent.

His Cymbidium was in full bloom at the time of the competition, with all of the flowers opened in near perfection.

He also heard comments about its fragrance. Among other things the Cymbidium is admired for its peppery smell, and judges told Lee they had never smelled an orchid with the same sweet, peppery scent.

"Over all it was a winner," Lee said.