Meaning of "compact" v. "mini" or "miniature"

[Carole]

I've been trying to figure out if (a) compact and mini (or miniature) are two terms for the same thing, or (b) what is the difference in meaning? I'm coming to the conclusion "compact" refers to size of the plant and "mini" refers to size of the bloom? Comments? Thanks.

[rcb]

Carole - there are really not set rules as to what the terms mean - except in Cymbidiums. And the terms mean different things among the different genera.

But generally considering a genus, standard is the common size, compact is smaller growing and mini is the smallest.

So for the Catt alliance, mini typically means 6 inches high, not including the spike, compact is a little bigger maybe up to 8 - 10 inches, and standard is the normal size.

[Carole]

Thanks, Renee. I'm new to orchids and am trying to soak up all the information I can. Due to minimal growing space, I'm interested in learning about smaller plants and have been confused as to these two terms and what they meant. Appreciate your insight.

[mehitabel]

I agree with rcb. There's a sort of meaning to the terms with catts, and mini-catts are usually quite small, but I don't think every vendor adheres to a standard usage. My guess is some vendors try to conform to a standard usage, but others just plunk the names on for marketing purposes.

With phals, the littlest are sometimes called "teacup", and "standard" refers to flower-type not size of the plant, tho most standards (Big Whites, Big Pinks and Stripes) would be fairly large plants, with leaves 10" or more. Also, with phals, compact sometimes seems to refer to the height of the spike, not the size of the leaves.

[Carole]

There's definitely not much to learn about orchids, is there?

[kmarch]

I echo the thoughts of the others there's no universal standard for what constitiutes "mini" vs "compact" or "miniature." Renee pointed out that the terms do have standardized meanings for cymbidiums, but even those standards do differ form region to region. When I judged in Michigan we didn't use size designations at all and here in Australia, while we do classify cymbids according to size (standard, intermediate, and miniature) the criteria is flower size not plant size.

So probably the most useful way to think about it is to think of "minis" as just being smaller than the usual. For example if you see mini catts for sale at a show, think of the usuall size of a cattleya then imagine a much cmaller version of that.

[Carole]

Guess if I want to be sure I have a smaller plant I need to see it up close and personal.

How long have you lived in Australia? It must be a fascinating place.