Chapter 25

Showing Roses #2

Packing ForTransport

Inefficient packing of blooms for transport from home to the show can cause serious damage. The roses must be sufficiently firm in their container to avoid movement and rubbing. Many exhibitors have contrived excellent boxes, usually of plywood for the sake of lightness, with several false "floors", and so can carry large numbers of blooms in one case. They are particularly useful if one is obliged to travel by public transport. When the exhibitor has a car at his disposal a number of suitcases may be used.

Each bloom should have been wired before packing. A roll of newspaper about three inches thick and slightly longer than the width of the case is squeezed into it in a transverse position; the squeezing fixes it firmly. Blooms are then laid with their calyces resting on the paper and their stems lying back from it. The first roll should be placed so that the tips of the blooms laid on it are just clear of the end of the case. Cover the stems of that row of blooms with a sheet of paper. Insert a second roll of paper so that the blooms resting on it will be just clear of the first row. After packing a third row similarly, it may be advisable to start packing from the other end of the case. Roses packed in this way can be carried a long way with safety, always provided they have been in water for at least an hour before packing.

On the way to the show all jolting and bumping of the cases of roses must be avoided.

Spare Blooms

Always take several spare blooms to the show, for some of those that were in good form at the time of leaving home may open quickly. Spares should always be slightly immature as a provision against conditions that favour rapid development.

In these days of speedy air transport, roses are carried long distances for sale or showing. The variation in blooming times of widely separated centres is now the greatest obstacle to an interstate rose show, at which exhibits from all Australian States and New Zealand could be staged. Roses have been picked three days before a show and carried two thousand miles by air from Perth to Melbourne to win championship honours. Flowers keep much better in planes than in cars or trains because of the cooler air at the high altitudes.

Since Melbourne is within a few hours of all the State capitals and New Zealand, it should be possible to hold an Australasian rose show there on a date suitable to all climates. It would need to be in the spring, since the time for autumn blooming varies too much. Such a show has been consistently advocated by Mr Charles Frost, of Perth, for several years.

"Dressing" Blooms

ome blooms will not be as widely opened as the exhibitor desires. Others will have opened a little unevenly, and be looser on one side than the other. The tight, immature bloom or the unopened petals on the one side of the other bloom can be corrected by gently unfurling the petals with a No. 8 sable-hair brush and dropping a small object down into the newly widened space. It should be pressed firmly still a little farther down with the brush. Green peas, beans, cotton-wool, and pellets made of paper are most commonly used; newspaper is the usual choice. The pellets should be large, varying from one-third to two-thirds of an inch in diameter; they are then easy to handle, to see, and to remove. They are not pressed down as far as smaller pellets, of course, but are, for that reason, as well as their greater size, less easily overlooked at staging time when they must all be removed. Newspaper can usually be crumpled into pellets so that unprinted paper is on the outside for use in dark blooms and dark print is visible on pellets for light blooms.

Top left: MRS THEODORE ROOSEVELT. Bottom left: MME A. MEILLAND.  Top right: CRIMSON GLORY. Bottom right: WILLIAM ORR. Plate 56 SUZON LOTTHE.     A very beautiful French Hybrid Tea rose. The colour is predominantly a soft pink, but it is suffused with shades of mauve.   Plate 57

Uneven opening of roses may be due to rain or thrips, in which case the blooms need only gentle separating of the adhering petals with the brush. Since each petal normally folds back from the centre of the bloom, its edge curls to some extent. This characteristic is very much more pronounced in some varieties than in others, and as one helps a bloom to open this must always be remembered. Even a slight curling of the edge of the petal will greatly increase its rigidity and help it to remain as you have placed it, but your work must always be guided by the habitual form of the bloom of that variety. When the character of a rose has been altered by any form of manipulation it should lead to disqualification of that bloom. Really good roses need least attention with the brush. The petals of immature blooms can seldom be made to reflex well. Petals grow rapidly as they open, and a young bloom forced open not only looks immature but lacks normal size. If a bloom is very uneven it can seldom be made symmetrical.

Staging

Specimen Blooms

At most shows special containers are provided for the staging of specimen blooms. These will have a diameter of about three-quarters of an inch at their top. Always be sure they are full of water. In the various States there are different rules for staging. The National Rose Society of Western Australia allows only the rose stem with its own foliage and without wiring. The National Rose Society of New South Wales allows wiring, while the National Rose Societies of Victoria and New Zealand allow both wiring and the adding of foliage.

The calyces of the blooms should be set at a height of five or six inches from the top of the bottle or metal tube. If foliage is added it should be kept well below the flower for one never sees leaves up round the blooms on the plants, and the nearer one keeps to Nature's designing the better the effect. The bloom and foliage should then be firmly fixed at that height with a wad of paper pushed into the mouth of the bottle or tube. The appearance will be enhanced if a little sphagnum moss is pressed in on top of the paper.

In England the almost universal manner of showing specimen blooms is in boxes. These are standardized by regulations of the National Rose Society as being rectangular and of specified sizes for stands of each regularly required number of roses. The boxes are painted black and have a hinged lid. The blooms are set up in the boxes before the exhibitor leaves home and the lids are closed until the box is placed on the show bench. The lids must allow ample clearance for the blooms. The tray of the box is covered with sphagnum moss; foliage is placed under the blooms. Spare blooms are taken in spare boxes. This method of staging is used in Adelaide and occasionally in New Zealand. It is not as pleasing in appearance as the way described for staging in specimen tubes, and it occupies almost twice as much space because of the presence of the upturned bulky lids. It also renders more difficult the interchanging of blooms from one exhibit to another at the last minute, and makes it imperative to stage all blooms equally spaced, whereas in specimen tubes small blooms can be made to appear less small by staging them closer to one another.

When arranging specimen blooms in an exhibit always place the largest one in. the back left-hand corner, the next largest to the right of the first, and continue in this manner, gradually working to the smallest bloom in the right-hand front corner of the stand. Roses are staged in rows, three deep, at most shows.

If possible, alternate dark and light blooms throughout the stand so that no two light or two dark blooms are adjacent either side by side or in front of each other. Try to keep pinks away from reds; yellow is intensified by proximity to either red or white. This colour arrangement may slightly disturb the accuracy of the placing of blooms by a standard of size.

Bunches or Vases

Similar principles apply in arranging a stand of bunches or vases, except that they will all be nearly the same size, and so colour becomes the main consideration. Added foliage in bunches counts as an extra stem.

Fig. 25. Two arrangements for bunches of six roses. Blooms are placed in rows of two, three, and one. If possible they should all be of almost equal size and degree of development. If some are larger than others keep the smaller blooms to the top of the bunch and the larger ones to the lower part. Arrangement A would be useful when two of the blooms were a little undeveloped and/or one was slightly bigger than the others. Arrangement B would suit circumstances where one bloom was small and/or two were large.

Badly bruised or broken outer petals should be removed, leaving no fragments as evidence of their former presence. Detection of manipulation will lead to disqualification. It is advisable to leave their removal as late as possible before staging time, for the absence of one petal often allows another to fall back slowly, leaving a gap in the balanced contour of the bloom. Judges carefully examine the back of blooms as well as the fronts.
Before leaving any stand, remove all pellets and insects from blooms, clean any soiled foliage, arrange each flower to face slightly forward, especially those in the back row, and spray the whole stand lightly with water. Experienced exhibitors know well that spraying can make slightly stale blooms, especially white varieties, look fresh, and that it prolongs their life, but it should not be overdone.

All individual specimen blooms and bunches, bowls, vases or other arrangements of roses of one variety should be legibly named on small cards, usually provided by the organization holding the show. The writing should be done in pencil, for subsequent spraying, even of a nearby stand, causes ink to blur and become illegible. Lack of naming of exhibits greatly detracts from the interest and educative value of any show.

It may appear that some of the procedures advocated savour of trickery. All exhibitors, in all parts of the world, follow most of these practices. There is quite a lot to be said in favour of not wiring or covering blooms, or even showing roses at all; it leads to a tendency to pay too much attention to roses of the specimen-bloom type. These are the most perfectly formed flowers, but are not always the most beautiful. In bygone years there were many rose enthusiasts who could find no use for any rose, however beautiful, that did not help them on show day. The varieties that bloomed earlier or later than the usual show date were quite ignored, as were also roses lacking perfect form. There would have been no admiration from these people for such glorious creations as Mme Henri Guillot, Faience, Christopher Stone, and our Floribundas.

An attractive arrangement for a small number of light-coloured roses. Plate 58 Top: A bowl of MCGREDY'S SUNSET. Bottom: A bowl of APRICOT QUEEN.  Plate 59

Our societies and our more recent shows have done much to break down this fetish. We may yet see other societies follow the lead of that in Western Australia and prohibit wiring and added foliage. Bunches, as staged in Melbourne, are wonderfully effective, and surpass in beauty anything that can be achieved in vases, as shown in Perth. These bunches and their arrangement are possible only with the help of wiring, but they tend to mislead the public. Before ordering any rose, the habits of which are unknown to him, every rose-grower should seek advice from his nurseryman or some other grower who knows the variety well.

Nurserymen who grow large numbers of roses have a tremendous advantage, as exhibitors, over amateurs in that they can cut many blooms from shoots from dormant buds, which are seldom equalled by blooms from established plants.

Decorative Work

In recent years the classes for specimen blooms have come to comprise a smaller proportion of the show. This is due partly to a reduction in their total and partly to an increase in the numbers of other classes. Executive bodies of rose societies have recognized the tremendous popularity of the rose for use in decorative work. Individuality in arrangements has been sought and awards are made for arrangement rather than for well-grown flowers. In most cases the exhibitor need not grow the roses used, and so little credit should be given for their quality. In fact, good blooms make good arrangement easier, and so the exhibitor with poor flowers is doubly skilful if a pleasing effect can be produced. Judges are too often unwittingly swayed by good blooms. Visitors to rose shows expect more than a monotony of stiff dome-shaped masses of perfect flowers, each set at an equal distance from its neighbour. They want, and are now seeing, new, light, and varied compositions. Very few floral arrangements are viewed from all angles in our homes, a fact that should be remembered when schedules are being drafted.

The exhibits that create greatest interest at rose shows are the floral art classes and the better-class specimen blooms, representing, respectively, roses in use, and roses grown tc perfection.

Rules For Showing Roses

Every exhibitor should make himself perfectly conversant with the rules governing each show. Each society has regulations differing slightly from the other. Shows in country and suburban centres usually follow the rules laid down by the central organization of their particular State. Unfortunately there are sometimes local variations, due mainly to lack of experience on the part of organizers. Usually horticultural societies affiliate with the National Rose Society of their State and follow the standard methods of judging. The parent body will often be able to help by providing judges and lecturers on rose matters.

Rules and regulations for judging are so nearly universal that it is safe to quote verbatim those used by the National Rose Society of Victoria:

1.	All roses exhibited in competitions must be from plants which have been grown by, and have been the exclusive property of the exhibitor for at least three months before the date of the exhibition, except where otherwise stated in the schedule.
2.	All roses should be correctly named.
3.	The showing of duplicates, either under the same names or under different names, will disqualify the exhibit. The varieties listed as synonymous by the Society are, in every case, to be treated as duplicates. The incorrect naming of blooms, if there be no duplicates, does not disqualify.
4.	All exhibition roses may be exhibited with rose foliage, whether loose or attached. No loose or extra foliage is allowed in a bunch unless it is of the variety staged in the bunch and then it counts as separate stems. Artificial aid of any and every kind is strictly prohibited, with the exception of wire or other supports, which are only to be used to keep the blooms erect.

A bloom dressed so as to alter its character shall count as a bad bloom. The use of prohibited artificial aid will disqualify the stand, except that if any exhibitor leaves a pellet in an exhibit, the judges shall remove the pellet, and the exhibit shall then be judged; but 20% of the points awarded shall be deducted as a penalty. No bunch or bloom in which a pellet has been left by an exhibitor shall be eligible for a best bunch or best bloom award. Should more than one pellet be left in an exhibit, the stand shall be disqualified.

Methods Of Judging

1. Roses must be judged as they are in the tubes or other containers at the time of inspection. No other consideration whatever is admissible.

2. First dismiss from consideration all exhibits which are manifestly inferior.

3. Then compare those remaining, all of which shall be pointed.

4. The following shall be the method of comparison:

a.	One of the judges shall name a number of points for each bloom or bunch.
b.	The other or others shall stand by and stop him when they do not agree, one putting down on the exhibitor's card the number of points allotted to each bloom or bunch as they are decided upon, and adding up the total number of points given to each stand or exhibit.

5. When the blooms or bunches are of equal merit, and then only, the judges shall proceed to consider their general evenness, variation of colour, arrangement and setting up, the exhibits being placed in the same light for the purpose of comparison.

6. In any section, judges may award half points, if necessary, to determine the relative merits of any exhibits.

Exhibition Roses

7. In judging exhibition roses, the points shall be allotted as follows: three points shall be given for a high-class bloom; two for a medium; and one for those not so good but not bad enough to cut out; one or even two extra points for a very

As previously stated, the addition of loose foliage is prohibited in some States and wiring is forbidden in Western Australia. Bunches are not regarded as floral art exhibits. superior bloom. A typical bloom of a three-point rose (which should be carried by one of the judges) should be selected, and referred to as necessary, in order to keep up a uniform standard throughout the exhibits.

8. The highest type of bloom is one that has form, freshness, size, brilliance, refinement and purity of colour, and which is, at the time of judging, in the most perfect phase of its possible beauty.

9. Form shall imply an abundance of petals of good sub stance, symmetrically and gracefully arranged within a circular outline, and having a well-formed centre.

10. Freshness shall also include a freedom from blemish or damage to any of the petals.

11. Size shall imply that the bloom is a full-sized representa tive specimen of the variety.

12. Brilliance shall demand a sparkling sheen over the whole bloom and a freedom from evidence to suggest that the bloom has been cut or covered for too long a period.

13. Serious defects in a rose are: faulty outline, confused, split or blunt centre, faded colour, marked or soiled petals, lack of size, oversize to the extent of coarseness, unnatural manipula tion whereby the character of the bloom is altered.

Full-Blown Roses

14. These shall be judged, and pointed, in a similar manner to exhibition roses, that is, according to form, freshness, size, brilliance, refinement, and purity of colour. In the full-blown rose, the form shall imply an abundance of petals of good substance, symmetrically and gracefully arranged within a circular outline, and with a definite showing of the stamens or centre.

Bunches Of Roses Of One Variety

15. In judging these bunches, the chief point to consider is the decorative effects when viewed from the front. Decorative effect embraces the following: (a) arrangement, (b) quality of the blooms, (c) colour and freshness of the blooms, (d) excellence of the foliage. No extra points shall be given for exhibition form, but the form must be representative of the variety.

Some societies award points for stem and foliage. In those instances wiring is usually not allowed.

Points shall be allotted as follows:

3 for arrangement.
3 for quality.
3 for freshness and colour,
1 for foliage.
Bunches of Single Roses

16. The same system, and the same allotment of points as for bunches of one variety shall be used in judging bunches of single roses, except that each bloom must have five petals only.

Mixed Bunches

17. Mixed bunches shall be judged in a similar manner to bunches of one variety.

Floral Art Exhibits

18. These shall be judged according to decorative effect when viewed from all angles (except where otherwise specified in schedule), freshness and quality of blooms. Decorative effect shall include arrangement, colour or colour-blending, and excellence of the foliage. No extra points shall be allotted for blooms of exhibition form.

Points shall be allotted as under:
3 for arrangement.
3 for quality.
3 for freshness and colour or colour-blending.
1 for foliage.

The question of duplicates must not be reopened after the judges have given their awards.

In all floral art exhibits a vase is regarded as a vessel of which the height is greater than the width; the diameter must not exceed three and a half inches one and a half inches from the top. A bowl is a round vessel of which the height is less than the width; the stem, pedestal or stand is not included in the height.

Small Shows

Frequently a new group of enthusiasts, probably in a new centre or in a town that has recently become flower-conscious,where wiring of blooms is forbidden, it is usual to award points for stems as well as foliage of blooms staged in bunches or vases. decides to hold a rose show. In many instances such a show has been held in quite a small way in private homes with no prizes and only the enjoyment of rivalry in producing the best blooms on the right day. Later these small groups develop into larger societies; the efficiency of their organization will depend almost entirely on the secretary. He would be well advised to seek help and guidance from large societies of long standing, especially the National Rose Society of the State in which the new society has been formed.

A well-drafted schedule will provide for all probable exhibitors, never forgetting the merest novice. In many districts there is no scope for an Open Section, in which the main competitors are usually professional growers, though amateurs are eligible. In all but very small shows separate sections should be provided for amateurs and novices. The overwhelming of a novice at his first attempt may kill his enthusiasm for ever. Each section of the schedule should include classes for specimen blooms, bunches or vases, and floral art work.

At most rose shows blooms are displayed in either metal containers or bottles of uniform size, shape, and colour. Specimen blooms need narrow-mouthed vessels; bunches need wider openings to accommodate the greater number of stems. A heterogeneous collection of containers spoils the general appearance of a show. Vases, bowls, baskets, and other containers are provided by either the exhibitor or the society, depending on the rules of the organization. All floral art work should be arranged by the exhibitor in the hall.

Printed exhibitors' entry cards, just large enough to be easily read, are necessary. There should be, on one side, the name of the society, the date of the show, space for a sticker denoting an award, and lines for the description of the class, the exhibitor's name and his address. On the reverse side the secretary should write figures clearly indicating the schedule class and the competitor's identity. For example, "15/4" would denote that the exhibit was staged for competition in Class No. 15 of the schedule and the exhibitor was No. 4 in the list of entrants for that class. At judging time this side of the card must be uppermost so that the judges are unaware of the name of any competitor. The awards are pencilled on this side of cards accompanying successful exhibits. Later an official of the society can fix gummed papers to the front aspect of these cards, denoting "First Prize" or "Second Prize".

All tables and trestles should be covered with cloth or paper of the one colour. Black is most useful and effective; white soils too easily; green detracts from the foliage; and grey is drab. Other colours are unsuitable for the purpose.

Roses must never be staged more than three deep. Sufficient space should be provided to avoid crowding of the exhibits. The benches, as the tables and trestles are often called, can be made in three tiers on each side, which helps in displaying the blooms and adds height to the whole show.

The benches are best arranged in a pattern that allows free movement of spectators. Keep the outer benches in long continuous rows and allot to them the trade exhibits, bunches, and wall-bracket classes, all of which give height to the display. In the centre of the hall should be a high focal point, such as a tall stand arranged by a city council or a commercial firm of rose-growers. Round this centre, but several feet from it, may be arranged flat tables for bowls, baskets, sprays, and other floral art exhibits that are to be viewed from all sides. On tables between these and the outer tiered benches will be placed displays, specimen blooms, and remaining classes for vases, bunches, and the like.

An information centre at a rose show is appreciated by hundreds of people. They come with all sorts of questions about varieties, modes of cultivation, types of soil, varieties of manure, and countless other problems. This centre provides a great opportunity for any society to increase its membership and extend its educational service. It needs to be in a conspicuous position and in charge of a carefully arranged roster of well-informed rose-growers. In addition to seeing well-grown and dexterously staged blooms, most people like to carry away some information that will help them to have better roses in their own gardens.

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