Fantasy Chrysanthemums - Spiders (part 1)

i) Hooked or Coil tip type - International standards

Let's look at the British, Japanese and U.S.A. Standards for these types. 

British Standard Spiders  (Section 10a)

The florets of spiders are tubular, sometimes long and very fine, sometimes shorter and of greater substance. They may be tubular to the tip, but in some cultivars the tips are open. In all cases floret tips are hooked or coiled Exhibition spiders should be "double" in form. Due to the tubular, and often delicate, construction of the florets, blooms of spiders are frequently reduced in substance relative to those of other sections, and the extra length of mature florets is often greatly in contrast to that of younger florets nearer to the crown. Standards for exhibiting and judging need to be adjusted accordingly, but development should be generally symmetrical and the blooms of a particular cultivar should be at a similar stage of development within an exhibit, with a button or zone of young florets still to unfurl. Florets should be fresh to the tips.

Common Faults: Disc in evidence, elongated centres, asymmetrical development, florets lacking in freshness, absence of coil or hook on some florets. 

I) The florets should lay in layered levels with the initial or skirt florets elongated and the coiled / hooked florets rigid There should be no unevenness in the thickness of florets. 

2) The tubular florets should be rounded along the length of the shaft except in the case of the 'thick tubular' type where they may be either angular or rounded 

3) The skirt florets should be sword-like in shape with enclosed ends; the other florets should have coiled/hooked ends, rigid and small. 

4) The central florets should be deep and small shaped either like a small whisk or a small saucer. 

5) The coiled/hooked florets should lie in a symmetrical circle and be rigid (fresh); floret length should be layered evenly graduated towards the centre of the bloom. 

N.S.W. Horticultural Society (Aust.)

(a) SPIDERS. Formally rolled tubular fords with a tendency to reflex usually with hooked or coiled tips, evenly spaced with good depth and a button centre consisting of young florets still to unfurl. Mature florets should be fresh to the tips. 

U.S.A. Standard Spider  (Division C) Class 11

Ray florets are long and tubular, may be very fine to bold, and may assume a wide variety of direction. Floret tip may be open and spatulate or closed, but should show definite coils or hooks at the ends. Some floret tips may be feathered, notched or cut (lacerated). The disk must not be apparent. 
Size range: A, over 6 inches (/5c m); B, 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm). 

© Copyright held by Dennis Maher, 2004.