This page was originally published as a list of ten questions the Trustees of the National Chrysanthemum Society (UK) should be able to answer if they are serious about preserving the long-term future of U.K. chrysanthemum growing and the National Society itself.

The Trustees of the N.C.S. formulated a Five Year Plan and presented it to members at the A.G.M. in March 2006. The plan fulfils several purposes - it provides members with a detailed statement of the Society's current aims and demonstrates to the Charity Commission how the Society allocates its funds for the benefit of the membership. It also provides the means to answer some of the questions posed on this page. Extracts from the plan are inserted below against the original questions (now shown in red). 

This is my personal assessment of the plan and may differ substantially from the opinion of the Trustees of the National Society. 
(This page was updated on December 11, 2006 )

1. What new developments are planned in the next 3-5 years - how will they be funded and how they will benefit members?

New Developments:

• Nothing new really, perhaps with exception of cryogenics.

Notional allocations from the Support Fund:

• Publications £50,000
• Shows £50,000
• Promotion of the Chrysanthemum £30,000
• Contingencies £20,000
• Future Developments £30,000

Benefits to Members:

• No major new benefits. 
• The plan largely reinforces what members already expect to receive.

2. What plans are in place to reverse the falling membership of the Society? (Two issues to consider - how to encourage new members and how to retain existing members).

New Members:

• The aim is to have a Membership drive during 2006 with mass distribution of application forms at major events, through plant sellers catalogues, through the  Regional Groups network and at garden centres. 
• No indication given for years 2007 and beyond.

Existing Members:

• Retention of existing members is addressed by continuing to hold two National Shows, by offering specialised literature (often at discounted rates), providing plant sales for old and rare cultivars, free advisory service and holding lectures and talks. 
• There is nothing new here.

Broadly speaking Affiliated Societies are not mentioned in the plan.

3. Where will the Society be in 3, 5, 10 years time in terms of membership numbers and public visibility? What plans are in place to achieve these aims?

• The Trustees have accepted that falling membership is inevitable and have based  financial forecasts accordingly. 
• Membership is forecast to drop between 6%-9% annually over the plan period. This means membership at the end of the plan period (2005-2009) will be in the range 900 to 1000, unless recruitment drives prove particularly successful.
• Public visibility continues to rely on a 'bureau' presence and staging competitive displays at major horticultural events. This is not new.

4. What changes are planned to National Shows venues to bring the shows and the exhibition chrysanthemum to the attention of the public rather than simply continuing with the current 'exhibitors club'?

• Trustees are reluctant to move away from the current venue, even though visitor numbers are falling alarmingly and public visibility is effectively non-existent. Plan states that the venue will be kept under review.
• Chrysanthemum promotion will continue to be via presence at major horticultural events where ‘gold medal’ displays will be the aim, along with introduction of audio/visual displays e.g. showing a chrysanthemum dvd. 
• Ways to carry out chrysanthemum trials will also be explored.

5. What is being done to encourage the average chrysanthemum grower to exhibit his/her blooms either locally or nationally, or both?

• Schedules already carry classes to cater for the small grower and those who have not won prizes at National level. New classes are being introduced for sections that do not require substantial ‘protective’ systems in order to produce exhibition standard results e.g. Fantasy chrysanthemums, Boulous.
• There is no additional encouragement specified within the plan.

6. What is being done to ensure the Society embraces all levels of membership through the contents of regular publications (not just the 'exhibition elite')?

• In addition to articles and publications with an ‘exhibition’ bias the Publications Contents Plans include coverage of Garden and Decorative Chrysanthemums and will cover garden mums, charms, cascades, boulous, sprays and fantasies.

7. What is the publications plan/schedule for the next two/three years, for standalone publications and contents of yearbooks and bulletins, and what is being done to ensure regular publications come out on time?

• Standalone Publications timetable.

The following are planned for the next five years using in-house printing facilities:

• Judging Manual with colour pictures to replace most diagrams – first revision target is September 2006.

• Concise Register of Cultivars.

• Week-by-Week guide revised and with added colour.

• Progressive Thinking by Harry Randall.

• Growing and Showing Chrysanthemums by Wallace Brook.

• Other publications nearing the end of their usefulness may be revised and reprinted e.g. Chrysanthemum Nutrition, Soilless Composts and the Spray book.

Alternatively they may be replaced in other (unspecified) ways.

In the next five the following will be produced using external printing facilities:

• Exhibition Earlies by a leading exhibitor.

• Exhibition Lates by a leading exhibitor.

• Garden and Decorative Chrysanthemums to include garden mums, charms cascades, boulous, sprays and fantasies.

• A technical publication covering pests, diseases, nutrition, composts, greenhouse aids such as dehumidifiers, light, propagators etc.

There is generally no clear indication when, within the plan period, these new and revised publications will be available.

• Regular publications timetable

Broad target dates for dispatch to members set (yet again). 

• Spring Bulletin – Late February,

• Chrysanthemum (Year Book) – Mid August,

• Autumn Bulletin – Mid November.

No clear indication how these targets will be adhered to.

8. When will the Society broaden the number and diversity of elected members so that balanced discussions can take place on most topics?

• Society Management considers current mix of Trustees have required skills, experience and commitment to effectively manage the operation of the Society.

9. When will the Trustees be prepared to accept and implement the wishes of members, instead of overriding these wishes in committee?

• Five year plan does not seek to address this point.

10. What controls and safeguards are in place to ensure that the £300,000 cash mountain is not squandered on worthless ideas such as the unproven 'deep freeze' treatment of cultivars, and is used to deliver real improvements for today's members?

• All pre-allocated funding must be approved/sanctioned by Support Fund Trustees to ensure consistency with Society's overall objectives and the contents of this plan.
• Partners will be sought to share the cost (and benefits) of the cryogenics project.

Reaction to Plan

• The N.C.S. Five Year Plan addresses a number of the issues facing the Society. It contains more than the extracted responses to the questions posed here.
• Detailed examination of the plan reveals it to be largely a re-statement of the benefits and services that members currently expect to receive, and confirmation that existing practices are unlikely to change.  
• The plans for publications are exciting and ambitious but rather obscure in terms of timing, they will be challenging given the recent record in this area.
• Chrysanthemum Promotion plan follows the familiar pattern of staging a presence at major horticultural events but with the introduction of new audio/visual media. Whether this additional material will appear within the plan period is unclear.
• Membership recruitment relies heavily on the distribution of application forms during 2006, plans for future years are not specified. Alternative membership strategies are not considered.
• One major disappointment in the plan is the continued insistence on keeping the National Shows effectively ‘behind closed doors’ at a venue that only the hardened exhibitor will be prepared to attend. The Society describes the shows as ‘flagship’ events to promote the Society and the flower – but the question is “promoting to who?” 
• Raising public visibility is clearly a difficult topic as there are no new ideas contained within the plan.
• This plan appears to be as much about creating a document that will satisfy the Charity Commission that available funds are being designated for the benefit of members as it is about providing services to the members. This may be a cynical interpretation but when promises start being delivered perhaps such cynicism may disappear.
• Putting words on paper is the easy bit – delivering on promises will be more difficult!

Personally, although I had hoped for something more precise and with new ideas, I welcome some elements of this plan.  Prior to this new document there was no plan or strategy for the future, now, albeit driven largely by the need to satisfy the requirements of the Charity Commission, there are a number of targets and aims that can be monitored and measured over the next few years. (See below for 2006 Targets)

It’s not a perfect plan – such a thing would be almost impossible to create given the nature of the subject being addressed. However, it is a starting point and most people will probably be prepared to accept that it's better to try something and fail than do nothing at all. I therefore congratulate the Trustees for their efforts in compiling this plan.  

I would like to wish the Society every success with this plan and offer my personal support towards its achievement.

If you wish to comment publicly on the above you can do so in the Discussion Forum, click this link => Chrysanthemum Discussion Forum

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