Summary - 2006 Early Shows.

While I don't have detailed history of previous years for shows in Scotland I have the impression that 2006 shows were well supported and comparable with past years and quality of exhibits remains of a high standard. It's true that we are losing some of our main exhibitors after this year - Dennis Morrice and Dave Macfarlane, both from Fraserburgh, have decided to call it a day after 2006. Both have been prominent growers for over thirty years and we will certainly miss them and their blooms at the shows.

The summer of 2006 was indeed something special - day after day of beautiful sunshine. Chrysanths in Scotland generally did well with no noticeable loss of size or colour, which was a widely held  expectation as a result of the weather conditions. 

We hear that the National Early show in Stafford suffered because of the summer weather and was down on entries and down on exhibitors - "more empty space than full" was a frequently heard comment. The standard remained high, as always, as you will have seen from the pictures.

'Petal Pushers'
This season has emphasized the long held view that, as far as the exhibition aspect of our hobby is concerned, we have become a Society of 'petal pushers'. We are no longer just a society of growers, perhaps this is the future direction for the exhibition side of our hobby.

It's no longer just a competition about who can grow the best flowers but a competition about who can best manipulate the petals of reflexed cultivars into perfect vertical alignment. We have effectively perfected the ability to convert  'sows ears' into  'silk purses'! I admit to being a member of the band of 'petal pushers' - it is impossible to compete unless this type of manipulation is undertaken to some extent. However I do agree with Ivor Mace's sentiments in his recent article in Garden News - this activity can do little to  encourage newcomers to the hobby.

There is no doubt that a well dressed bloom is visually more pleasing than one which is not dressed - no-one denies that, however it appears that one of the main problems is that some judges are confusing perfect petal lay with form when they are not the same attribute.

Reflex Dependency
Another factor that became clear as I compiled these show reports is the popularity of the medium reflexed section and the near total dependency on two families of cultivars  within this section - the John Wingfields and the Chempak Roses. These cultivars are relatively easy to grow and consistently deliver good quality exhibition blooms. There are hardly any other medium reflexed cultivars being grown, or indeed worth growing (as the statistics seem to indicate). O.K., the odd vase of Christopher Lawson crops up now and then, and sometimes we may see one or two vases of Matlocks and perhaps Wembley at the late August/early September shows but these cultivars are most certainly in the minority. Such dependency reinforces the problem outlined above - it's not necessarily who can grow the best flowers - it's who dresses wins!

Is there an anwer? (Is there a problem?)
I doubt there is an easy solution - I suppose we could have classes for 'undressed' blooms but how could it be policed? Personally I'm cutting down on medium reflexed cultivars and filling the space with cultivars from other sections, (and yes, the reflexed cultivars I'm keeping are John Wingfields and Chempak Roses!)

Regards,

Paul

Footnote:
The images on the right hand side represent the only fully acceptable forms for reflexed cultivars - all other shapes are inferior and should be judged accordingly!

© Copyright 2006 Paul Barlow.