Summary - 2007 Early Shows.
Compared to the summer of 2006 (day after
day of beautiful sunshine), 2007 was the complete opposite - more rainfall
than anyone can remember and consequently less sunshine. A very difficult
year for chrysanthemum growers. At many of the shows I attended the
number of entries were considerably less than last year, with quality of
exhibits far below the standard we have come to expect. Notable exceptions
were Fraserburgh, Peterhead, Grangemouth and Aberdeen shows.
We hear also that the National Early show
in Stafford suffered because of the summer weather and was down on entries
and down on exhibitors. However, the standard of exhibits remained high,
as always, as you will have seen from the pictures.
'the end is nigh ...'
Whilst I would like to reach an upbeat conclusion for 2007 it is with some
reluctance that I have to conclude that, with the exception of one or two
pockets of enthusiasm, chrysanthemum exhibiting in
Scotland is under serious threat. I doubt there are more than twenty NCS members in the whole of Scotland! Perhaps
even less
after 2008 membership renewals. In fact in the Scottish Order of Merit table for
2007, at the halfway stage only 20 names appeared on the list, this
included spray growers and people who grow a couple of plants in their
border for the local show.
Why is this happening?
We have a number of factors that collectively appear to have brought about such
a rapid demise:
- as mentioned in the 2006 summary a number of prominent growers retired
after last year. The impact of their absence from the show bench has been
greater than anticipated;
- several growers have been severely affected by white rust to the extent
that they have shown very little this year;
- the weather has played a major role this summer and made it very
difficult to produce quality blooms and sprays;
- unfortunately no-one has yet found the elixir of permanent youth!
Other factors, perhaps incidental, such
as recent hiccups in services from the national
society are unlikely to keep members interested and enthused.
These things add up and people begin to
ask 'is it worth all the effort'?
Is there an answer?
I doubt there is an easy solution - I simply can't see where we will find new
exhibitors to fill the spaces left by others. The climate may improve and
make chrysanthemums easier to grow and we may find a solution to the white
rust problem. The national society may be able to improve its' performance
and generate some interest
and enthusiasm. But there are too many "maybe's" for this to be anything but
a long shot. And I'm not a betting man!
All I can say is "NCS please take
note!"
Cultivar Dependency
Last year I mentioned the almost total dependency on reflexed cultivars,
in particular the medium reflexed section where John Wingfields and
Chempak Roses dominate. This has continued this year.
Looking around the shows and at the
cultivars in prize-winning entries reveals there are probably only ten or
so cultivar families worth growing.
In medium reflexed: John Wingfields and
Chempak Roses.
In medium intermediates: Millennium and
perhaps Woolley Globe, Carlene Welby and Cornetto.
In medium incurved: Joyce Frieda and
possibly Lorna Wood
In large intermediates: Billy Bells, Lynn
Johnson and perhaps some Chessingtons
In large reflexed: Courtiers and Pearl
Celebrations and Allyson Peace (if you can devote enough time to dressing each
bloom).
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! |
