Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-09-22
GARDEN
GUID DANCE
Taking Flowers to the Show
BY W. Il. YoUNcMAN

One Of the common mistakes
that the beginner makes in
exhibiting flowers is failure to
condition the flowers, so BY the
time they are judged they are
wilted.
That Is . most disheartening
experience. but it is even more
frustrating to win q RIBBON and
then when the show is open to
the public and your name APP
pears on the card where every
body can see it. to have the
Mower hang its head-wilted.
Conditioning flowers for the
show is not dificult. in fact
takes only q few minutes. .
Flowers should be cut the
evening before the show. i'm
mediately immersed in deep
cold water and placed in q dark
place. The water should not
touch the petals for fear Of
staining. They should not be
crowded into the container
since that is likely to result in
damaged foliage. Some kinds
might well be given special
treatment, especially those
with milky sap. such as the
poinsettia and poppy. Others.
such as chrysanthemums need
to have their lower stems
crushed to insure ample abb
sorption Of water.
Dahlia Views Differ
There seems to be q diver
gence Of opinion as to whether
dahlias need to be dipped into
hot water or to have the ends
Of the stems scared in q hot
name; or If the deep cold
water treatment is SUFFICIENT to
help them stand up through q
two-day show.
George Dodrill. q vell-known
dahlia exhibitor uses the latter
method but he uses q special
technique which is worth not
ing. He cuts the bloom before
the dew has evaporated from
the leaves in the early morning,
or in the late evening. He pre-
fers to place the stems in the
container Of water and then
cut on an inch Of stem. He
also believes In puncturing the
stem Immediately below the
lowest node and twisting the
blade 50 as to let any air in the
stem escape. Scraping the out
side Of the lower few inches Of
the stem Is also considered
helpful by some exhibitors.
Dahliagram-National Capital
Dahlia Society.
The above relates to the
hardening on Of the flowers so
that they win stand UP and
look their best on the show
table. However, there are q
few other practices that merit
attention.
Timing Peak Blooms
Obviously q rose or q dahlia
Ghould be cut at such q stage
Of development that it viii be
near the peak Of perfection at
Judging time.
A rose that is coming along
too fast should be cut a day
or two earlier and placed in
very cold water in . dark place.
perhaps even in q cool re-
frigerator to delay its develop
nfent. The same applies to
dahlias and q host Of other
flowers which may easily be
held Q day or two, perhaps
longer.
II development Of the bloom
Is slow 1t is possible through
cutting and placing in warm
water in Q lighted situation TO
apeed It's unfolding.
How 70 Avoid Damage
The next point is to get them
70 the show without damage.
Some exhibitors use tall cans
and place them In q case so
that they will not tip over. If
the gardener is entering num-
Der Of blooms this is probably
the most satisfactory way. But,
n tall cans are not available he
may crush some chicken wire
and place 1t In the bottom Of q
pail or other container and
then tie q piece over the top.
This will help to hold the
blooms in place and prevent
injury to the petals.
Still another way is to wrap
the bloom in soft waxed paper
and lay them in the bottom Of
. florists box. However, the box
should be lined with waxed
paper and for most blooms a
cushion is necessary to prevent
crushing the petals. For dab
Has. especially the A and B
sizes. 1t Is desirable to make
large enough cushions to pre-
vent the petals from bruising.
Several layers can usually be
placed in such a box but the
blooms should not rest on top
Of one another. This is accom-
plished by putting the larger
blooms with the longer stems in
49, a HA..A- ...s...s l.