Charlotte

Lot's of information. All should be helpful, thanks.

Congrats, Charlotte!!

Our show is this Saturday and I am the Show Chairman. I have awakened every night thinking of something more I need to do and worry about. There is so much to take over there let alone my own irises.
We have severe storms predicted tonight and more the rest of the week so who knows if any irises will survive. Like you said, never know what flowers will be blooming so it is hard to plan your design colors in advance. I have to do a "Tea for Two" functional design and cannot find my teapot so have been haunting Goodwill but found two nice ones.
I have to wash all of the vases that are plexiglass and press the tablecloths. Lots of work.
Transporting the flowers is the worst. I will probably not get any sleep the rest of the week trying to get it all together to take to Frankfort.
That being said, I did win Best of Show on my first time out and have won design or some other category each year for the past 5. This year I will be too busy to worry about winning, just want the show to go off without a hitch.

If there is a hitch, Jane, it will not be for lack of work or planning on your part. Sounds like you are the whole committee. I hope you have a great time. I know the show will be great.

We cheat & use paper table cloths. I am sure all will be fine, barring too much weather damage. The ISM show is Memorial Day. that is when we can get the building.

Lucy:
You probably will still have irises blooming but we are almost at peak right now. I am hoping some will still be just right but you never know. As long as we have lots of irises and the judges are not too harsh, we will be fine.

Jane,

I am impressed with your winning that first year. I remember my first year and my collection of three were three different types and heights in three different vases. In New York we had an award for person with the highest percentage of blues and one person who would enter fewer than a dozen usually won as she had a good eye for what was blue ribbon worthy. But here that wouldn't work as it would discourage bringing in more varieties. In bad weather years I've taken in varieties that were no better than 3rds to show one that was new to the area.

Winning is fun, of course. but I feel it is a way of showing iris to other people. Because of dog shows, John considers 'Best seedling' equals Best in show. Not the way it is set up. I have won a best seedling a couple times. Not the high awards.

This was my second year showing. I was in the "Novice" class, which you can be in until you get 4 blue ribbons. I got one blue last year, and 5 this year, as well as best novice... So next year I get to show with the big boys..

I clerked both years, and learned a lot.. So many details.

The stems should be well-balanced.. Both in form and placement in the container. Points off if it' stop high, or too low in the container, or leaning too much. I was surprised that some stems with curves did well. I didn't bring any of mine that had much of a curve. Ideally, they should stand up straight, be well-branched, with plenty of room for the buds to open. You get points off if the lower flowers are touching the stems. I set my Iris up the night before, and put pieces of stems to act as spacers to push out the branches.

You can also wedge a piece of stem in the container to make a stem stand up straighter. As long as it's below the top of the container it's ok. Points off, if it isn't.

The Iris should be placed on the table with it's best view forward. The judges are not allowed to move them, although they may ask the clerks to do that. Someone with more experience told me that I should turn one of mine around, against my better judgement... One of the judges told me later that it would have gotten a blue ribbon if it wasn't turned. Also, our containers have square bottoms that have to be squared with the table.

I think insects are a disqualifier. A que-tip is helpful if you have an aphid strolling across a flower.

I've had horrible leaf spot this year. I had to trim a lot off. I use plain old scissors from the dollar store. The longer blade is good for one sweeping cut. You need to do this so that it looks natural. On the leaves that are on the branches, you need to curve them gracefully. Some people trim them even if they don't have spots, when the overall balance might be thrown off.

I use a make-up brush on the stems with some talcum power. Some folks use powdered make-up (Probably don't want to use the one with a bronzer, or sparkles ). When I handle them, I try to hold them at the base of the top bud so that I minimize marring the stems. It's inevitable in transporting that it will happen.

Points off for tears and holes in the flowers. You think you've got the perfect stem, get it all set up, and then you notice a small hole... The judges do notice. A learned that a curved stem trumps a small hole.

I have a big old iron flower-arranging frog in a 5 gallon bucket that I tried this year for transporting.. It was ok.. Last year I used chicken wire.. I think next year I'm going to go with the spaghetti noodles unless I run across a cache of short lengths of pvc pipe.

I think that's all I have to add to what others have said...

Good suggestions, Sherry!

great descriptions I am short so the clerks did a lot of moving the plants so I could see tops. I just garden judge now as I can no longer stand for long periods of time, so don't judge shows any more.

Marking the stalk is one of the hardest things not to do. Getting the flowers there intact and prefect is the hardest. Look at how other people transport their iris when you go to your first show. If you get hooked on showing, you may have to buy a big van.

I used the rolled up newspaper in a 5 gallon plastic bucket. Some people get very creative. There usually are as many means of transporting iris as there are people entering iris.

Many people will cut the stalks unopened the day before if they look like they will open. That way if bad weather is expected overnight the stalks will not be damaged. They typically keep it in a warm room or in the tub. And you don't have to go out in the dark and try to find good stalks. Even if you don't cut them the night before, go out and look for the stalks you want to cut. That will save you time. The last thing you want is to get to the show with a bucket of iris 20 minutes before entries close.

If you have a nice stalk in the garden but the branching is too close, some people will put a prop between the branch and the stalk a few days before the show. Don't forget to remove the prop.

Keeping the names straight can be hard, especially if you are new to iris. One trick is to write the name on a strip of paper and loosely staple it around a branch. Again, don't forget to remove it.

Technically, you are not supposed to add anything to a stalk. But if you get a finger print in the "bloom" (the white powder on the stalk) a very fine makeup brush can be used to feather it out. Do not polish the whole stem.

Most people who show have a small tool box of supplies-cotton balls, Q-tips, soft makeup brush, scissors, a small knife, tape, glue, paper clips, tweezers, rubber bands, twist ties, etc. As you get experience showing, you'll know what you need the the toolbox.

Take along a spent bloom stalk or two. Then you will have material to prop the stalk in the display vase. As Lucy said, any props used have to be below the edge of the display container. Props are important because they can display the stalk a little higher than just setting it on the bottom of the container, or a little straighter. They also keep the stalk from twisting around in the vase so that the "A" side of the stalk is presented to the judges. When you add your tag, it gets put on the "A" side and that is how the placement person puts it on the table. What's the "A" side? put a stalk in a vase and look at it from all sides. Iris stems usually only have two good sides and one will be better looking than the other.

Do you have an iris you really like but it's not a perfect stalk? Take it anyway and groom it as best you can. Chances are someone coming to the show will like it as much as you do. The show isn't all about the ribbons (well for some people it is) but letting the public see what you see. Beautiful iris. And they won't probably notice the imperfections that the judges see.

Right. I have kept rosetes but I usually turn my class ribbons back to the club. they can be used again.

Keeping the rosettes you win is almost a given. Payoff for a lot of hard work.

These are the class purple ones, not the BIG ones.

It seems there is a large focus on the stem. Ironically, in one's own garden I doubt we pay much attention to the stem. To the branching yes, because you notice if the blooms are too close together.

So, if someone shows an absolutely outstanding iris that has finger marks on the stem will that kill it's chances?

This is amazing, everyone! I've never heard of a show much less been to one. An incredible wealth of information here--I hope I hear of one someday. I'd love to go watch!

Yep. Judges are picky. It will still probably get a blue ribbon but probably not best in class. Finger marks will kill it's chances of Queen of Show.

I am with the ones who say, if you have a beautiful one that does not fit the criteria of judges (curved stem or flower not upright, etc), take it anyway. People will love to see it. We have a People's Choice award. We let the public put a sticker on the tag of their favorite and that person wins a prize because the public liked it best. It is rarely on the Queen's table (judges criteria), just a lovely one that the viewing public likes. I usually do not agree with what the judges choose because I like the pretty ones! I do, however, know what they are looking for.
On the subject of transporting, some people use 2 liter bottles in a crate or tub to hold the iris apart as well as keeping them watered. You really need a van or deep-welled SUV if you take tall plants. Again, transporting is the hardest part.