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Pacific
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WHEN YOU SEE that gorgeous Queen of the Show sitting on the table, not many people stop to think about or realize the many steps that were planned and performed to get it there.
In this article I am going to omit some of the steps such as selecting the right plant, the right spot in your yard, the hole to put it in, all the fertilizing, watering, spraying and most of the pruning. When I say most of the pruning, I just want to emphasize the importance pruning has to do with getting that Queen. The cut has to be made on a stem large enough to support a bloom with the bud eye facing the sun. I know, keep the center of the bush clear, but also you don’t want the new stem to have to curl around the bush to face the sun, and give you a bent stem. You will never see a Queen of the Show with a bent stem. Now that we have a straight stem, let’s go to the 3 W’s … when, what, and where to cut.
WHEN: It’s a known fact the best time to cut is early morning or late afternoon, but I don’t always go along with this. On the day before a show, I cut about every two hours, when the bloom is exactly where I want it. When I cut for a Saturday show, I start cutting large roses on Tuesday and miniatures on Wednesday. Knowing exactly when to cut is hard to explain and comes with trial, error, and experience. The more petals, the longer the bloom will hold. Some roses open much faster than others, and some cannot be refrigerated, but generally speaking, the rose should be about one-third open or about six to eight hours from peak perfection. This takes into consideration that you are going to harden the rose off and refrigerate it for a few hours.
WHAT: As far as the "what" to cut is concerned, don’t waste time with bent stems or damaged blooms or foliage. (However, I do know one Queen that had a hole in one petal.) If you are in full bloom cycle, you have a tendency to want to take as much as you can, and this can cause you trouble, for you will be overwhelmed and not know what to work on. You may wind up leaving some of your best blooms to be given away or thrown in the trash.
WHERE: As to where to cut, the general rule is seven times the height of the bloom. For Queen, the ideal height should be 21" to 24" high, but I have even gone higher than this. Remember, size and proportion, or pleasing to the eye.
I use two five-gallon buckets with tap water, with one to put the stems in (usually two or three) after bringing them in from the yard and the other to recut the stem under water and wash the foliage. They are then put in a container and refrigerated, usually within 30 minutes.
The container consists of a piece of four-inch drainage pipe cut 17 inches long and fit snugly in a half gallon milk carton, filled about one third full of water and one tablespoon of Floralife. The bloom should be above the pipe, because the tube can bruise the outer petals when traveling.
The ideal refrigerator should not be frost-free, and should be set at 34 to 38 degrees F. Since I do not use a frost-free refrigerator, I do not cover my blooms. Most home refrigerators are set at 40 to 42 degrees F, and at this temperature, the rose still slowly continues to open.
When traveling more than an hour or so to a rose show, roses should be in some kind of ice box or the air conditioner should be at full blast, and believe me this can be very uncomfortable even when you are wrapped up in blankets.
Always arrive early at show area in order to have as much time as possible to groom and prep your roses. Grooming is a very important part of exhibiting roses. I don’t think enough attention is given to grooming, but I would rate it right up there with the other steps, maybe higher. I have seen a fair rose before grooming, become Queen after grooming. Look at a woman before her make-up is on. There should be more programs devoted entirely to grooming and staging. Winning the Queen is about 10% luck and 90% all the other steps. So the next time you see that gorgeous rose sitting up there, think of all the work and details that went into getting it there.
This article is an ARS Award of Merit Winner. Reprinted from the March 1996 issue of Rose Ramblings, bulletin of the San Diego Rose Society, Richard Streeper, editor.
Cal and Barbara Hayes have been
highly successful rose show exhibitors in the Pacific Southwest District in
recent years with both hybrid teas and miniatures.
