Remember that modern fridges, with frost-free technology, dry things out. I had good luck, putting a lite weight bag over the bloom head to protect from that. And, why not try practicing now? Pretend the show is tomorrow. Pick and prepare blooms, so you can see how they turn out. See which of your roses work well, and which don't.

Jeri

I'm not a novice anymore but I'm far from a big time exhibitor. I only do a few local shows each year but it's always a lot of fun and I really look forward to them. I don't invest a lot of money in it either since it's just a hobby for my own enjoyment. I have a small tote bag of ordinary household items that I use for prepping my roses. I use kitty liter buckets with water bottles in the bottom to put my roses in for transport. The water bottles provide dividers to keep the roses from banging around during transport. I have a roll of gauze and a pair of cuticle scissors for cleaning and repairing leaves, some Q tips and a small artist's paint brush to clean and shape the blooms with and that's about the extent of my prepping tools. Oh, and bring your pruners so you can re-cut the stems.

As a rule I don't cut early and refrigerate. I don't have an extra fridge to put them in and I don't like to put them in with my food, not good for the roses or the food. I did cut a couple during the week this spring and put them in the little fridge on the patio but like Jeri said, they can look dried out if they're in there a while. I usually get up at dawn on show day and just cut what looks best. That way they always look fresh. But don't be super critical. I've had roses that I thought were just so-so win blue ribbons. It's in the judges eyes and you never know what they'll like. So cut and take it all. Even if you don't win any ribbons for something it will still look good on the table and most societies welcome having nice full tables of roses.

The one thing I would recommend is to get a hold of a schedule as soon as you can. Go through it carefully and often and take it out to the garden and look at your roses while reading it and see which ones might have candidates in bloom for which classes. And know your roses. You need to have the correct Approved Exhibition Name (AEN) for your roses. And make sure you know for sure what class each of your roses are in. I got DQed once because I was sure Baby Blanket was a shrub rose...it's a floribunda and I should have checked it! HMF has a lot of that information and they're pretty accurate so you can check any you're not sure of there if you don't have access to a copy of Modern Roses 12 from the ARS. Oh, and see if you can, get a hold of some entry tags before the show too. You can fill in your name and address on them at home (I just use return address stickers) and that saves a lot of time on show day.

Some mistakes a lot of novices make are: 1. To take off the leaves because they're damaged in some way. DO NOT remove leaves! If there are spots or tears sometimes you can trim those off to make them look better but a stem with no leaves stands no chance of winning. 2. Cutting too short a stem. Cut your stems long, longer than you think, where ever you want to cut give it a few extra inches more and then cut. You can always cut them shorter when you get there but you can't put it back once it's gone.

I don't know what kind of venue your show will be in but most places I've found are fairly warm and sometimes down right hot inside. So I suggest you cut blooms that are on the tight side. They'll open quick once you get there. Mine always do. My perfect high center ends up being in open blooms sometimes, lol!

If they have an arrangements section do give that a try too. I've always thought I was THE world's worst arranger but I gave it a stab that first time and lo and behold won a blue ribbon! I've really enjoyed coming up with arrangements ever since!

Most of all go have fun! Don't worry about not knowing what to do because I'll bet there will be lots of nice "rosey" people there who'll offer you any help you need. Most societies have people on hand to help you enter your roses and even the other exhibitors will lend you a hand or answer questions for you. It's a great place to meet a lot of nice, like minded and rose loving new friends!

Wishing you beautiful Queens! And let us know how you did too, please!

Thanks seil and Jeri, that is great info.

I have the schedule, so I will go out and make notes on which roses may fit. The venue is very close to me, that's good. I was going to do the bottle thing, or I have some of those individual tubes that you put cut flowers in, I saved them from a bouquet I received once.

I think the thing that confuses me the most is the categories. I did go to a show earlier this year just to look, and I know some of my roses look just as good or even better. I guess it's just what looks good that day.

As Seil says -- sometimes, the DARNEDEST things win.

Once, we got to the end of what we had to enter, and I had left one bloom of Etoile de Lyon that was, essentially, a bud. Those who know the rose, know that it opens up to a beautiful, ruffled autumn moon of a circlular bloom. I'd picked this one SO tight that, with all those petals, only a couple of outer rows of them were open.
Danged if it didn't win.

One of the judges told me with great enthusiasm: "I didn't know it could look like that!"
I replied: "It looks like that, because it is a bud."
The judge said: "It should have been open?"

OWELL . . . Judges mostly see Hybrid Tea Roses, and will often judge accordingly.

So, there you are ... If you have it, enter it. It will be "color for the tables" if nothing else.

And, things you can't refrigerate, you CAN put in water, and place them in a cool, dark place (assuming you have one!) which will slow their opening.

Jeri

This was my first year too of entering a rose show and really only went at my husband's urging. That, and I am an inveterate volunteer and I had said I would come to help. I took 5 roses and entered 4. The fifth didn't get entered because I ran out of time to write out the tags so a spray of 'Purple Skyliner' stayed in a bud vase at the entry clerk's desk. Several people asked what in the world that was, afterwards. I'm going to use Seil's advice next year.

The other four all took blue ribbons. Granted, this was a very low key competition, but still ...

One ARS judge was really smitten with 'Pomponella' in the floribunda category - none had ever seen 'Lauren' who was very purple that day. I was the only entry in the OGR category with a 'Koenigen van Danemark.' Louis Lens' 'Bouquet Parfait' also got a few 'ooh's and ah's' as it was unknown.

I also got the job of recording clerk so tagged along with the judges. The head ARS judge was instructing the newbie judges on the fine points of rose-judging - honestly, I could mumble "I know that" to myself at everything she said because of what I've learned here and through reading and through growing them myself. Well, except for what constitutes a winning hybrid tea; I did learn something there.

Next year I won't be so hesitant about entering both here and maybe in larger competitions. So I say, go for it, buford. Be sure and tell us what happens! Gean

I echo what Harbor rose said, call the head of clerks and volunteer to clerk. Just don't ask questions as they are judging, but listen and ask afterwards.

And, one last thing -- when you enter roses people don't see all the time (like Gean's Purple Skyliner) you are really helping a lot of other people to learn how varied roses really can be.
To me, that really was the greatest thing about rose shows.

Jeri

Oh Gean! You did the best thing possible by bringing all those different roses! I try to do the same thing every year too. I can't tell you how many times people have asked, "what is that and where did you get it?" And that's what rose show are supposed to be about, exposing people to ALL the different kinds of roses there are. I know so much emphasis is put on getting the Queen but that's only one rose. Lovely as it usually is I spend way more time looking at all the others on the tables and deciding which I like and might want to try.

And yes, clerk if you can! I've been doing that for several years now and really enjoy it. Listening to the judges as they make their rounds is the best way to learn about roses and rose shows. And the judges are always friendly and happy to answer any questions you have after they've finished judging. This spring I changed up and clerked for the arrangements judges instead of horticulture. What a wonderful time that was and I learned a ton of things about arrangements that I didn't know. Next year my arrangements will benefit from the experience!

Also be prepared to bite your tongue if someone says, but those aren't "really roses, you need to grow Hybrid Teas".

Heavens help you if you bring a single species rose.....

If you have a fragrant bloom, and there's a fragrance class, enter it. Often those are judged blindfolded.

I had already volunteered to clerk and said I'll be there all day, so whatever they want me to do, I'll do.

I have some ideas on what to bring based on the schedule. Luckily I already had an excel sheet of my roses with the classifications, I just had to note which were modern and which were OGRS prior to 1867 and after. They have a separate category for those.

I am a bit low on HTs, not my favorite anymore. But I do have Double Delight, Mr. Lincoln and Fragrant Cloud. If any of them have a bloom, they will be in the fragrance class for sure.

Queen in our small local show went (to my eye) a gaudy floribunda that had none of the charm of (to my eye) either Pomponella or the poly sprays I brought.

But it was a lot of fun to bring roses that were mostly unknown, as Seil, Jeri and Ann mentioned above. And maybe next year 'Irish Fireflame' will be in bloom and I'll enter it into the hybrid tea category. Hah!

You know, Ann, I've never had that happen and I've brought many types of roses to our shows. We even have a class for species roses! For the most part our exhibitors are older and only buy roses locally (which is usually the same old, same old stuff every year) so they're always interested in what I've found on line that's new and different to them. I've actually encouraged many of them to start looking on line for different roses and they're enjoying it! Many of them had no idea there was such diversity available. And I've pushed to get them started doing some hybridizing too. We had a seedling class this year!

I'm thinking of bringing a lot of Teas (not HTs). Many of the people in my rose group are unfamiliar with them, so it may be interesting for them to see them in person.

I hope everyone loves your tea roses, Buford; I think it is a wonderful idea. If the teas have their heads down, just tell everyone they're very polite and like to bow and curtsey in the company of strangers. :)

If you have noisette sprays, please share them at shows. Too many people in the southeast don't know what they are or how charming they can be. DO finger prune out any spent blooms .

Buford, I put some roses in the Greater Atlanta Rose Society show before. It was fun. Don't worry at all about not having many HTs. There will be folks there who live and breathe exhibiting HTs. I even know a lady who owns a special refrigerator just to hold roses before an exhibition.

Your idea of showing your teas is a good one. They are what you love and they are different from what others will bring. And don't worry about the nodding blooms, the judges I met at the GARS show knew about that characteristic.

Please let us know how it goes. (Where is it btw?)

It's in Buford :) at Bogan Park. It's being put on by the Greater Gwinnett Rose Society on October 13-14th.

I've been assigned to placement. That way I can see how the classifications are done. I just hope I have some good roses that week.

Harborrose I love what you said about Tea roses :)

I was thinking about showing my roses but I don't want to get in to deep like spraying constitly and was just wanting to leave them be and then show them. Could I do that?

Jessica -- Sure you could! I would recommend that you learn as much as you can about how to best select and display the blooms you're going to take to the show.

Many local societies have "Little Rose Shows" at their meetings, and those are a GREAT place to learn little tricks, like how to stage a rose in a vase, how to minimize damage to foliage, stuff like that.

There's good stuff on line, too:
http://scvrs.homestead.com/PutBestFaceForward.html
and
http://www.rose-works.com/Showing-Roses.html
and
http://gardeningfromthegroundup.us/Showing%20Roses.htm
and
http://www.ars.org/?page_id=2990
and
the link below.

Remember that you don't have to trophy to have a wonderful time, and to introduce others to some of your favorite roses.

Jeri

Here is a link that might be useful: Exhibiting Roses

Thanks Jeri!

The thing you will realize when you go to a show is that you have better looking roses in your yard. It's just a matter of what looks good when.

I think every one should go and bring the roses that they love. Everyone complains that it's all about exhibition HTs and the "Queen" but if you have other types of roses and DON'T bring them then there won't ever be anything else! Like I said, I've brought lots of types and have encouraged members to try them out too. I've drummed up a lot of interest in polyanthas around here since they're pretty hardy and big bloom machines in our climate. If you don't share your different types of roses then you can't expect others to know about them. So take them and show them and have a good time!

Good luck and I hope it's fun for you. I remember the first time I saw people going from the parking lot with boxes full of q tip stuffed roses. I thought what in the world.....then I saw the rose show sign.

I usually go see the camellia show and one time when I was younger, I went in too early not knowing the show wasn't open yet. I was just wandering and wondering where all the people were. I saw a group of people gathered around so I went over and they were saying hard things about the flowers. I thought why are they being so mean these flowers are great. After a few moments they saw me and threw me out so they could finish judging the show.

Just let me say that often the camellia I liked best never got any prizes. But I went and found that plant so I could grow one. I would say enter what you like and enjoy it. People get so competitive and I don't really enjoy that part but I do love to see all the beautiful flowers that people poured their love into.

It must be camellia shows. The only one I went to I accidentally crashed just like you. Just went in with the crowd of people - who turned out to be the judges. Very embarassing but I saw wonderful flowers and otherwise had a great time.

Cath

Bring what ya got!!! Relax and ENJOY. Please bring as many different Tea's as you can. I don't have any tea's in my garden, yet. I need to know what grows well up here. Forget about cutting before Wednesday evening. I don't do a refrige and still gather my fair share of royalty. I put them in a cool dark room. I grow a little bit of just about everything. This way I can spred my roses all through the show. During the afternoon you will notice the general public will walk by the royalty table , then go crazy out in the main show area. Mingle with the public and if you see someone going crazy over a rose you know something about, talk with them and ENCOURAGE them. When push comes to shove, the rose show is for the public. I'll be there EARLY. I'm doing at least 1 arrangement then putting the rest of my roses in the show. Make sure you look me up :)

Ken's got it just right. Go, and enjoy!

Jeri