Rose Exhibits – Tips for Exhibiting Roses

If you already have a rose garden that you are very proud of, you can now take the next step and show off all of your hard work. Let others judge how beautiful your roses are when you enter a rose show or exhibition. You might even come home with the top honor of “Princess”! Rose shows and exhibits are an exciting event to see how your roses are doing compared to others, as well as talk with other serious rose connoisseurs to get more tips. The experience of being there and talking with others will be a great time.

Take time to visit a few rose shows before you enter your new flowers in the show to get a better idea of how they operate and what they expect from their participants. You will want to try and get permission to enter the preparation room so you can see what experienced displayers see and do before the judges come around.

Get a copy of the rule book from The American Rose Society and visit their website (www.ARS.org) for more information about events. When you are ready to show your roses, you can look for an event close to home to keep your travel costs down. There are a number of exhibits that can have a special class for beginners who are just getting their feet wet, so look for these events as a good starting place.

If you follow the following timetable, you will be able to face the judges the day of the show. A month before the show, start to narrow your choices as to which rose you will be showing. You can start by displaying just one bloom, but be sure to find a rose with a sturdy and straight stem. You can prepare the rose by cutting off all of the buds that are forming on the side and this will focus all of the nutrients in this stem to that bloom for maximum beauty.

Stake the cane of your selected rose by putting a bamboo stake to it and tying it with some twist ties. This will protect the cane as it grows. Spray fungicide whenever needed and keep an eye out for aphids and spider mites to remove them immediately. You can get rid of the aphids with soapy water, while spider mites can be lightly sprayed with regular water.

Continue to water and feed your roses as you normally would. You will need to put together a kit for the day of the show. Most toolkits including several cloths, Q-Tips, Shears, plastic wrap and a paintbrush. If you want, you can even through the ARS Rule Book in there as well to make sure you follow every necessary protocol.

A week before the show, cover your bloom with a baggy at night and remove it every morning. A few days before the show, follow the instructions from the “Tips for Cutting Roses for Display” article, but cut the stem longer than usual.

         

Care of Roses - Rose Gardening Tips