Important tips from expert camellia grower and exhibitor, Don Lesmeister.
Everything you wanted to know to win trophies at the camellia shows.)
DO NOT JUDGE YOUR BLOOMS IN THE YARD, TAKE THEM TO A SHOW!
1. GET READY
- Start your bloom entry plan the week before the show.
- Pin back leaves with clothes pins, disbud and prune if necessary.
- Move container plants to protected areas.
- Read show schedule.
- Clean boxes and get tools (brushes, tweezers, cotton etc.) ready.
2. CUTTING/HANDLING BLOOMS
- Remove leaves next to bloom from plant.
- Get cup/Perlite/sand and preservative ready-use correct cup size.
- Put bloom in preservative within 8 seconds of cutting.
- Put bloom in container surrounded by cotton, batting, etc. (Do not use newspaper or Easter grass.
- Do not clean blooms until you get to the show.
- Clean leaves with milk or cream or mayonnaise (don’t leave TOO shiny). Put leaves in separate baggies by size of leaf.
3. EXHIBITING TIPS
- Walk the show…See what the competition is. Decide to enter single or trays etc.
- Gather up necessary trays,
- Clean bloom
- Put out entry card, place bloom & cup on table so only bloom names shows.
- Slice leaf under damaged petal if flower is red. (does not apply to white or pink blooms)
- Put damaged blooms in rear of class.
- If your bloom is BEST, put next to next best bloom.
- If your bloom is NEXT best, put far away from best bloom.
- Tilt the bloom slightly so it “smiles” at the judges.
- If bloom is not fully open, push gently with cotton Q-tip, blow on the petals to fully open.
- Use cotton, tissue etc, to stage bloom.
- Place bloom in middle of table if there are few entries.
- Stage every bloom as if it were the ONLY one you have.
- When finished, go over show again to review competition/single or tray entries and collections.
4. OUT OF TOWN TRIPS
- Gas up the car/check oil/clean windows etc, a couple of days before the show.
- Get directions to the show location.
- Don’t drive in the slow, bumpy, truck lane of the highway.
- Bring heavy coat or blanket in winter as you do not want to turn the heater on.
Good Luck!