Anything goes as long as dahlias show well

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 13, Issue 634, 30 April 1996, Page 7

Anything goes as long as dahlias show well

Roger McDonald from the Delightful Dahlias Garden Centre in Wanganui gave a most interesting "hands on" demonstration on staging dahlias for shows, at the Raetihi Garden Club's April meeting. It was an open meeting held in the evening, Thursday 1 8 April, with a good attendance at the Presbyterian Church Hall. Mr McDonald used different types of the beautiful examples that he had brought with him, which turned his table into a riot of colour and form. He also showed two of the Mexican originals from which all other blooms have been developed in the last 150 years. He took members carefully through each step of staging beginning with the vase most often used — the green "bikini" which meant that each exhibitor began with a standard shape. Next, enthusiasts were shown how to prepare the dahlia flower for the vase. The stem should measure 20cm from the top of the vase to the back of the bloom a handy way to reckon this is by using the stem of the bikini vase which is just the right length. Everything showing from the top of the vase is judged. First, any spoilt florets should be removed from the back of the bloom along with the high level leaves. If the exhibitor wishes, other leaves can be left, but they must be as perfect as the bloom itself and should face the same way. The angle of the bloom should be at 45 degrees. However if the bloom, which should be chosen in the garden a few days before the show, is "clock-faced" (ie. vertical), it is possible to attach a split eane either side of the stem and just push one side up a little way every day until the required angle is reached. Pom poms are the exception to this as they should be "pole sitters" (ie sit flat across the top of the stem). Roger McDonald explained that many dahlias are bred these days to hold their blooms at just the right angle. Hamari Accord, which is a lovely large yellow semi-cactus is a good example of this. The size of blooms should be checked by using the metal measuring rings over the face of the bloom. The depth of the bloom head should be two thirds of its diameter. Rings can be ordered through a Dahlia Society. Roger McDonald then used single sheets of newspaper cut into strips about 10 cm wide which he folded over in half, screwed up lightly and then folded and screwed up a second time so that they would hold well in the vase into which he had poured about five centimetres of water to keep the flowers from wilting. He then cut the base of the flower stalk at an angle so the flower could drink more easily and placed it in the centre Of the vase, first wrapping the paper loosely around it and then adding more paper to make it firm as judges sometimes want to lift the vase up. A piece of white paper should be added to top off the vase. After filling the vase with water, he put the name of his bloom on a card on the vase lip in front of the bloom. If an exhibitor is not sure of the dahlia' s name he or she can put "please name" on the card, hoping the judge would be able to supply it. Roger McDonald then gave tips on staging three blooms, which can be shown either having two at a level height above the third one, or the other way round. In a five bloom Turn to Page 10

Annuai trade show Dressing up dahlias

The Ruapehu District's tourism attractions will again be promoted at TRENZ (Tourism Rendezvous New Zealand) a tourism trade show to be held in Auckland during May. Council's marketing manager, Bruce Rollinson, said this show was one of only a few opportunities to meet with the tourism trade that are actively promoting New Zealand. "Our objective is to have them sell the experiences of Ruapehu District as part of

their New Zealand holiday." Mr Rollinson said they were also looking forward to fostering the relationships with those already promoting the area. To help get the message across and provide the type of information requiredby the tourism trade a pleasing number of attractions and tourist operators have also become participants in the RDC product manual which will serve as the complete product guide for the area, said Mr Rollinson.

FROMPAGE7 vase it usually looks best to have three at the bottom and two at the top. It is helpful to cross the stems before putting them in the vase and none of the blooms should touch one another. If one stem insists on leaning the wrong way, transfer it to the other side of the vase and all the heads should be angled in the same direction. For getting multiple blooms to sit well, paper towels hold more firmly. If one of the blooms is too short you can cut a piece of stalk off another bloom and slide it over its stalk to make it longer. It is acceptable to use any ruse as long as it takes place below the top of the vase as the judge only assesses the visible paris! The centres of the blooms should not be "popping in the middle" or "daisy eyed" and they should all be the same size. To get the blooms to the show in good condition Roger recommended putting them into bottles in a crate, which holds them firmly. If you have far to go, travelling overnight will keep them in better condition than travelling in the heat of the day and this will also shorten the length of time they have to wait before being judged. Roger McDonald finished his talk by recommending staking plants between three sticks and tying around them, or they can be staked back to back. For showing, to encourage bloom size, spare lateral blooms should be removed to encourage the length and size of the header bloom. If you are showing miniature blooms, most of the laterals should be left on to encourage smaller blooms. Roger finished the evening by explaining about dahlia care in general. Perhaps the point least known to the audience was that dahlias should not be grown next to tomatoes and cucumbers, and that cigarette butts should not be left near them as they could catch a virus from them !

Dawn Harper thanked Roger McDonald and Gordon Clemoes who then assisted members with their own efforts to stage blooms. The next meeting is the AGM, Thursday 23 May, to which anyone is welcome. Members will be rung with details and an advertisement will be placed in the Bulletin nearer the time.