Where to start....

[Ivan McConachie]

I am probably going to ask a question that has been asked before on the forum, if so forgive me.

I just wondered those of you who show your plants, you all must have started somewhere! So I wondered what varieties of alpines/bulbs did everyone start with??

Following on from that and to help myself as a complete newbie, can I ask what varieties would you all recommend as a good starting point, for growing in the hope of showing.

There is such a vast range out there, but presumably the are varieties that are more 'showy' than others. 

[Maggi Young]

Ivan, I'll attach to this post a couple of old documents that I originally prepared for the Aberdeenshire Group members -  they will at least give you some starter tips, I hope, even though they are quite locally specific to this area - it shouldn't take too much to see how the ideas can be expanded......

Some notes to encourage First Time Exhibitors   shownotesfornewbies.doc (34.5 kB - downloaded 197 times.)

Some possible show plants ( Aberdeen)  possibleshowplants-Aberdeen.doc (31 kB - downloaded 274 times.)

[Maggi Young]

Okay, let me think, what might be good for Section II beginners?

Primula reidii , Primula vulgaris or  elatior , Lewisia cotyledon,  dwarf Rhododendrons like 'Ginny Gee' 'Curlew' .

Little daffs- Narcissus   'Mite' , 'Topolino' 'Douglasbank' 'Jumblie'  'Tete a Tete'  or species types like rupicola or  henriquesii

Iris reticulata hybrids  ,  Crocus...  any of the little  chrysanthus hybrids - 'Snow Bunting', 'Blue Pearl'  etc
Tulips- bakeri types such a 'Lilac Wonder', batalinii such as 'Bronze Charm'

Corydalis like George Baker.....  how are we doing so far?

Plants that make good show plantsthat you can find for sale but which you can raise from seed too - Draba species, Androsace, all sorts of primulas.......

[Ivan McConachie]

Thanks Maggi the notes look particularly useful.

I have printed them off to read over fully at home.

[brianw]

Having been to a show or two first, I think your first entry will be the first plant you think is worthy of showing. It need only be one to start, and need not be anything exotic. Just a well grown and well presented plant.
My first entry, and first prize, was Androsace ciliata. Never grown it as well since, bigger yes, but not as well. It was the only entry I made in my first exhibiting show. No doubt I bought it having seen it in a previous show. Too long ago to remember now.

[Maggi Young]

Reopening this thread as a result of a couple of comments in another -

I've known pleione growers who place their flowers/bulbs  in a pot  just before a show to get a neat arrangement.
The lengths many exhibitors go to to prepare their plants for show is mind boggling in many cases -  but most of it is  a question of dedication and effort  and not in any way "unsporting"

Arranging them in the pot just before a show is pretty standard practice, and not just with Pleione. For example Iris reticulata types are often done like this to get pleasing spacing and to pick flowers all at the same stage. I think showing is as much about art as it is about growing. I agree with you Maggi, techniques used for showing plants should be much more widely shared. I haven't done enough showing myself to oblige, but I wonder if some of the frequent showers might be persuaded to share their tips? An article in the journal perhaps? I'm sure this would be of real help to those who have perhaps only just started showing or even been put off showing as they feel they could never match the well-displayed plants they see regularly on the show benches.

Paul

Hoping to hear more handy hints for exhibitors!

[Lesley Cox]

I'm coming back to the Forum after quite a time away (I had to ask for a new password and re-register!) so I'm feeling a bit like a beginner myself.

In my show experience on the other side of the world where we can't get the new and rare plants available in the UK and Europe, it seems to me that the "common" plants such as Gentiana acaulis and its close relatives make wonderful show plants and are easy to grow. The same can be said for the many forms of Primula within the auricula group, P. marginata for instance. And a couple of super plants for showing are Polygala chamaebuxus, (yellow and white) and its grandiflora form (yellow and rosy purple.) The little daffodils always do well at our southern shows and we do have a good selection of those. It also helps to have a number of shows over different times and places which ours really aren't. Only a very few shows and all within a month of spring. You have such a wealth of material to play with Ivan and can visit so many different shows through almost all the year. I envy you in a really wicked way.

[David Nicholson]

Welcome back HOME Lesley, it’s good to hear from you again, you were missed.

[Lesley Cox]

Thank you David. I was always there in my mind and often thought of you in particular as well as many other Forumists. It was largely because my camera wasn't doing as it should and though I haven't yet replaced it, I have at last accepted the NEED to do so. So for a while I may post comments but not pics. Oh well, I might be able to do photos by putting the phone pics onto a disc or pen drive and plugging that into my laptop. I'll sort it! Yes. I WILL! I'm so disgustingly pleased with my fig tree that I will probably need to show someone.

I hardly know where to start here now, there's so much to see and read. Of course I'm drawn to irises and will have a look at those very soon. As always, while browsing among the new season's bulbs in local garden centres, I find 3 or 4 different (old) retics and some Dutch and nothing else. I'm destined to die without ever having seen one of Alan's lovely hybrids, in the flesh, so to speak. To quote Sinatra, "Regrets? I have a few....."

Never mind. Now, if I could only find a few extra hours in each day, life would be easy.