Do You Want To Be A Show Winner?
Ronald Mullin
Now isn't it silly to ask an iris grower if they want to be a show winner. Of course everyone wants to win the top prizes in a show, especially if the award also includes a new iris. I'll admit that I started entering shows primarily because I wanted to try to win the iris rhizome which was being given to the winners. Since I entered my first show I have become more conscious of their true value. They give people an opportunity to see the new things without traveling around the state to the various gardens only to find that the things they most wanted to see are not in bloom. But that is straying from the purpose of this article. Let's talk about winners in the iris show. I certainly cannot claim to be an authority on the subject because you will note elsewhere in this issue that I won my first Queen, my first Silver Medal, and my first Bronze Medal this year. (Editor's note: Please notice that this is a reprint from 1973. I wonder how many silver medals Ron now has tucked into dresser drawers). I have, however, been taking note of the things which win the top prizes and these are the things I will discuss in this article. I cannot tell you how to groom your iris so that they look perfect or any of those other things which must be done to an iris before it is award quality. Someone else will have to give you that information.
First, I've noted that it is easier to win a ribbon in the categories where there is less competition. Take the arilbred section for instance. Many people do not grow this type of iris, so therefore, they cannot enter them in a show. It takes only ten entries in a section to qualify it for a Best in Section award and that iris rhizome you've been trying to win, so why not grow enough that you can have most of the entries. It makes it much easier to win.
Then there are the medians. Of course, their popularity is increasing so rapidly that soon most gardens are going to have an abundance of them. The large number of entries in the different shows proves that this is a class that is no longer forgotten in Oklahoma. But the medians are twice as easy to transport as the taller models. You can pick a specimen with open flowers and have little fear or its being damaged by the time you get to the show. At the median show this year I had almost 60 different specimens in the car for one trip. A few of them were damaged in the trip, but most of them came through with flying colors. There is one problem in exhibiting in the median class. Most judges tend to remember how easy it is to transport these little fellows, and they are very strict with their judging. Still it is fun to enter medians in a show, and you can't keep from winning a few of those top awards if you keep trying. I have found that the more unusual the flower is colorwise, the more likely you are to win. There's something about an unusual color that seems to catch the judge's eye. I don't mean to indicate that the judges vote on color; they look for all the things a judge is supposed to look for when judging an exhibition of iris, but when all other things are equal the odd or unusual colors seems to do far better.
My goal is to win Queen of the Show in the tall bearded class. This is far harder to do than in the specialty shows. So, the only advice I have in this area is that you watch to see which varieties are most often in contention for the top honor.
If your goal is to win the Silver Medal instead of Queen of the Show, try these suggestions. First, enter as many different sections of the horticulture division as you can enter. All of you could grow more of the beardless varieties. By entering more sections you increase your chances of winning because most people tend to enter the limit in the tall bearded sections and forget that they can win blue ribbons in the other sections which will count toward the Silver Medal just the same.
Second, you should keep in mind that in a variety show such as the ones we have, a variety has a better chance at winning a blue ribbon if it doesn't have stiff competition. An example of what I'm talking about might be Winter Olympics. (Editors note: Or these days, Dusky Challenger). There may be 7 or 8 entries of this iris and all of them may have three open blossoms in good condition. Only one can win the blue ribbon. So, you might try entering a variety which is not as likely to be entered by other people. Of course, this other variety must be a show quality entry or you will be wasting your time. The judges are not going to give a blue ribbon to something just because it is the only one of its kind entered. Look around the garden, there have to be many things which can be entered and not have dozens of competitors for the blue ribbon when you get them to the show.
By all means keep in mind that it is best to watch the garden for several days before the show. Keep your eye open for something that looks like it might be worthy of entering in the show. I still haven't reached the point where I refrigerate them for several days and hope that they still look good enough to enter when show time arrives, but I do check the garden for possible entries several days ahead of time. If I see something on Sunday that I think will probably open by the next weekend I make a mental note to check that variety first when I return the next weekend.
Transporting the iris is the next major headache, and for me loading them is even harder than hauling them. Check with other iris growers and see how they transport their iris. Some will remove the back seat of their car so that they will have more room. This is ideal unless you are like me. If I leave the back seat of my car out that means I'll have to spend the next week without it because it would be in Marlow and I would be in Pawnee with the car. Using pop bottles is quite common for hauling iris, but often the stems are too large to fit into a pop bottle. In that case you need something larger. After visiting with the Waltermires at the Lawton show, I now use 40-ounce prune juice bottles. I find that they are just right. Put the bottles into a box which has cardboard divisions so the bottles won't hit against each other and you are in business. You will need something to hold the iris in place, and again the Waltermires have the best suggestion I've seen. They have foam rubber plugs which can be placed in the tops of the bottles. A hole is drilled through the center of the plug and a cut is made from the center to the edge of the plug so that it may be opened to any width needed. This is placed around the stalk and then the plug is inserted in the tops of the bottle. The iris will then ride in an upright position. It will not sway around and hit against another iris. Watch the SSIS Iris News for a source for the foam rubber which is used. It needs to be much stiffer than what can be purchased in most variety stores. (Editors Note: Grey pipe insulation cut into small circles and slit on one side works very well and is available from most hardware stores in four to eight foot lengths).
Now that you've read this article you may say to yourself, "He didn't tell me anything of value", and that may be true. These are just a few hints that might help. I have noticed the Silver Medal going to people who enter the "other than" classes. I've seen the Best in Section awards being won by people who try to enter as many classes as possible and still stay within the entry limitation. The only bad thing about this article is that now you will know how I won the few awards I have won and those few may turn out to be my only ones. The real purpose of shows is to give the public a chance to see how lovely an iris is, and for the exhibitors to have fun. This year when you add new iris to your garden, get some medians, some beardless, some arilbreds, and add some talls which are consistent winners. Good luck in next year's show, and if you don't win the prize you've hoped for next year, try, try again.
(Reprinted from SSIS Iris News, May 1973)