Growing Primulas for Showing

[Maggi Young]

OOPS! There I go again... I thought that was an EASTERN Study Weekend...... have I got the wrong year as well as the wrong coast?   I perhaps do not pay as much heed to the programmes of these events as I should, to avoid feeling bad that I can't attend  them..........obviously a sad failing!
 

[Maggi Young]

I've made a thread in Events, telling a bit about the Western Study Weekend.... there was already one about the Eastern Weekend!

Just seen this link in another primula page: www.primulaklub.dk ... new to me but if you learn Danish, David, it may help!

[David Nicholson]

I think Chris Boulby makes a very important point in her earlier post when she says "........ meanwhile the show organisers wonder why so few people exhibit in Section 3". In the UK societies shows and showing provide very important income streams from admission charges and from plant sales and also as important marketing and recruiting tools. Certainly it has been said many times in NAPS circles that afterall it is "the loosers who make shows" in the competative sense and provide the continuity as they progress to be winners.

That continuity can only be served and enhanced, in my view, by an effective learning process which, in itself, can be three fold; trial and error; well placed help and advice; and, I suppose, learning by watching. Trial and error can be a lonely process and learning by watching is somewhat annualised; and that leaves well placed help and advice.

Maybe I am taking the wrong view entirely in believing that there is a world of difference between growing for general interest and growing for showing? I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction in growing what I consider to be a good plants but I need to take the extra steps to give me the confidence to feel that I would not be letting my-self down by benching one of them.

Maybe also, and perhaps this is an unfair perception, the regular names one expects to see on the winners cards do not best serve their own interests by sharing and explaining their skills and are happier in their own confined circles,  and perhaps this is evident by the lack of freely available information on growing for showing. Maybe they need all their free time for producing 'show gems' and just don't have time to read the Forum!

I still live in hope that if others share the views I have put down here it is not too late to ensure that shows and showing have a future.

[Paul T]

Quite a fafcinating topic.  I think I fhall use f in place of s from now on.  Fo much more fun.    Yef I know that if juft a ftrange type-face, but it really doef look they are ufing lotf of f. 

Thanks for bringing this topic up David.  While I won't be showing primula any time (and certainly not seriously) we are lucky here at our local shows at least that there are a couple of the major old competitors (and I mean that as time competing, not their physical age) are extremely generous with their time and information.  They are an absolute mine of information.  BUT, there is nothing like the prestige here of winning shows etc, which I imagine is what comes into it in the UK.  Also I would imagine that the prize money might be a tad higher for your specialist shows.  I'll be most interested to read the contributions others have to make to this.

Thanks.

[ranunculus]

As a previously dedicated and reasonably successful exhibitor I was initially reluctant to respond to your question David, as only a few of my ‘Firsts’ were gained with primulas (notably Primula reptans, P. clarkei, P. scotica and P. ‘Peter Klein’, etc.), but the whole ethos of growing for showing is now being questioned and,  while I have been expecting and awaiting responses from current exhibitors on this wonderful Forum none have been forthcoming, so I will throw a few (hopefully well-judged) comments into the mix and await the fall-out!
When I was a novice grower and exhibitor way back in the late 1980’s, the ‘C’ (or novice) Section of the show scene south of the border was positively thriving, every class was well-contested and ‘seconds’ and ‘thirds’ (let alone ‘firsts’) were quite an achievement.  Such was the standard of competition that I think it took me nearly two years to gain my Bronze Medal (which, at that time, was for only five ‘firsts’ ... now ten) - (some exhibitors can gain their Bronze at two or three shows now) - consequently one could, at that time, gain very valuable experience and ‘growing on’ time whilst still competing against fellow novices.
In a similar vein, the Silver Medal (or intermediate) section was also crammed with worthy competitors and it proved even harder to gain the twenty-five ‘firsts’ required for one’s Silver Merit Medal.  During this period an exhibitor could hone their presentation skills - learning the very important art of top-dressing, correct labelling and general showmanship
One’s plants had the time and the correct conditions to grow sufficiently to be ready for the trials and tribulations of the Open Section where the nations elite exhibited their plants - in the section where the Farrer Medal plants were usually to be found - aged gnarled specimens that had shone at many a show over a good number of years (many of them with exhibitors to match)!
In those heady days novices had perhaps four or five years of preparation and trial and error before competing with the big boys in the Open - four or five years when new plants could be acquired, built up and moved on into competitive sized pots.
Because competition was so intense in each of the sections the successful were (or certainly seemed) less willing to pass on information and, more especially perhaps, rare and exciting plant material.  Cliques certainly formed and we, in the East Lancashire Group of the AGS, were so fortunate to boast the wonderful Jim Lever (father of Keith Lever from Aberconwy Nursery) among our number who gave of his time, his expertise and his plants so freely.  Jim also had many contacts and we were all very gradually assimilated into those seemingly heady ranks.

I realise that this very wordy article is not yet assisting you with your query David, but I wanted to pinpoint some of the background for the reputation that the show scene (south of the border anyway) has acquired.

Prize money was never an issue - the first prize barely purchased the compost let alone the clay pot and even these meagre payments have now been stopped altogether.  One does it for the kudos and the thrill of the chase, it is fun and a wonderful way to spend a Saturday in spring, summer or early autumn.

I will attempt to answer some of your questions in part two of this diatribe, David.   Would other show stalwarts please add their contributions?

[David Nicholson]

Cliff, many thanks for entering the fray.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Very interesting debate going on here !  I hope nobody minds this interference of an “outsider”…  Of course, I’m not an exhibitor, but in my capacity of Channel hopper  , I’ve had the pleasure to visit a number of shows over the years.
I will never forget the first show I ever attended in Cheltenham somewhere in the mid nineties I believe.  I didn’t know what I saw when entering the hall, it opened a world to me of which I had never known it existed : perfectly grown difficult plants of sometimes unbelievable size, that I’d never seen before !  On top of that, being in my early fourties at the time, for some reason, I felt very young  .  
If I remember correctly, Kath Dryden won the Farrer medal there with a, in my eyes, gigantic Campanula bellidifolia.  I was mesmerized by the whole happening and not wanting to miss a thing, I also stayed for the prize-giving ceremony.  The AGS president, I think it was P. Erskine at the time, held a little speech in which he heartily commended all the prize winners, but one side remark stayed with me.
He urged all the winners to share their knowledge with the “less blessed” and not to take it with them in their graves…   Sounded a bit gloomy to me at the time, but apparently, what’s being discussed here and now was already an issue back then…

[David Nicholson]

You could never be an 'outsider' Luc.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Thank you David - wrong choice of word on my part... 

Maybe "observer from the sideline" ??.... as far as showing is concerned of course. 

[David Shaw]

David is looking for the views of the 'experts' which is possibly why there are so few replies. I have taken one or two firsts with Primulas but am very far from being an expert and have no secrets. For what it is worth this is how I grow them for the bench.

David seems to be looking at varieties of marginata and allionii etc so the first task is to select good looking plants. This means buying them whilst in flower or growing from seed and selecting the best. If the intention is for showing then the plants will be grown on for a year or two in pots until they reach a suitable size.

The plants are overwintered in a cold frame from which the ends have been removed but the covers are left in place. They need careful watering so that the leaves do not get splashed and marked. After the show season I take the plants out of the frame and display them on the patio so that they can be appreciated and be subject to the full fury of Scottish summer weather.

They will be re-potted as soon as convenient after flowering to allow them to settle and get used to the new compost before winter. They will be tidied up at this time after which I would watch out for 'mushy' brown leaves and remove them but not get particularly excited about dry ones. They go back into the frame sometime between Discussion W/E and the AGM.

The plants will be watched carefully as show season approaches and possible exhibits selected. Some may be taken into the greenhouse for more care and most of the brown leaves will be removed. During the week approaching a show exhibits will be selected by Carol and myself, I will clean up and polish the pots and Carol will do the final tidying and presentation of the plant.

Add a pinch of luck and that is about it. As I said, we are not experts but love showing.

[David Nicholson]

David, many thanks for contributing. Let me read your comments again in detail and digest them an then I will come back to you.

[Martinr]

David, I can't offer any 'secrets' but a few recommendations. I too dream of winning cups, medals, etc with Primulas. First piece of advice, try to ignore those gobsmacking 31cm pans of perfect colour and only look at what's going on in sections B&C (I'm talking AGS shows, not SRGC. That's my experience base). I'll try and find some pictures of plants in B&C over recent years when I get a chance to show you that the level of expertise we all aspire to is not necessary to get started in showing. I firmly believe that unless you start showing you won't improve to that level anyway.

I found it possible to win firsts in sections B&C with Primulas and have won some in section A as well although rarely in the classes for P. allionii as the competition is fierce, but I am improving and I will do it one day. I have, however, won with good pans of P. vulgaris & P. veris lifted from the garden. You don't always need the expensive, hard to grow clones to win. The plants need to be tidy, in good condition, well titivated but not necessarily rare. Only by showing and comparing yourself with your peers in showing will you learn all the little tricks like repositioning blooms with the end of a small paintbrush or pencil to spread them evenly and hide the gaps.

Secret sharing time. I've been known, on accidentally breaking of an umbel during this process, to stick it back in the plant as it won't wilt till well after judging! The plant won. (every judge in thecountry will now scrutinise all my plants a little harder).

How do I grow my Primulas. J.I. no. 2 from the local garden centre and added grit. My allioniis and the like stay under glass all year, get repotted when they need it, fed with half strength tomato fertiliser and have the dead leaves, etc removed, usually during the Christmas/New Year holidays . I'd love to do it better, vary the compost for specific plants, repot every plant every year, etc but I don't have the time until the pension comes along. I live in semi-permanent shade and dampness during the winter months so an electric fan is played on my more delicate plants to ward off botrytis.

Which reminds me, if you've got a damp spot you can also win red stickers with large pans of P. pulverulenta, just make sure you lift it and pot it up before the weather can damage the meal on the stems.

Picking up on one of Cliff's points. It is very easy to zoom through section C at the moment but the introduction of the silver bar system in section B has allowed exhibitors still struggling to attain the standards of the open section to stay in B section and gain more experience and develop their plant collections. When I made the step up a few years ago that option wasn't open and it was painful but..as they say, no pain, no gain.

In summary, the best way to find out how to do it is get out there and do it. There are members of this forum at most of the national shows who would be delighted to show you the ropes.

[Martinr]

David, as it will take me some time to find those photos I suggest you visit the AGS website. In the members online discussion section you'll find a Plants at Shows thread. In the thread are a number of postings of photos by Mel Linney who, this year, championed the cause of the section B&C growers and posted pictures of their plants. Worth a look to see what you're aiming at but remember even here these are the best plants on display and as someone said earlier the show bench would be a bare place if only the winners exhibited.

Look forward to seeing your name on some red stickers next year.

[Maggi Young]

Excellent advice, Martin!

Now we have the Rutland Salver for Section II in the SRGC ( Section II is like the AGS B and C sections) folks can stay longer in  that section since they are allowed to stay in the section for any whole year that they are eligible for the salver ( that doesn't quite sound right, but I hope you get the drift...supposing one has been in section II for x number of years, quietly accumulating your 25 firsts which will catapult you into Section I..... if you begin any year, even with 24 firsts, you may remain in the section for that year and not go directly to the Open Section.... there, that's put it a little better, I hope!) Some folks, of course, travel to more shows than others and have more success so it can happen that some will be pushed quite fast into Section I and even after a good success in Section II, the change can prove traumatic!

In whichever section you exhibit, the most important thing to remember is that condition is everything.    There may have ben cases in the past of pots bearing rare names on the labels and dead plants in them winning prizes, but nowadays there is little chance of that happening.

It can often be seen that a smaller, beautifully presented and fresh and easily available plant will beat a larger tired one that is more unusual.... and that is how it should be..... there are very few classes, in the shows of either the AGS or SRGC, that allow for a greater percentage of points to be given for rarity or difficulty than other qualities....and in a class which does not have such constraints, these are of lesser consideration that character and condition. This is not to say that you won't find a judge who seems to award prizes on the basis of the label rather than the plant.... but they are getting fewer, thank goodness!!   On the subject of labels, by the way, mis-naming is NOT a matter of import.... a plant shown under a wrong name will, it is to be hoped, be corrected by the judges, but, unless you have, for instance, a Bellis perennis labelled as something immensely rare ( can't think of anything offhand!!) in a "new, rare ,and difficult class" ( those classes are now called something else in the AGS) it does not matter....only if you have your lawn daisy in one of these "elite type" classes will your mis-naming count against you ... in that case it will be marked "not as schedule"......mind you, if you have the daisy in an orchid class it will get the push there, too.

None of this has much to do with primulas, as such.... but I think the thought to hang on to is to go for condition and the rest follows from there, really.

 I would never show allionii or hybrids..... far too much work...  it can take hours of tweaking to clean all their old leaves off.... if anypot spills near them the soil and sand sticks all over the leaves, you get gummed up with the sticky as you clean them, your eyes cross with the effort need to concentrate... if you lose that concentration for a millisecond you'll pull a whole rosette off instead of just a leaf.... they are so close growing they get bugs and rot inside where you can't see.... yup, FAR too much work....which is why some growers of my acquaintance leave such tedious work to their Lady wife !!!   I have great respect and admiration for the folkswho show these lovely primulas in tip-top order.... but it's too fussy for me!

[David Nicholson]

Very many thanks to Martin and to Maggi for their very helpful responses.

I think if I were to pick the most important point made from the responses so far it would be 'CONFIDENCE' to get out there and have a go and hang the final result, and the very act of having a go might well tempt tips from the experienced exhibitor.

Perhaps another might be let the judges decide if your plant is a good one, or not-being a natural pessimist I always think my plants are not up to standard whatever their condition.

I think I must look again at my cultivation regimes to ensure that a nice plant at the end of one flowering season is still a reasonably nice plant as Autumn takes it toll-many of mine, well in my eyes anyway, are not.

I still think there is room for some good information from the experts aimed at the novice in all the aspects of our particular garden interests. For example I found the article 'Propagation from Scratch' by John Good in the September edition of The Alpine Gardener to be very useful indeed. Of course my bulb needs are amply catered for by our own Bulb Despot and both current and previous logs all the way back to Log 1 are regularly gleaned. But, wouldn't it be nice, for example, for a novice like me to be able to read an article in The Rock Garden by, say, Cyril Lafong on how to grow plants for shows.