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Written by Steve Keeble with
additional material by Robert Amos Please note that these comments are
only the author's personal opinions and do not reflect the views of
the Alpine Garden Society, or any AGS judge in any way. General: Pots should be clean and undamaged. Clay pots are preferable to plastic. Use new top dressing that is appropriate to the plant. Think
about where it grows. Plants should be blemish free. Remove any dead leaves or
blooms. Use no accessories. Climbers must trail. Remember that plants should be appropriate for a rock
garden. The AGS Shows Handbook defines a rock plant as: "All plants, including shrubs,
suitable for cultivation in a rock garden of moderate size or in an unheated
frame or alpine house. It excludes any plants which will not survive
an average British winter in these conditions but includes many
plants which do not necessarily grow in mountainous regions. The term
excludes 'over-selected' forms of plants, such as Show Auriculas
or Florists' Cyclamen." - Note 14 from the AGS Shows Handbook. Plants should be hardy, although unheated cover is allowed. Three Pan Classes: Think of the combined effect of the plants. Plants in bloom are preffered.
(Except in foliage classe!) Plants should be as distinct as possible. The AGS Shows
Handbook defines 'distinct' as: "Distinct means 'distinct
varieties'. Obvious colour variants or sufficiently different forms are
distinct varieties for this purpose." - Note 14 from the AGS Shows Handbook. Foliage Effect: Colour and shape of foliage are both important. Avoid any trace of green when entering plants in 'One pan rock
plant wih silver or grey foliage". Conifers: An aged plant is required. Ensure there is no dead foliage within the plant. Notes from Robert Amos: For the past few years I have been given the privilege of
shadowing the judges and this has given me some clue as to what they are
looking for when deciding on a first prize plant. Please note
that these comments are only my personal opinions and do not reflect the
views of the Alpine Garden Society, or any AGS judge in any way. Although clay pots are preferable to plastic, the plant's
container has no affect on the judges' decision, as long as the pots are
clean and have no decoration. Plastic pots have some advantages, the main one
being how little they weigh in comparison to clay pots and many plastic pots
now look very similar to clay. Terracotta coloured plastic pots should
be used if possible, but black is acceptable and if no other option is
available then green. Other colours should probably not be used; brightly
coloured pots would not only look odd on the show bench but would also
detract attention from your plant. When judging plants for 'group effect' many judges stand six
feet from the show bench to see which exhibits stand out and then move in for
a closer look. Sometimes entries can give the wrong effect, for example at
one show there was a conifer, a Sempervivum and a Cyclamen entered in 'Three pans rock
plants for foliage and group effect'. Although individually the plants were
fine, together they seemed out of place. Some plants are not always
considered as giving a good effect, for example ferns, conifers and some
shrubs but this is not always the case. Plants that often do well in foliage
classes are Cyclamen, Asarums and other plants with patterned
leaves. Patterns are not a necessity however; I have won many 'Three pans for
foliage and group effect' classes with Ophiopogens plansicapus 'Nigrescens'. As it says above, you should ensure that any conifer you enter
is 'clean', i.e. there is no dead foliage within the plant. Rather than throw
the dead foliage onto the compost heap, leave it in the pot as additional top
dressing. This gives the plant a more natural appearance as well. Even though a plant's label is not taken into consideration
when being judged, it is still a good idea to make the judges' lives easy and
have a clear name for your plant. Horizontal labels are now a necessity and
specially prepared show labels are better than ones that were there when you bought
the plant. If you do not know the name of the plant, leave the label blank or
with '...' For example: 'Saxifrage...' Normally judges will then give you
the name of the plant. Make sure you also write out plant names
properly; for example 'Daphne hendersonii 'Kath Dryden'', rather than 'Daphne Hendersonii 'Kath Dryden''. If you're stuck on what words to
capitalise then you can always cheat on capitalise the whole
thing! Factors such as labels may seem insignificant when showing, but
everything that gets the judges on your side helps! Old plants are given preference over young plants, rare plants
are preferred over common plants, flowering plants are preferred over nonflowering plants (except in foliage and cushion plant
classes, in which any flowers are ignored) and natural looking plants are
preferred over those that have been given unnecessary special treatment.
Bigger isn't always better, but it normally indicates the plant's age. Make
sure plants are in reasonable sized pots. Do not try and squeeze your plants
into pots just so they do not have to be shown in the Open Section! Judges
will see that it looks cramped and will normally dismiss it. Although looking at what wins is helpful at national shows,
whatever you do, do not go out and buy the same as everyone else. In six
months time you will find yourself in the situation where you have the same
as everyone else but your plants are half the size of the others! Try to look
at what people are not growing, look them up in reference books to see if they are
show worthy and buy them. |