The Pikes Peak Rose Society is an affiliate of the American Rose Society (www.ARS.org). Made with Xara Web Designer It’s Rose Show Time! by the late Warren Kirkley, DVM Consulting Rosarian, ARS    Starting about three weeks before a show, start watching for new canes that may show potential.  As these canes develop, stake the canes to help prevent wind damage to the leaves.  Keep the canes disbudded where indicated.    Watch for nasty bugs and mildew; spray as necessary to eliminate them.  Keep the plants well watered so that the canes are well hydrated. Preparing Your Rose for the Show 1.  Cut the roses for the show slightly tighter than the ideal show stage.  Some roses will open faster than others and you need to take this into account.  They will open some the morning of the show.  If possible, cut these in the evening when sugar content of the bloom is high.  However, cut them when the state of opening is right.  If it is ready at 12:00 noon, cut it then and do not wait for evening. 2.  Immediately plunge it into a bucket of water. 3.  Take the bucket of roses to your own preparation area (mine is in the kitchen). 4.  Have your storage water ready in a bucket, vase, or in whatever you can safely transport them.  This water should be warm to the touch - quite warm if you are going to refrigerate them.  I would add a preservative to this water such a 7-UP, Floralife, or crystal. 5.  Remove a bloom from your bucket and remove extra leaves and trim or remove damaged leaves.  Wash the foliage with running water to remove spray, dirt, and any bugs.  Then re-cut the stem under water at a sharp angle.  Immediately place in your prepared water.  Soon as possible, cool or refrigerate. 6.  The best refrigeration temperature is 40 degrees F. 7.  Be sure to identify each rose with a tag.  It is easy, during the frantic rush to enter your roses in the morning of the show, to forget which roses are which and enter it in the wrong class. 8.  I like to fill out the entry tags at this point for each rose I have prepared. 9.  At the show, re-examine the foliage and trim damaged leaves or remove if badly damaged.  You may polish the foliage with a soft cloth or a bit of nylon hose; both work well.  If necessary, open the bloom with an artist brush, a cotton swab, or just blow on it. 10. You may remove some outer petals if they are badly damaged but maintain a circular outline. 11. Some petaloids may be removed on semi-double blooms to improve their appearance. Also, some petaloids may be removed on fully open blooms so the stamens are visible. 12. Old Garden Roses may be entered “stem on stem” [branching stems holding a bloom] but it is strictly forbidden in all other roses.  Especially check your miniatures for stem on stem.  It seems that, at every show, some miniatures are disqualified for this. 13. Be sure to check the spelling of the rose name and be sure to correctly name each rose.  A wrong name can disqualify a rose. 14. Recheck your entry tags to make sure each entry is made in the correct class. 15. After all your entries are made, sit back or take a walk and relax.  You have had a heck of a morning!    Good luck . . . you have worked hard! Dr. Kirkley Copyright ©2004-2010 - Pikes Peak Rose Society