Preparing to Exhibit Daylilies: Selecting, Grooming, and Transporting

1. “Preparing to Exhibit Daylilies”Selecting, Grooming and Transporting An AHS Media Library Production Thanks to Nancy Falck for the concepts and images contained in this presentation.

2. SOURCE OF CRITERIA All judging criteria is quoted from Judging Daylilies 2002 edition Prepared by The American Hemerocallis Society

3. Objective: Having Exhibits on the Head Table Mobile Hemerocallis Society Show, 2005

4. AHS Scale of Points This is the scale by which AHS Accredited Judges judge the entries on the show tables.

5. AHS Standard System of Awards “Judging of each cultivar in each class shall be done by the following AHS System of Awards: One First (Blue) which must score 90 or above One Second (Red) which must score 85 or above One Third (Yellow) which must score 80 or above For registered cultivars, only one blue, red, and yellow may be awarded in a given name class. For seedlings (including pre-registered cultivars), each exhibit in the section is judged on its own merits and thus is an award-eligible class.”

6. Major Awards AHS Best-in-Show Rosette is awarded to the best of the AHS Rosette winners in Division 1, Sections 1-10. AHS Sweepstakes Rosette is awarded to the exhibitor winning the most blue ribbons in Division 1, Section 1-10. The AHS Rosette is awarded to the most outstanding purple award-winning entry in each of Sections 1-10 of Division 1. The Purple Award is awarded to each blue award-winning scape scoring 95points or above, in Division 1, Sections 1-10.

7. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Quality of Bloom (50 points) “The flower of a registered cultivar is expected to be typical in color, form, texture, substance, and size.” H. ‘Clockwork’ (Kaskel 1999)

8. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Color (10 Points) “Merits: True to cultivar, clear, lustrous, uniform, bright, no streaking, unfaded, rich…” H. ‘Colorado Moon Fire’ (Salter, EH 1996)

9. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Color (10 points) “Faults: Not true to cultivar, murky, dingy, streaked, dull, faded, or has irregular markings (not true to cultivar).” H. ‘Winning Baby’ (Williamson 1968)

10. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Form (10 points) “…the placement of petals and sepals in relation to each other, the definite shape of the flower as seen from the front (circular, triangular, double, star, informal, etc.).” Formal Informal (Temple 1986) (Carpenter, J 2003)

11. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Form (10 Points) Circular Double H. ‘Emily Hawthorne’ (Joiner 1995) H. ‘Lavender Blue Baby’ (Carpenter, J 1996)

12. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Form (10 Points) Star Triangular H. ‘Big Sister‘ (Spalding 1967) H. ‘Marse Connell’ (Connell 1952)

13. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Form (10 Points) “Segments (petals and sepals) may vary in length, width, shape, and number.”

14. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Form (10 Points) “Segments may be wide, narrow, ruffled, pointed, rounded, taylored, fluted, crimped, curled, spatulate, crispate, (pinched, twisted, or quilled), or cascading (narrow curling or cascading).”

15. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Form (10 Points) “Merits: True to cultivar….”

16. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Form (10 Points) “Faults: Not true to cultivar—malformation, uneven spacing of petals or sepals, inconsistent spacing of segments, incorrect number of segments.” Note the sepal which is inconsistent with the others on this specimen of H. “Margaret’s Choice.”

17. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Form (10 Points) (“Note: irregularities may be true to some informal form daylilies.”)

18. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Faults in Form (10 Points) Blooms should not have uneven spacing or gaps between segments (exception = some unusual forms) H. ‘Sea Swept Dreams’ (Salter. J 1996) Blooms should be fully open, and the shape of the flower should match the cultivar’s own form. H. ‘ Surf’ (Hansen 1988)

19. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Multiple Blooms Multiple blooms score higher than singles, all else being equal. Beware, though, of picking blooms which are crowded, poorly spaced, interfere with one another. Think of the picture the blooms make to the observer. H. ‘Little Idy’ (Williamson 1971)

20. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Multiple Blooms This multiple bloom is well-spaced, blooms do not interfere with one another, buds enhance the overall appearance of the scape. H. ‘Dark Avenger’ (Salter, EH 1988)

21. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Texture (10 points) “Texture is the surface quality of the tissue structure, the smoothness or roughness. Texture should enhance color.” Note that there are defined ribs and mid ribs, creped areas, on petals and on sepals.

22. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Texture (10 Points) “Richness is added to rough textures because they absorb light, thus casting shadows. This is especially true in dark colors.”

23. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Texture (10 Points) “Smooth textures tend to reflect light, thereby making colors sparkle and glow, adding vividness.” The smooth texture of this lily makes this flower seem to glow in the garden or in a show.”

24. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Texture (10 Points) “Merits: True to cultivar: smooth, creped, ribbed, velvety, waxy, satiny, diamond-dusted, corduroy.” Jeff Salter seedling in 05

25. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Texture 10 (Points) “Faults: Not true to cultivar: dull, lifeless, coarse, slick, unevenly ribbed, lacking luster.” H. ‘ Emperor’s Dragon’ (Munson 1988)

26. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Substance (10 points) “Substance is the thickness of the tissue structure which determines the holding quality. The amount of matter and moisture in the petals keeps them firm and crisp. These characteristics enable the flower to withstand weather condition, retain form and freshness, give life to the color.”

27. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Substance (10 Points) “Substance may vary from thin and veil-like…to thick, crisp, fleshy substance.”

28. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Substance (10 Points) “Merits: True to cultivar: crisp, firm, fresh.” P. Stamile 2005 Seedling

29. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Substance (10 Points) “Faults: Not true to cultivar: tissue is thinning, wilting, browning or melting on segment edges, or appearing limp” Note the tissue thinning on the edges of this bloom of H. ‘Little Rosy Cloud’ (Winniford 1985) This thinning on two segments would result in major deductions.

30. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Size (10 Points) “Size is the diameter of the bloom. (See list of sizes in show program.) When a cultivar is larger or smaller than it is registered, it should be penalized.” H. ‘ ‘ 2.5” Joiner, A (2001) 9”

31. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Size (10 Points) “Merits: True to cultivar: Consistent with the other specimens in the area in which the cultivar is grown.” • Small Flower • 3” or larger but less than 4 1/2” • Inches

32. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Size (10 Points) Faults: Not true to cultivar: smaller or larger than registered. H. ‘ Steve Trimmer’ Trimmer, D 1999 H. ‘’Steve Trimmer’ Trimmer, D 1999

33. Selecting Daylilies from the GardenScapes (35 Points) “Overall height of the scape should not exceed 36.” Some shows set lower maximum heights for named cultivars. “The relationship of branching, bud count, and size of flower of each cultivar is important in determining if the specimen is too short or too tall. Strength of the scape is directly influenced by weather…which may or may not detract from the beauty of the overall exhibit.” Seedlings must be severed at the base. D. Trimmer Seedling

34. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Scape: Height and Strength (15 points) H. ‘Playboy’ (Wheeler 1954) Scapes should be able to support the bloom without having the bloom droop and look at the floor

35. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Scape: Height and Strength (15 Points) “Merits: True to cultivar: sturdy, straight, proportional, supports inflorescence (flower).” H. ‘Howlin Wolf’ Bachman, D 2004

36. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Scape : Buds (10 points) “Buds reflect the bloom potential of a given scape.” “A cultivar should not be expected to do what it cannot do.” “Some cultivars exhibit the trait of bud-buildingso they develop additional buds (at the tip) over the bloom period.” “A scape in the prime of its blooming should be considered above one that has half, or more than half, of its buds bloomed out, all other judging points being equal.”

37. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Buds (10 Points) and Branching (10 Points) “Merits: True to cultivar; well-spaced, not crowded, typical or better bud count.” “Faults: Not true to cultivar: scant, crowded (meaning that the buds will not let flowers open to their best advantage).” (Note a bud builder’s ultimate potential should be considered, not just the very evident buds.) H. ‘Black Mingo’ (Douglas 05)

38. Selecting Daylilies from the Garden Branching (10 Points) Are the branches well-balanced? Will the removal of spent blooms affect the balance? Will the blooms which will open be well-spaced? Is the scape in good condition or can it be groomed to clean up any flaws? Will the scape be straight when placed in a container at the show?

39. Condition and Grooming (15 Points) “Condition is determined by culture and is the actual physical state of the specimen at the time of judging.” “Grooming is preparing the specimen for exhibition so that it presents a clean and appealing appearance at the time of judging.” “Condition and grooming include the merits or faults incurred in growing, spraying, grooming, transporting to the show, and even accidents which occur during placement.”

40. Condition and Grooming(15 points) “Merits: Fresh, clean, well-groomed, unblemished.” “Faults: Faults which detract from the overall Attractiveness of the exhibit include the following: Insect or other damage, scarring, or browning on the scape.”

41. Condition and Grooming (15 points) Brown on bracts or bloom scars, cracked or blasted scapes, other blemishes on scapes. No artificial coloring may be used.

42. Condition and Grooming (15 Points) Small amounts of such damage may be removed carefully using a knife edge, fingernail, or other implement. If you must go very deep into the scape, the damage will remain evident. To give a more natural appearance, brown bract trips should not be squared off but should trimmed to a natural point.

43. Condition and Grooming (15 Points) Examine scape for curves, twists, bends to determine the overall appearance and balance of the exhibit. Check any proliferations to see if they detract from the overall balance of the scape. They may be left on if they do not interfere.

44. Condition and Grooming (15 Points) The Flower Examine all segments for damage from water, cold, insects, handling, etc. H ‘Connie Burton’ (Wilson, T 1999)

45. Condition and Grooming (15 Points) The Flower “Faults: Tears, cracks, or breaks in segments; broken or malformed anthers and pistil, missing pistil, anthers or pollen.” H. ‘Paper Butterfly’ (Morss 1983)

46. Condition and Grooming (15 Points) The Flower Water spots and bug damage may be extreme on this sepal of H. ‘ Flamboyant Dancer’ (Carpenter, J 1998). Still, you must look carefully at each segment to make sure that it is in good condition.

47. Grooming Daylilies for Show Helpful Tools List of daylilies with attributes (size, etc.) Show program, Proper entry tag

48. Grooming Daylilies for Show Helpful Tools Ruler or tape measure to check size of bloom and height of scape Small scissors for fine grooming Small knife for fine grooming Larger knife for cutting scapes

49. Grooming Daylilies for Show More Necessary Items Small name labels to place on entry tags Paper towels for blotting water drops Q-tips for pollen, etc. Pen for filling out entry tags

50. Grooming Daylilies for Show Keeping It Together To make things easier, keep all tools in a carrier or container between shows.