Judging episcias--its never a straightforward thing. Each judge has different ideas, and there is no set way that an episcia "should" look. In AGGS rules, its up to the judges to consider if the way the plant has been grown is advantageous or not. People argue forever about whether this or that stolon should have been left on or taken off. Episcias can be grown as a single crown with all stolons removed (this is rarely seen but is a neat thing to try to do) or grown as a full hanging basket with stolons galore--but mostly they are grown as multiple crowns nicely arranged together in a pot.

If the plant has flowers then it is entered in that catagory (generally called something like the "episcias" class or "episcias showing flowers" class). If there are no flowers then it is entered accordingly ("gesneriads grown for foliage", or "episcias grown for foliage", "Gesneriads grown for ornamental qualities other than flowers"--depending on the show schedule.) If the plant has only one flower or a few it is best to remove the flower(s) and enter in the foliage class. If the plant is somewhat growing all over it is a good idea to arrange the stolons and growths before hand, so that they look good, show no bad spots, leaves etc.

It can be tricky to move an episcia. Lastly, episcias are, as I think, we all know by now, very temperature sensitive, so should be taken to the show with care. If you are taking it out into the cold, you could warm up the car first and carry the plant inside a large enclosed box.

I have always believed and advocated the first and foremost reason for showing is to contribute to the show, not to win ribbons. It feels good to have your plant(s) in the show along with everyone else's. If you are a novice exhibitor, all the better. The best part of a show is seeing all the plants together. I often consider the best statistic of a show to be the number of people exhibiting, rather than the number of entries. So, if you feel your plant would look good on the show table then by all means enter it. If you are going to be at the show for the weekend it also feels great to have plants in the show.
Also, having the plant in the show will allow you to ask questions about it and get opinions from other growers. Good luck,

Jon

Great! I know that they are VERY sensitive to temp so I will most likely carry it in a foam cooler that is warm.
I do have all my stolons. I hope that is ok.
Also, since i have grown it in a nice dome-top container Some of the stolons have formed little white roots, should I try to remove these roots?
It is basically a really pretty mound of episcia. I like the way it looks. The colors are very pretty. It doesn't have any flowers (sigh!) so it will be in the foliage class for sure.
So are gesneriads judged like violets? Violets are judged in specific ways (like this many points for symmetry, this many points taken off for a damaged leaf) Are gesneriads judged more subjectively?
You are right about shows though. I love going to shows, just to look at the different cultivars, not specifically to look at what plants one or not. For this reason I am entering a really neat trailing violet I have grown. It has a lot of flowers however, I just couldn't get the symmetry right, but it sure is neat looking! I think people will be interested in it.
-renee

"I have a great episcia..."

I think that answers your question right there: if a plant is healthy, pest-free, and looks halfway decent, it is NEVER a mistake to enter it in the show.

I hate the mindset that so many growers seem to have: many people will only enter plants if they think they are blue-ribbon winners. This attitude greatly diminishes our flower shows. First, we are often the worst critics of our own plants and we might win a blue ribbon after all, and second (and in my opinion more importantly), the plant may be the only example of its kind in the entire flower show. Flower shows are one of our most important tools for educating ourselves, our flower show judges, and the public about gesneriads. I would much rather see a big flower show with a hundred different red-ribbon plants than a small flower show with a dozen blue ribbon winners and not much else.

I like to tell the story about somebody who asked my opinion about entering a unifoliate streptocarpus in an AGGS convention flower show. He didn't think it was worth entering because it only had one or two flowers open. I encouraged him to enter it anyway, and not only did he win a blue ribbon with it (which it deserved as it really was a nice-looking plant), but it was the ONLY unifoliate streptocarpus in the entire show. The flower show would have been much poorer without the plant, which he almost didn't enter because it wasn't perfect.

You can enter the episcia in its container. You don't have to take it out of the container. You can leave the top on as well.

Gesneriads other than African violets have this scale of points from Handbook for Growers, Exhibitors and Judges:

Gesneriads Grown for Foliage:

Cultural perfection......40 points
Ornamental value.........35 points
Condition................25 points

AVSA uses AGGS scale of points for judging gesneriads.
"There are no strict rules on how a gesneriad should be grown. Single or multiple crowns or several plants, of the same variety, in a container are permitted. Any type of container may be used. Protective containers, such as covered bowls, may be used for any plant. Mulches may be used on the soil surface, but they should be neutral in color.

"Cultural perfection pertains to the overall beauty of the plant and reflects the care it has received during its entire growing cycle.

"Condition or grooming: The plant should appear fresh and healthy. Leaves should be clean without traces of dust or spray. Leaves may be trimmed. Dead and damaged leaves and blossoms should be removed."

"Gesneriads grown for foliage: The foliage must have some special quality of color or form. The foliage must be outstanding in growth habit, form, texture, and color. There must be no blossoms or buds showing color.

Ornamental value is a positive quality; it is not just a plant that is out of bloom."

Nancy

Wow thanks! I was looking at my plant yesterday and was really happy with it. It is very bright and lush and I have to admit that I was pretty proud of myself for it!
I am glad I may not have to take the dome off, I am afraid of it getting cold and getting brown edges on the leaves, however you really can't appreciate the color as well with the top on, so I have yet to fully decide.
I am really happy the violet and gesneriad shows are together this year. I love all the plants and love to see new and interesting ones!
-renee

Our local gesneriad society had our show and sale with the local AV society once. We had separate judges for each group and each group's schedule remained the same. I am trying to remember now--I think that meant that there were some AV's on the gesneriad side and some other gessies on the AV side. But, I could be wrong. I agree it is a good idea, though I think that some organizational things need to be worked out when two groups show together. I've also visited the show of the Delta chapter which is both an AGGS chapter and an AVSA chapter. They also had separate judges for each side with separate Best in Show trophies as well. The two societies use different methods of judging and sometimes in joint shows one side will be competitive (AGGS) and the other side merit (AVSA). The difference is that in merit judging all the plants that score over 90 points get a blue whereas in competitive judging only one plant gets a blue, a red and a yellow unless there is a tie. Both types of judging have Best of Class ribbons, which in merit judging serve as the competitive awards. In our AGGS chapter we usually have competitive judging but some of our members always want it to be merit judging so every once in while we do it that way. Personally I prefer competitive judging. But, in either case, its all about the plants!

John, I have a story to tell that is sort of similar to your story. One of our quite elderly members who we hadn't seen in a long time brought in a beautiful sinningia for the show and sale. She thought it should go for the sale. She was cutting back her plants and had grown it for years. We really needed it for the show. It was one of the tetraploid mini-midis (or whatever they are called) but so well grown that its foliage and flowers made it look larger. Anyway, it won the Best in Show, and was a very good plant. And, she just wanted to donate it to the sale.

Jon

We got a new member hooked that way once, Jon. She brought some plants for the sale that she didn't think were good enough to enter, and we talked her into putting them in. She didn't get best in show, but I think she got some blues. And John--I don't know how many convention shows, and chapter shows, and AV shows with gesneriads I've been to, but I have never seen a unifoliate strep in a show. If my sister didn't grow some I'd never have seen any outside a book. (Don't think they'd like my heat and humidity or I'd try some--really hate to torture plants!)
I totally agree with both of you that the more entries by lots of people, and the more different kinds of plants even if they're not the most magnificent specimens ever, the more interesting (and educational) the show. I've always felt one of the major reasons for having shows is for their educational value.
Nancy

Well, it was competitive judging and I recieved a blue ribbon for my episcia! Of course it was the only one there in it's class, but I had to recieve a score of over 90 to get a blue ribbon, so I did pretty well!
the judges commented that I should have removed the stolons on the top of the plant. I kinda liked them there, but I guess I will have to remove them next time.
thanks for all your help!!
-renee

Congratulations! And it wouldn't surprise me a bit if the next judges say you should have left them on. No matter how hard we try, we human beings have our own ideas of how things 'should' look, and judges training and point scoring can only modify that. Judges work very hard to be fair and go 'by the book' (or at least most of them do) but we'll never be able to remove the 'human element'--nor should we.

Among all the various gesneriads that we grow and enter in shows I think the issue you came upon, is the all time classic. I have seen perfectly nice, sane people get so upset over a judge's comments about whether or not to remove stolons. I am glad that you got your blue and that this isn't something that is bothering you--at least that is how I perceived your comments. Those pesky stolons! Argggh. I like the way AGGS judges judge--using judgement! Having rules for everything kind of takes some of the fun out of it.

Also, as I mentioned before, episcias can be grown in so many different ways. One year, Dale Martens brought to the convention an Episcia 'Silver Skies' that she trained up on a little trellis. Dale was in the host chapter so she could drive it to the convention--which means it was in 1989, when we were in S. California, and I still remember her plant. After the show she dontated it to the auction.

I think another great way to grow episcias, and which I have mentioned often, is to grow them the very old fashioned way--as a single crown. In this technique you remove all stolons and also reroot your crown as it gets leggy. If done right, the leaves will get huge. So, basically you have this huge crown of 4-6 or so leaves, each one about 8-12" long. This technique was popular back when people were trying to grow episcias like violets. But, it makes for a magnificent plant. Some varieties are more prone to making giant leaves than others. When I first joined our local chapter, I remember hearing that such and such a variety was good for growing single crown. But, I think this information as well as those larger cultivars are long gone--E. 'Filigree' and E. 'Bronze Duchess' were the only two that I remember being mentioned. I am pretty sure that the latter, dating back to the 50's is extinct. I haven't seen 'Filigree' in many many years so it may be gone as well.

Jon

I really wasn't upset at all, just confused. We did have AGGS judges (we had two sets of judges come in,one for the violets and one for the gesneriads). I think I did pretty well! That was my first blue ribbon (2nd AVSA show and 1st Gesneriad show)
They also mentioned that the plant didn't have much form. It was a mound of leaves really, so I can understand that comment somewhat however I think a mound is a form! Maybe they prefer to see hanging epicsia or something now. I did see alot of people look at the plant and they seemed very interested in it (it had a metallic leaf kinda) so I was happy to see that it spiked some people's interests.
That is really what shows are for after all!
-renee

I need help! Do I need to have a flourescent plant light for my plants?? Or will a flourescent light work just as well??

I think most people do not use special plant lights, just regular fluorescents. But, you need to start a new thread and give us more information on what kind of fixture you have or are contemplating and for what kind of plants--episcias?? I use four foot fixtures (delux shop lights) designed for the newer T-8 tubes. They give lots of light.

Jon