They don't have to be sprays -- You can exhibit one bloom per stem, if that's the way it comes. We exhibited OGRS for years -- just don't any more, because there are no shows nearby. But we scored our share of Victorian and Dowager Queens, on out day.

Ask any questions you have, I'd be happy to help,

@jerijen, thank you! It seems that you can choose whatever shows the flowers best, then - either sprays or individual blooms, no rules? The sprays definitely don't seem to hold up as well once cut. Did you have any favorites for exhibiting, any strategies? The last few springs have been so wacky weather-wise I don't even know what to expect to be in bloom.

You know what? Hard for me to recommend varieties for you, because I'm in coastal Southern Calif -- but I can put you in touch with some Old Rose folks in your area.

As a general rule, if they excell as sprays, show them that way. If they excel as single blooms (many Tea Roses do) show them as a single bloom.

I don't know what they're doing, now, re. "Found" roses ... You'll have to determine what the local rule is. (Years ago, I won Dowager over and over and over with 'Sombreuil' the CLIMBER. Now, we know that is a modern Large-Flowered Climber, and so, not eligible.)

But you can grow many things that don't succeed for me.

Read schedules that are on line/ Tale them seriously. Some local exhibitors brought thirty some roses to a show and all were disqualified because they had used aluminum foil at the top of the vases to keep the stems upright and only natural plant materical was allowed in that schedule.

A friend had won Dowager at a number of Fall shows exhibiting a rose she called Rosa alba. No judges knew that albas only bloom in the spring. She tried that at a National Show, was DQed and was furious. (She was showing the Tea Safrano, and nobody knew it.)

Some judges are good. Some aren't.

Now, as Ann said -- There's good judges and bad 'uns. And at many shows, I took judges around, and showed them what to look for "next time." (Asked why we didn't become judges, we explained that we could judge Old Roses ... but would be poor judges of HT's ...)

Ann -- That lady entered 'Safrano' as R. alba???

GEEZE . . .

Elf -- Yeah -- You have to know what will stand up to the process ... some of it's trial and error.

A judge once came and got me, to consult on an entry. She wanted to know if it was as nice as it seemed to her.

I looked at it, and said "WOW"!! I was just impressed as hail, because, for me, it fell apart too quickly to show.

At that moment, all the petals fell off.

Learning process.

My friend had many years of rose competition and also usually won micro minis with Si. She was also an accreditied judge. Her Safrano had been her family rose in North Carolina and they always called it Alba Rose . (and it wasn't even white).

At another National, I searched out someone we both know because I thought I was losing my mind. Nope, she agreed with me on many of the missed mis-identified roses and caught a few that I had missed as well.

@jerijen and @stillanntn6b this is great information, thanks! I can picture the situations you describe, as you can see this reflected in the entries - I've definitely seen a few misidentified OGRs that haven't won, but also haven't been disqualified. That part of the show just seems a bit random and perhaps that's because it is! It helps me to know this, and makes it less intimidating to give it a try. As long as you follow the easily enforceable overall show rules, that is.

@jerijen I know it would make no sense to recommend specific roses to me, after all I'm limited to what happens to bloom in my own garden, but I am curious what you might have exhibited in the past and the stories the two of you are telling are great!

Ann, that's just sad. OTOH, an exhibitor once told me that it was a crime that 'Sombreuil' (LCl,1950's) was no longer classed among the OGRs because it was the only OGR she could win with. <SIGH)

So -- What could we win with? Well, "Grandmother's Hat" (when it is allowed), the fuller petalled Chinas (like Cramois Supérieur), Fuller-petalled Noisettes, particularly in great sprays, In YOUR climate, probably Mme Isaac Perierre and other Bourbons, most of the Hybrid perpetuals . . .

I have never been competitive, and thus not interested at all in competing with cut blooms of roses. I like them on bushes in the garden, or infrequently as center pieces on the table during dinner parties. Just me. However, some of the stories above have just re-confirmed my pre-conceived notions - if some judges and some competitors are so ignorant, what would be the point?

Jackie

The point is to show folks not in rose societies that fragrant roses still exist, that all sorts of blooms are possible, and sometimes, to meet people who are interested in spite of the judges in their silk sports coats and immaculately manicured hands. (I do notice when self proclaimed judges have perfect fingernails.)

That's it exactly. You won't care about trophies and all . . . The real issue is the folks who visit the event, and fall in love. You do it for them.

I'm very appreciative of the candor in this thread - I think it's important to discuss these topics, as I have similar sorts of feelings about rose shows, judging, etc. My primary interest in participating is to help some of these roses be seen. If the OGR entry gets larger, then it can't be as easily ignored and hidden in the corner! Also, at my local show the public gets to vote on a category or two (most fragrant, for example).

At my very first rose show, I was volunteering as a judges assistant and was horrified when the judge proclaimed one of my entries as "awful, just terrible!" It was because I'd incorrectly entered a spray in the wrong class. A rather brutal introduction to participating!

@jerijen thanks for your list of some of the OGRs you exhibited - I'm guessing the larger flowers with more petals tend to do the best since they are a little showier? Based on the show timing and my photos from the past couple of years, I should have some ramblers, bourbons and teas around the right time. It would be especially fun to have some big rambler sprays to take!

Having some big big rambler sprays would be dy-no-mite!!! And depending on how the schedule is written, you could likely enter them in more than one class!

Rude comments by judges is really unfortunate. REALLY unfortunate! You can't do much about it, of course, but it's sad that their mother didn't teach 'em better manners.

Years ago I went to an orchid show in Houston. The orchid I remember the most had very small blooms, but the stalk with blooms was four feet long and all the blooms were perfect.

I love the idea of showing a rambler, but here are what I think you need to do before the show.

The biggie is to learn how long a branch can be and still look fresh in the water. Too often, a long stem won't have the umpf to pump water out to the very end of the stem. Start by cutting one, note the water temperaure , and see what the end looks like in 24 hours.

The second thing is : how long will it take up to remove blooms that are either about to drop petals or whose petals are discolored (thrips, sunburn, etc.)

Once upon a time I had what I thought the night before a show was a magnificent spray of R. multiflora. The next morning, all of the above problems had happened. Similarly with the rose Gardinia. I never could get the bus to open AND look fresh. On the bush, perfect strong light yellow petals. Once cut, the petals lost their substance ..

You can tease a slightly opened bud to open. Once open there's no going back.

Ha, it really could be fun to have some sort of huge rambler spray to show, but beyond the large cuttings staying fresh, the required vases they use are pretty tall and narrow so it would probably be much too top heavy. Hopefully some of my earliest-blooming ramblers will give me a chance to practice a little. I'll also try to dig up last year's schedule to see what other classes might be an option!

@stillantn6b I also grow orchids and have been to a few orchid shows - it's those long inflorescences with tiny flowers that appeal to me the most as well - and the really odd flowers too (like Bulbophyllum). What I love about orchid shows is they tend to include lots of interesting vendors, it's a great place to buy plants.

You might find this show schedule interesting: ir was for the Tenarky District (TN, KY and Arkansas) a couple of years ago.

A long read, but an inclusive schedule