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Rules for Judging Border Carnations

THIS PAGE WILL ONLY BE OF INTEREST TO EXHIBITORS

Rules for Judging Border Carnations and Standards of Excellence
The following Rules for judging Border Carnations must be applied by officially appointed British National Carnation Society judges at National and Local Shows. All previous Rules and Standards for judging Border Carnations are hereby rescinded. The qualities of Border Carnations must be judged
as follows and in the order given.

1st Form; 2nd Freshness; 3rd Colour: 4th Size.

1.FORM. The flowers should he circular in outline with guard petals flat and at right angles to the stem. Preferably, the petals should be smooth-edged but slight indentations should not disqualify. There should be no hole in the centre of the flower or gaps between the petals. Centre petals can form a crown, but a crown is not essential. Cultivars known to produce flat type flowers must be considered equally with high crowned flowers. Stems must be rigid and support the flowers so that they face upwards or the stems may be slightly arched so that the flowers face forward. Flowers that incline downwards must not he considered.

2. FRESHNESS: A fresh flower, providing it has form, is superior to one that is past its peak of perfection. A flower showing stigmas can still be fresh. An immature flower can he fresh yet lack form.

3. COLOUR
Selfs. These should be of one colour and show no trace of any other colour. An undertone of another colour is permitted in Grey Selfs only.
White-ground Fancies. These must be of pure white ground striped, flaked, spotted suffused or otherwise marked with another colour or colours.
Yellow-ground Fancies. These must be of clear yellow ground, striped, flaked, spotted, suffused or otherwise marked with another colour or colours.
Apricot-ground Fancies. These must have a ground of either apricot, copper, terra-cotta. buffer similar colour: striped, flaked, spotted. suffused or otherwise marked with another colour or colours.
Other Fancies. These must have any ground colour other than white, yellow’ or apricot shades and tints, and must be marked with another colour or colours, either striped, flaked, spotted, suffused or otherwise marked.
Cloves. These are distinguished by their clove scent and can be any colour or colours. They must he judged in the same way as non-scented cultivars. with no consideration given to the scent. Judges must ascertain the eligibility of new’ cultivars. or unfamiliar cultivars before judging, by comparing their scent with that of existing clove-scented cultivars.
White-ground Picotees. These must have a pure white ground with a margin of contrasting colour on the edge of the petals. This margin must be continuous and unbroken. The colour must not run down into the petals.
Yellow-ground Picotees. These must have a clear yellow ground, not apricot or buff and must have a contrasting colour on the edge of the petals. This margin must be continuous and unbroken.
Other-ground Picotees. These must have a pure ground colour, other than white or yellow and must have a contrasting colour on the edge of the petals. This margin must be continuous and unbroken.

4. SIZE. The flower should be large without coarseness. Size must be considered only after all of the above qualities have been considered.

5. UNIFORMITY, hi multi-bloomed classes, a vase containing flowers that are evenly matched in size is superior to one with flowers of uneven sizes, all other attributes being equal.

6. PRESENTATION and STAGING. These must be considered in close competition.

7. WIRING. Where wired exhibits are permitted they must be judged equally with unwired exhibits. Wiring should be unobtrusive. Wired exhibits must not he considered for a Premier or Best Bloom award. The quality of stems in wired classes must not be considered.

8. MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM HEIGHT OF EXHIBITS.
Unless the Schedule states otherwise Border Carnation exhibits must have a height of not less than 9 inches to the bottom of the lowest flower and not more than 18 inches to the top of the highest flower, measured from the top of the vase. Exhibits containing flowers below or above these measurements must be disqualified. This rule does not apply to vases containing six or more blooms.

9. FOLIAGE. All exhibits of Border Carnations must contain either Border Carnations or Pinks foliage. Exhibits containing no foliage must be disqualified. Buds, whether showing colour or not, must not be considered.

10. CALYX. A flower containing a burst calyx must be disqualified. A small, insignificant split should be disregarded, Calyx bands remain¬ing on the exhibit must disqualify.

11.PESTS AND DISEASES. An exhibit containing an infestation of pests or diseases must not be considered, however, isolated pests or disease do not constitute an infestation. Examples of pests and diseases are Thrips and their markings on petals, Red Spider Mite on Calyx, stems, foliage, or flower. Aphids on flowers, foliage or stems, Rust, Mildew or Spot on flower foliage. All the above also includes the packing and display foliage which forms part of the exhibit.

12. NAMING EXHIBITS. AH exhibits must show the name of the cultivar(s) on the cards provided. New. unnamed seedlings must be marked “Seedling”. Cultivars unknown to the exhibitor must be marked Unknown”.

13.POINTS SYSTEM. This points system must be used in all cases
where there are two or more exhibits that appear to be of equal merit as judged in accordance with the foregoing Rules and Standards.

POINTSForm 7 Freshness 7 Colour 3 Size 3 TOTAL 20
NOTE: Points can be subdivided

14. SEEDLING. A seedling means an unnamed cultivar grown from seed, even if some or all the flowers exhibited are from plants grown as layers or cuttings from the original seedling. If exhibited against named cultivars they must be judged equally.

15.SPORTS. A sport means abloomlhat has developed different colour, colours or other characteristics that differ from the existing cultivar on which it grew. Sports should contain the name or part of the name of the original cultivar plus a word defining, if possible, the variation. Sports should be shown in their appropriate colour classification, not in seedling classes. If the exhibitor is unsure of the correct classification he should consult the Show Superintendent or Show Secretary, who will inform the judges of his decision. If the judges disagree with the classification they must move the exhibit to a new class and then judge it.