Feeling the heat
Top growers beat the weather to provide impressive show exhibits
For many growers, particularly in the south and west, the National Chrysanthemum Society 2018 Late Flowering Show earlier this month couldn’t come soon enough. Blooms ran early after the hottest summer for more than 40 years and some varieties produced smaller flowers in the heat.
I had enough good blooms to win the Centenary Trophy for 18 large exhibition blooms, the Bentley Trophy for exhibit of most merit and best large exhibition bloom with ‘Amber Gigantic’. I used four ‘Amber Gigantic’, four ‘Silver Gigantic’, three ‘Bronze Gigantic’, two ‘Peggy Anne’ and one each of ‘Jessie Habgood’ and its primrose sport, ‘Phil Houghton’ and its yellow sport, and ‘Yellow Duke of Kent’. I also won the J H Goddard Trophy for six blooms with ‘Louisiana’, ‘William Sydney’, ‘Amber Gigantic’, ‘Bronze Gigantic’, ‘Primrose Jessie Habgood’ and ‘Yellow Phil Houghton’. l Fellow Garden News writer John Peace and his wife Allyson won The George Prickett Trophy for five vases of decoratives using ‘Clarksdale’, ‘Mancetta Symbol’, ‘Patricia Millar Cerise’, ‘Patricia Millar Coral’ and ‘Riley’s Dynasty’ (also best large reflex and overall best vase in show); and the Derek Bircumshaw Trophy for five vases from at least three sections using two vases of incurves, ‘Kay Woolman’ and ‘Bryony Wade’ (also best vase of incurves in show); two reflexed ‘Woolman’s Venture’ (also best vase of medium reflex) and ‘Patricia Millar Cerise’; and one vase of ‘Clarksdale’ intermediates . l John Williams won the Keith Luxford Trophy for nine large exhibition blooms with a top notch entry of four ‘Phil Houghton’, two ‘Yellow Phil Houghton’, one ‘Silver Gigantic’, ‘William Sydney’ and ‘Peggy Anne’; and the Richardson Trophy for three blooms of ‘Phil Houghton’. John’s blooms also ran early and many went over before the show. l Philip Hall won the George Monroe Challenge Cup for five vases of large singles – an impressive entry of ‘Crimson Woolman’s Glory’ (also best vase of large singles), ‘Woolman’s Glory’, ‘Golden Woolman’s Glory’, ‘Peggy Stevens’ and new glowing deep pink ‘Robyne Atkinson’. Philip also won the Robinson Trophy for three vases using ‘Woolman’s Glory’ and its golden and red sports. l Dave Collishaw produced a lovely exhibit in the Mixed Trophy with ‘Clarksdale’, ‘Mancetta Symbol’, ‘Doreen Statham’, ‘John Hughes’ and its primrose sport. Dave grows his blooms in a 9x3m (30x10ft) unheated greenhouse on his allotment, apart from 20 pots of incurve ‘John Hughes’ and sports, which are heated at night in his 1.8x2.5m (6x8ft) greenhouse at home. Dave covers his allotment blooms with a few layers of garden fleece if cold nights are forecast. l Dave and Val Thorrington won every Fantasy class, including the 15 bloom championship class for the Amberway Salver, with four ‘Senkyo Karyu’, two ‘Lava’,
‘Valerie’, ‘Pink Splendour’, ‘Chesapeake Primrose’ and ‘Salhouse Joy’, and one ‘Salmon Salhouse Joy’.
Chris Gartland won the closely contested Medium Exhibition Championship, just beating NCS chairman Roger Brownbridge. ‘Lundy’ and its yellow sport with ‘Trident’, and ‘Keith Luxford’ and sports were star blooms in both entries.
John Nevill took the Medium Exhibition Trophy for nine vases, using his own-raised ‘Billy Nevill’ (which came very close to best bloom), two ‘Lundy’, one ‘Yellow Lundy’, three ‘Majestic’, one ‘Yellow Majestic’ and white ‘Tony Joe’.
Incurves were pretty scarce but after nine second places Tyfryn and Jennifer Pugh finally won the Holmes Memorial Trophy for five vases. They showed the variety named after their son who tragically died 20 years ago, ‘Darren Pugh’, along with its Bronze sport, ‘Harry Woolman’, ‘Cream Kay Woolman’ and ‘Fairweather’.
Harry Godden won both the George and Gladys Hughes Trophy and Ted Whittock Memorial Trophy using superb vases of the ‘John Hughes’ family. Harry was just a vase short of contesting the championship.
Requiring five vases from different sections, the Harry Johnson Perpetual Trophy is hard to win. John Marshall won this keenly contested class for the second year running, this time with ‘Doreen Statham’ (reflex), ‘William Florentine’ (intermediate), ‘Silver Gigantic’ (large exhibition), ‘Bryony Wade’ (incurve) and ‘Primrose Kath Stephenson’ (single).
The main society class carries the Unique Challenge Trophy, first contested in 1888, and Swansea Society won it for the 11th time. Of the seven vases, ‘Woolman’s Glory’ and ‘Woolman’s Venture’ came from society chairman, 84-year-old Jim Prosser; I supplied two vases of ‘Amber Gigantic’ and one ‘Golden Gigantic’; one ‘William Florentine’ from Vic Marchant; and one of anemones from Alan Ellwell.
Hybridiser Dave Arnull took the top two places in the seedling class for light pink reflexed ‘Christine Arnull’ (first) and deep pink reflexed ‘Frankie Frimley’ (second). When released, these two section 2 medium exhibition varieties will be sure-fire winners.
Steve and Stella Joyce won two best vases: medium exhibition ‘Trident’ and medium single ‘Kath Stephenson’.
Mike Shepherd continued to dominate the anemone classes, winning the five-vase Coronation Bowl, three-vase Anniversary Challenge Trophy and Woolman’s Centenary Anemone Trophy for five vases of three blooms using ‘Mundial’ and its sports.