EVERGREEN CHRYSANTHEMUM ASSOCIATION
Seattle, Washington
SHOWTIME
ecamumclub.org
Jill Aldrich, Secretary
MEETING OF THE E.C.A. – Will be THURSDAY October 11, 2007 at 7 PM at the Seattle Police Athletic Association Office at 11030 East Marginal Way South, Tukwila.
TELEPHONE COMMITTEE MEMBERS – Thanks for calling your lists early, as your calls do help to increase attendance. Last meeting 18 members attended.
Reminder
We have “ECA Polo Shirts left: $12.00 each; 1 Medium (38-40) & 5 Large (42-44. Contact Claudia Attebery
ANNUAL FLOWER SHOW – The E.C.A. annual flower show will be Friday October 26th, Saturday, October 27h and Sunday, October 28h at Furney’s Nursery, 21215 International Blvd. Pacific Highway (99). Telephone: 206-878-8761.
Members Please attend, even if you don’t have any flowers to enter we will like to see everyone attend.
OCTOBER MEETING: - We begin to prepare for our annual show Set-up Wed. Oct. 24th, Bring your flowers in Thurs. Oct. 25th. Judging will be on Friday morning Oct. 26th. We need everyone’s help to make this year’ s show a spectacular event. Assignments will be given at the Oct. meeting.
If you have any questions Please call Ron Elliott our Show Steward.
SHOW RULES FOR THIS YEAR’S FLOWER SHOW:
Show Rules, Entry forms and Name Tags will be distributed
TROPHIES:
Last year’s Trophy winners please bring your clean trophies and give them to
Ron Elliott who will prepare them for this year’s Awards Banquet. If you have not given Ron Elliott your trophy yet please contact him to make arrangements. You can bring the trophies with you to our meeting on October 11th.
PLANT CULTURE– The October meeting will be devoted to the care and how to prepare your mums for the show. Cultural recommendations are attached. With possible rain or showers consider your sheltering options for your Plants.
ANNUAL AWARDS BANQUET: - The E.C.A. annual awards dinner is in lieu of the November meeting and will be held at the GOLDEN STEER Steak ‘N Rib House 23826 104th Avenue SE, Kent, WA. 98031 Telephone: 1-253-852-1144. Come at 6:00 PM for the Social Hour, Dinner at 7:00 PM Everyone is welcome to enjoy an evening with good friends, good conversation and an excellent dinner. Put it on your Calendar Thursday November 8th 6-9 PM. A sign –up sheet will be available at Furney’s Nursery during the Flower Show and also at our October meeting. If you have any questions regarding the Banquet Contact: Claudia Attebery.
Bring your late maturing blooms for display at the E. C. A. awards dinner.
Members are asked to pay $25 for their meal. (You can pay Claudia Attebery, Treasurer at the Banquet)
ELECTIONS OF NEXT YEAR’S CLUB OFFICERS:
The time has come once again to vote for your 2008 Board of Directors/Officers. Recent members are encouraged to fill positions and get involved; seasoned club members will provide assistance. Bob Walker (Chair person), nominating committee will contact you:
Members will vote on new Officers during our Dec. 13th meeting.
See you at the Flower Show
OCTOBER TO DO LIST – (adapted from Don Stark 9/98 notes)
This month the focus is finishing the blooms, and preparing them for transport to the show, and the grooming and presentation of the blooms for the show.
1. Care and Feeding
• Get support sticks under the blooms to keep them upright. A cocked bloom is discounted severely by the judges.
• Watch for aphids. Spray blooms with a very fine mist of liquid Diazinon or Nicotine Sulfate if aphids appear. Repeat every 3 to 4 days for 3 sprayings. Do not let direct sunlight hit the blooms you have sprayed till they are dry.
• Watch for and destroy earwigs. If you see petals with holes in them, you will also see telltale small terds from the earwigs. Poke around in the bloom and you will probably find the earwig holed up inside the petals. Dig him out and crush him.
• Water and feed plants sparingly. Stark does his watering with a 1-pint coffee can. Feed at approximately ½ the recommended dosage at each watering. Note, you are not watering per se, but feeding with a half-diluted solution each time the plant needs a drink. Water sparingly, preferably around 5pm (Note Bob Walker believes plants should be watered early in the day).
2. Getting Ready for the Show
• As show time approaches, you can speed up bloom development by supplemental heat (electric heaters) in the finishing areas.
• Cut the blooms 1 to 2 days before judging. Cut the stems approximately 20 inches long and immerse the stem in a bucket of water immediately. After a few minutes, make a second cut one-inch off the end of the stem under water. Let the bloom set a few more minutes, then move to a vase or other water container for transport to the show. Following this procedure, your bloom will hold up well for up to a week. The key is the second cutting under water.
• After the stem has set in water for a few minutes, remove the stem from the water and dry with a paper towel and turn the bloom upside down. Pull out all damaged or browned off petals, reset the support stake to get the bloom upright and return to the water.
3. Show Materials
• show materials will be distributed at the October meeting. You will need entry forms, bloom tags, and a show rules book to show you how you can enter your blooms.
• The following page is a show entry outline to help guide you through the show catalog contained in the show rules. Do not be afraid to ask for help in getting your blooms ready and entered.
• Good luck
The ECA is attempting to build an inventory of pictures of all the cultivars we grow. If a club member is growing a variety relatively new to the club that may not make it to the show, please try to take a picture of the bloom with a digital camera and pass it on to Steve Backstrom.