As of now (this publication), Modern Roses 12 is considered the latest ARS publication and therefore under the Guidelines for Judging Roses it is the source that determines the proper classification and exhibition name for a cultivar for show purposes.  It is considered a later publication than the 2008 ARS Handbook.  If there are any discrepancies between the two sources the Modern 12 data should be considered correct.  All errors or changes to Modern 12 are available on the ARS website.  A subscription to the Modern 12 site is provided free of charge to anyone who has purchased the book.  I encourage anyone who is hosting a show that has Internet access available at the show to have the website available to judges for use.  If this access is not possible the most recent updates and changes to names, classifications and registrations can be downloaded from the site and made available to judges.

There are several specific roses I would like to address.

1. The popular miniflora ‘Summer Night’ has had its registration withdrawn and must be shown as ‘Conundrum’.  Therefore any entry shown as ‘Summer Night’ would be disqualified as being misnamed. 
2. From reports I have read the floribundas ‘Hannah Gordon’ and ‘Nicole’ are continuing to be confused at shows.  I have heard some comments from judges that they will continue to judge these roses the way they always have because nothing has been noted about a “change” on the rose registration page.   Let me make this point perfectly clear - there is nothing to change! The registration for both roses has remained as it always has been (there had been no change to the description, classification or exhibition name for either rose).  The problem has occurred because many rosarians bought ‘Hannah Gordon’ from Edmunds and other sources MISNAMED as ‘Nicole’.  They are continuing to show it as ‘Nicole’.  Please read the accurate description of both floribundas provided in Modern Roses 12.  There is a tremendous difference in petal count (‘Hannah Gordon’ has 20-25 petals and a deep pink to red petal edge, ‘Nicole’ has 30-35 petals and usually a softer paler, pink, petal edge).  If you cannot remember the qualities of each rose please look them up!  The great majority of bushes in gardens are ‘Hannah Gordon’ - not ‘Nicole’. If you see the variety with deep pink to red edges and 20-25 petals entered as Nicole, it must be DQed as misnamed. Please also remember that Tabris and Raspberry Ice are synonyms for ‘Hannah Gordon’.  If you come across a Raspberry Ice or Tabris, the exhibit should be disqualified as the roses are being exhibited under the wrong name.
3. I would like to remind everyone again about the climber class.  The only roses that now are allowed to compete for Best Climber are those classed as Large Flowered Climbers (LCl), Hybrid Wichuranas (Which.), and Hybrid Giganteas (HG).  Three roses have recently changed classification from Climbing Teas to Hybrid Giganteas and therefore are now eligible for the Best Climber Certificate - they are ‘Belle Portugaise’, ‘La Follette’, and ‘Senateur Amic’.  The classification of the popular rose ‘Sombreuil’  was changed last year from a Tea to a Large Flowered Climber and now competes for Best Climber instead of for Dowager Queen.

Show chairs should be reminded that the ARS has approved a floribunda court (Queen, King and Princess) for shows.  If a show chooses to have the court it should be selected in the same manner as other courts are selected in the show.

We also need to address the issue of the singles class.  The change to define a single as having 4-8 petals was initiated by the Classification Committee.  It is my understanding that this change was enacted to reflect the proper botanical definition of a single flower and had no basis in defining it for exhibition purposes.  The Guidelines were changed to reflect the board-approved definition of a single.   The publication of Modern Roses 12 and subsequently the information in all 2008 and future Handbooks for Selecting Roses (which is based on the Modern Roses 12 data base) contain no listing of petal count for many cultivars, only the petallage stated by the hybridizer who registered the rose.  For example, the popular floribunda ‘Playboy’ is listed as a single in both Modern Roses 12 and the 2008 Handbook For Selecting Roses.  In most areas of the country ‘Playboy’ produces blooms with a petal count outside the defined 4-8 petal count.  This contradiction has caused great confusion for exhibitors.  At the Deep South District show ‘Playboy’ was DQ’d from the single class as the schedule called for the 4-8 petal count and the exhibited ‘Playboys’ clearly had more than 8 petals.  The exhibitors argued that the Handbook said ‘Playboy’ was a single.   What to do?  The most realistic answer is to write a better schedule.  Shows should provide a class for roses with 4-8 petals and/or classed as a single by an ARS publication.  This wordage would open the classes to “semi-doubles” like ‘Playboy’ and be much less confusing for the exhibitor.  It would also discourage exhibitors from removing petals to allow a bloom to fall into the 4-8 petal count.  A definition that was created to reflect botanical correctness sure seems to be creating lots of problems for the judges!

I would like to reflect on disqualifying an entry.  No matter how long you have been judging and how much self-confidence your team may have - it never hurts to check with another team prior to DQing.  As an exhibitor there is NOTHING worse than having an entry disqualified incorrectly and nothing more embarrassing as a judge.  I should qualify this to state that this is not for the obvious infraction such as leaving a cotton ball in a rose but for less obvious disqualifications such as not finding a rose as registered or not being familiar with a variety and disqualifying it because it does not meet the description in Modern Roses.  I have twice seen the ‘Irresistible’ sport ‘Marie Jeanette’ DQ’d by judges unfamiliar with the cultivar because they looked it up and saw it was classed as a yellow blend and the entry they saw was a cream color (those of us that grow it know that creamy yellow is the typical color, at least in the South).  Those unfamiliar with an OGR should always check with a knowledgeable OGR grower if they are unsure of the rose.

In conclusion, I appreciate the hard work performed by judges and all the time and effort it takes to judge a show.  Our Horticulture Judges Committee will have proposed revisions to the challenge class section of the Guidelines for Judging Roses ready for approval at the Denver ARS Convention.   I am happy to hear any concerns regarding judging you may have.

Susan Clingenpeel
National Horticulture Judges Chair, 2007 - 2009