TESTING AT DORSET, STREET & YEOVIL SHOWS
18 September 2022
Further extensive testing at Dorset, Street & Yeovil - where we staged a further 80 vases in total, saving around £80 across the three shows in not having to buy (fully degradable) floral foam. One of the photos shows a small vase insert with some asters, and another a vase of 6 poms (Jon's Twilight).
I staged three giant decs (Sir Alf Ramsey) at Yeovil show. We finally found a 'rogue' fat stem that was too large to fit a 38 hole of an SR1 - and for this vase we staged using fully compostable floral foam.
We have also had a couple of vases where a bloom has slipped down in the vase during/after judging - one each at Yeovil and Street. In these cases, we suspect that we did not use enough packing material. So an important lesson is to take plenty of spare stem for staging, if you can.
TESTING AT MELPLASH AND AT CORNISH DAHLIA SOCIETY SHOWS
28 August 2022
Further testing at Melplash & at the Cornish Dahlia Society Show - where we staged a further 29 vases in total, saving around £52 across both shows in not having to buy (fully degradable) floral foam. One of the photos shows a small vase insert with some asters.
TESTING AT GILLINGHAM & SHAFTESBURY AND AT BROADWEY & UPWEY SHOWS
21 August 2022
Further testing was done at Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show and again at Broadwey & Upwey Show a few days later. Again we used a full range of inserts - SR1, SR2, SR3, Sr4, SR5, SR6 & SR7. As well as extensive testing with dahlias & gladioli, we staged vases of asters, statice, spray chrysanthemums etc.
We saved c£25 across both shows in not having to buy (fully degradable) floral foam.
The first of the Staging Rings have now had outings at 7 shows, so are getting close to the point of paying for themselves in a single show season (through savings in purchases of floral foam). Even the less used Rings have had a few outings.
DAHLIA TESTING AT CASTLE CARY & CLUTTON
14 August 2022
Further testing was done at Castle Cary show on 6 August and at Clutton on 13 August. Again we used a full range of inserts - SR1, SR2, SR3, Sr4, SR5, SR6 & SR7. As well as extensive testing with dahlias, we staged vases of asters, statice, spray chrysanthemums etc.
We saved a further £30 in not having to buy (fully degradable) floral foam.
I have found that for most vases there is no need to use anything under the staging rings to support blooms.
I don't need anything, other than offcut stems and the occasional use of the in-built slopes of SR7, to position the blooms at the right angles.
DAHLIA TESTING AT TAUNTON
8 August 2022
After a long wait (since last October!) I was finally able to give the rings a full road test at a competitive dahlia show - Taunton Flower Show. I used over 40 rings in total across all the main types of insert (except Sweet Pea). The rough split for large vases inserts used was 25% each for SR1, SR2, SR3 & SR5. I used SR4 for poms, and SR7 (with angled holes) for some miniature flower types. I also used some SR6's for the poms and collerettes at the front of my cut flower display (29 different varieties in 17 vases). I used a large vase SR5 for my large mixed display 'Sunset'. It demonstrated that it was easily possible to get 15 small and miniature flowered blooms into one of these rings.
I calculate that I saved £30-£35 in (fully degradable) floral foam.
I tried some sub-inserts to help set angles in some of the large vases - but found I really didn't need them - once I'd got used to selecting the right-sized ring for the blooms I was staging. (The trick is to have a hole that is not too large nor too small, leaving room to wedge the bloom at the right angle.)
I did use a few sub-bases (B2) on the poms, which act as a floor to the stems a little way below the main staging ring. I found it did make life a little easier when getting a consistent height in say a complex 9-bloom vase, but was not strictly necessary.
It takes a bit of practice if you are used to traditional foam, but you soon get the hang of it. The locking stem offcuts are a bit of an art - and you need practice.
Staging single specimen blooms in a small vase is an absolute doddle, and clearing away vases at the end was a joy - no soggy foam to dispose of!
SUMMER TESTING
26 July 2022
The recent hot weather has brought out the gladioli - far too early for the shows I was planning to attend! So here is a test shot of three gladioli (Priscilla) using Staging Ring SR2. This has 3 large 38mm holes - ideal for the thick leafy stems of gladioli. A few stem offcuts are also used to pack/wedge the stems into the large holes.
EARLY SUMMER TESTING
9 July 2022
Better weather this week, so I staged a final shot of the Sweet Peas for 2022. All using Staging Ring SR8 with a 16-degree slope. 5 vases of 9 stems (all 4's bar one 5). Hannah Mcgovern, Oxford Blue, Mumsie, Daily Mail & Memorial Flight. Not all great blooms, but a reasonable pick (cut at one time) from my 50 cordons!
NATIONAL SWEET PEA SOCIETY SHOW, WISLEY
29 June 2022
Despite bad weather (wind & rain) on the two days before the show (I don't have covers) we managed to stage this 3 vase entry at the Sweet Pea Society National, using Staging Ring SR8 with a 16-degree slope. The Staging Rings worked well and we were awarded second place.
EARLY SUMMER TESTING
22 June 2022
The Sweet Peas are now largely producing 4's. So I was finally able to test the staging rings with some sweet peas. Here are some photos of a mixed 15, single variety 15, mixed 9 and single variety vase of 7x3.
I am happy that SR8A1615 is working as intended in both metal and plastic vases, and stage anywhere up to 15 stems comfortably.
SR8A1615 has 22 holes (including two larger holes for foliage) and two side slots. The holes are angled, with the outside holes up to +/- 16 degrees from vertical. This angle (16 degrees) proved to be the best compromise between allowing a wide-enough fan and not wanting the holes to foul each other.
Any deficiencies in these vases are probably down to the quality of blooms at my disposal - from my 60 cordons!
FINAL SPRING TESTING
10 April 2022
I couldn't make it to a show this weekend, so final testing was done at home with two SR7's.
A variant of SR7 used at Nailsea show had 4 of the holes (two at front and two at back) angled at 12 degrees, allowing more of a slope.
I am not claiming anything about the quality of the blooms, but these three Spring 2022 tests have shown that the Staging Rings can be successfully used with daffodils.
I don't think any more Spring testing is required! Next stop..... the June/July Sweet Pea season!
NAILSEA SPRING SHOW
2 April 2022
This was the second test of the Staging Rings at a competitive show.
Unlike the first test at Upwey (see below) I used moss to top the vases. This does obscure the Rings in the test photos - but looks much better! One of these classes was actually staged using 'traditional' floral foam, the rest using staging rings. I don't think you can tell the difference - indicating that the Rings work as intended and are a good alternative to foam.
All daffodil stems were locked into the Staging Rings using offcuts of daffodil stem.
I used SR6 specimen bloom rings in small 6" plastic and metal ('sweet pea') vases. These generally worked well, and were very simple to use - certainly as easy and quick as using traditional floral foam.
For vases of 3 daffodils, I primarily used SR7 (an eight-hole small vase Ring) in both short and tall versions of the vase. A couple of SR4's were used.
The variant of SR7 used at the show had 4 of the holes (two at front and two at back) angled at 12 degrees, allowing more of a slope.
ESTIMATED SAVING IN BIODEGRADABLE FLORAL FOAM MATERIAL £6
BROADWEY & UPWEY SPRING SHOW
19 March 2022
This was the first test of the Staging Rings at any competitive show - and my first ever daffodil exhibits! No pressure! Although the Rings were not specifically designed for daffodils, they seemed to work well when tried at Broadwey & Upwey Spring Show in March 2022. As this was my first Spring show more practice at staging daffodils is needed (and much better blooms!).
I deliberately did not use moss to top the vases, so as to not obscure the rings in the test photos.
All daffodil stems were locked into the Staging Rings using offcuts of the daffodil stem.
I used 10 SR6 specimen bloom Rings in small 6" plastic and metal ('sweet pea') vases. These generally worked well, and were very simple to use - certainly as easy and quick as using traditional floral foam.
For vases of 3 daffodils, I used both SR4 (a nine-hole small vase Ring) and SR7 (an eight-hole small vase Ring) in a short vase.
For daffodils, with relatively large stems in proportion to flower head size, there is a tendency for the blooms to stand quite straight when locked in place using the SR4 (picture 5).
The variant of SR7 used at the show had 4 of the holes (two at front and two at back) angled at 12 degrees, allowing more of a slope. See picture 4.
However, on reflection, I would have preferred a wider 'stance' at the vase neck, and this is allowed by turning the ring through 180 degrees. So picture 6 shows three blooms restaged at home using the same Ring turned through 180 degrees. This is shown in picture 6, which gives a more pleasing effect. We also see the addition of moss in this vase.
ESTIMATED SAVING IN BIODEGRADABLE FLORAL FOAM MATERIAL £4
