What does it take to win a Dahlia Blue Ribbon at the State Fair?

Today was the 2nd year that I served as a clerk for the MN Dahlia Society judging at the MN State Fair. Many of you know that for years I have judged marching band and drum corps. This is just as meticulous with a LOT of criteria before any of the ribbons and medals are handed out. I thought I would give you the basic 101 of what it takes.

For starters, it begins much earlier than the end of August. Anyone entering needs to count back the weeks before the date and tinker with Mother Nature as much as possible. There is debudding and pinching as well as deadheading, hoping to guide your favorite blooms to serving up that perfect flower on the exact date for entry and praying the the elements work in your favor. A rough storm, a heat stretch or insects can change intentions easily. Most of the seasoned gardeners load up a few big buckets and bring whatever looks reasonable and make choices right at the fairgrounds.

The staging room opens on the grounds the night before. Some of the gardeners travel and spend the night in the Metro working most of the night. Trimming back stems, wedging in foam or arranging multiples depending on which categories they are entering. It becomes kind of like a party for those assembling the floats for the Rose Parade the night before. 

Classes and varieties: The Dahlia Association recognizes 15 distinct color blends from whites, to blush, through the rainbow to bi-color mixes. Forms are vast from little pom poms and micros, to ball, to formal & informal decorative, anemones, collarettes, waterlilies..... so many options to grow. And it is not comparing apples to oranges. Each one gets its own division in the competition. And then sorted by size with AA being the large dinner plates and single B being a common 4-8 inch bloom. When you multiply ALL these options out - there are hundreds of ribbons to be handed out over the two showrooms in the horticulture building.

 

The judging begins at 8 AM on show day. All entries must be placed on the table with tags by this point. We have a sizable pool of very well trained judges and several still in training. They are separated in pods of 3-4 judges per group and given a clerk - which I take on. My job is to record all decisions, note the 1st, 2nd & 3rd place winners; the name of the grower and the hybrid variety that takes 1st in each of the categories. In order for a new breed to become a recognized in the annual catalogue, it needs at least 5 1st place ribbons in major shows throughout the country. So our efforts here do impact the national market based on rating! The judging panels go group by group and are looking at several elements trying to balance them all and determine which best fits the criteria. Is it true to the form and shape - petals formed, center not blown, arc, balanced on the main stem. They check coloration and make sure it is fully arrived - not too early and pale or late and faded. They want a strong stem with 2 pair of leaflets on each stem. No actual points are given, but there needs to be a consensus from the panel before placement is given. I can vouch that each year creates some serious discussion and unity is not always easy deliberation.

I will also vouch that a 1st place is not guaranteed. I would say that half of my divisions today did not earn ANY blue ribbons. Sometimes just a placement of 2nd or 3rd. And in some cases none at all were awarded. They Dahlia Society feels a standard needs to be upheld and if flowers do not merit a winner, there is no consolation prize just for showing up. It sounds harsh, but there is a standard. There is also a Court of Honor, which is the best of the best. In each of the 15 color divisions for each class, the judges look back at all the 1st places and determine if any are worthy of Best in Show and those are pulled with a HUGE purple ribbon and staged on the grand stairs at the back of the showroom.

I have noted to many of my gardener friends that this has been a brutal MN summer for all of us working the soil. The dry hot and humid temps have made for late blooming, small buds, weak stems and wonky coloration in all flowers. So it was not a surprise that the entries this year paled. Even the advanced growers just did not have all the inventory they had hoped. Several, especially the large dinner-plate dahlias, had divisions with nothing submitted and made for tables that were more sparse than in the past. My 3 patches are not even where they were last July at this point and I am hoping for 50% of my plants to still bloom among those that gave up and just wilted early in the season. 

 On top of all this judging, we have also expanded to feature dahlia photography. Each season has a theme for arrangements which must feature dahlias and other floral components. This year was Road Trip. And since hybrid work is such a trend, there is a small division for seedlings that are in training under three years for new varieties. There is a lot of knowledge behind what beauty you see on display in the Horticulture Building. If you really love the dahlias, the MN Dahlia Society hosts our own show later in the season at Bachmans Sept 19-20. It should feature many lovely blooms as the season cools and relaxes a bit. And if you want to get really excited, Minnesota will be hosting the National Dahlia show in 2028. It will be the 100th anniversary of our local chapter and planning is underway where you will see the whole process play out in grand scale.