Wow! For those who made it to our show that little word said it all. Whether you entered in or just visited it just made everyone want to grow more roses.

   My first trek into the tent was straight to the floating bowls. This was a very large group of roses this year. The large bowls varied from hybrid teas to Austin shrubs. The mini bowls were equally impressive with bold entries of single petalled delights both at our show and Darryl Pearson’s winner at the recent national fall show in Los Angeles with Peggy T.

   Floating bowls are so easy to do. First, what is the ideal rose to float? The flatter the rose, the easier this will float and display beautifully as the center of gravity is much lower. Miniatures such as Marriotta and Alisha are easy to float. Little grooming is needed to prep them. Using a more traditional rose will require grooming to remove outer petals so that the rose lays flat and not tilting which then takes away from the display (insert Picture 1). Not only that but making sure it is displayed at its most perfect form. Single petal roses are very easy to float. Remember that since this is an open rose the stamens showing must also look fresh not brown. Singles are the hardest to show because of this.

    Remember that the title of this is a floating bowl so it must be floating in the water not just in water. Take the entire stem off or maybe leaving up to ¼ inch as well as the sepals. As I looked over the entries a second time I noticed that the sepals had not been removed and the stems were too long.  Another problem is not putting enough water in the container. This rose should float like an inner tube. A Palm Springs show schedule required 3 miniature roses floating in their container. Size also would be an issue so that the roses were not too crowded.

   This category is one where the exhibitor places their entry. The best way to get your entry in is to fill your bowl, hold your rose and put it in the water at the entry table. Trying to walk your completed entry usually ends up with water splashing out and onto the rose which will weight it down below the water surface.

   My mantra is about practicing.  At home grab a rose and find a cereal bowl or container of that shape and depth. Lift the rose up and look for the base to be flat. Here’s where that ideal triangle form will help guide you. Take those distracting outer petals off. Trim back that stem and see how your rose is floating. Leaning a bit to one side? This rose is not weight balanced and may require some more petal removal. Once you have this laying correctly, lightly blow on the rose and see if it moves. Get bold and try floribunda, OGR, single petal roses for a different look.

   Floating bowls make great decorations at home or parties. Craft stores have shallow clear glass containers to display. I found a miniature chair with a glass bowl seat to decorate as a floating bowl for a tiny miniature. Great for my microminis. Oh, the possibilities!

   Finally ask our member, Gail Rose Lam, about floating a rose. Way to go Gail! Congrats on your winner, the first time you tried!

Kathy Hoffman