Dahlia Market Bunch Show Class

Bessie

Disclaimer: You may need to be a member of the ADS to view the links in this post. I didn't want to copy and paste in respect to copyrights.

The ADS Cut Flower Committee has added an optional class to dahlia shows—the Dahlia Market Bunch class. This class serves to promote dahlia growers. The Cut Flower Committee developed a specialized score sheet that has judging criteria quite different from the show dahlias.

Here's the pdf that discusses the goals and scoring for the new class: https://www.dahlia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/dahlia-market-bunch.pdf
PDF found on the website Dahlia.org>Grow>Cut Flowers>Dahlia Market Bunch Show Class

SteveM

Bessie That's a well-thought-out score card. The only change I would recommend is to accentuate the importance of blooms not shattering (dropping petals) soon after harvest. They assign 15 points to this fault (under Freshness) but I would automatically disqualify any entry that "easily" (to be defined later) dropped petals.

Overall, a very nice addition to ADS.

MissyWeitzel

We tried the market bunch out at our local show last year and I was a judge. I like it a lot, but I wish the rules allowed for the bunches to be wrapped. I see the reason for not having wraps so just flowers are judged, but I feel like the public viewing the show would immediately know what they were and they would enjoy them more. Also I think the wraps keep the bunches looking more tidy. It's a bit awkward having this tall bundled bunch leaning to one side in a vase.

JessieC

MissyWeitzel
I agree! And I’d love to see more photos of how they are presented. The brochure shows a few, and I see what you mean about the awkward setup. That said, I’d find this table very interesting! I’ve never been to a show but I’d like to someday.

SteveM

MissyWeitzel It's a bit awkward having this tall bundled bunch leaning to one side in a vase.

I wonder how it would work if they were displayed in a florist cooler bucket, maybe 8"X 16". To examine the backs of the blooms and the foliage I assume they would have to be lifted out of the bucket. It sounds like an interesting judging challenge