Q.    What are the flower show hours to enter blooms?

A.     The flower show will accept entries Saturday, September 2nd as soon as we can get Room 104 open and staffed (roughly 8am) until 11am.

Q.    What are the flower show hours for public viewing?

A.    The flower show viewing hours are 10am – 2pm on Sunday, September 3rd. We may be open earlier, but the official hours are 10am-2pm.

Q.     Wait, what about viewing on Saturday?

A.    The flower show will accept entries from opening until 11am on Saturday, September 2nd and close at 12 noon for judging. There is no guarantee that any of the blooms will be on display on Saturday; it will open when all judging is completed and we may have thousands of blooms to consider. Please plan on visiting the festival on Sunday September 3rd between 10am and 2pm if you’d like to see the flower show.

Q.    Can you tell the judges to hurry?

A.    No.

Q.    Do I have to be a member of SCPS to enter the flower show?

A.    No.

Q.    What is the entry fee?

A.    Nothing. Entry is free.

Q.    What do I have to bring to enter?

A.    You need to bring plumeria blossoms or inflos. We provide the vases.

Q.    How do I enter?

A.    All the blooms are organized by size, type, color, and specialization. We have a handy graphic to help you determine where your blooms will go, but we also have visual aids and volunteers who are happy to help you Saturday morning.

Q.    I have a really pretty bloom, but I don’t know the variety name. Can I enter it?

A.    Yes, put No ID for the variety name.

Q.    If a bloom or inflo won Best in Show at a past flower show, can that variety win Best in Show again?

A.    Only the Best in Section in Sections I through IX are eligible for the Best in Show award, excluding Display classes. Rule modification begining 2022: A previous Best in Show winning exhibitor may not win the Best in Show award a second time with the same variety. Before Best in Show judging begins, flower show personnel will check the Best in Section winners against the list of previous Best in Show winners and varieties to make sure a previous Best in Show winner has not won with that same variety. It is as the discretion of the judges and flower show personnel to determine if a previous winner in a particular class would disqualify the exhibitor for winning with the same variety in a different class.

A variety that has previously won Best in Show but is being entered by a different exhibitor may win Best in Show. A previous Best in Show exhibitor who has entered a different variety than their previous winning variety may win Best in Show.

Please continue to enter your blooms, even though the variety of your bloom has won the Best in Show award in the past.  Best in Section blooms are all recognized and winners will receive our prestigious rosette awards and Certificates with a photo of your winning entry.  We will present the Best in Section awards at our annual luau!

Q.    What would I win?

A.    You may win a ribbon for placing in your class, a rosette if your bloom is the best in its section, and for the very best, the Jeanette Mattson Best in Show Award. Please note that the display classes are not eligible for the Jeanette Mattson Best in Show Award.

Q.    What do you do with all the entries at the end of the flower show?

A.    If they would like them back, exhibitors are expected to pick up their entries by 2PM on Sunday before the flower show closes; otherwise the entries become the property of the SCPS.

Q.    What’s this I hear about blind judging for the flower show?

A.    The identities of all entrants are concealed from the judges to not bias them. You may have heard about our partnership for many years with the San Diego Center for the Blind. Our fragrance categories are judged by judges with visual impairments so that the look of the flower has no influence on the result.

Q.    Do I have to register in advance to enter the flower show?

A.    You need to pre-register for the lei, photography and floral arrangement Display classes so that we will have enough space for the entries.

Q.    How do I know what class to enter in?

A.    We have volunteers to help you sort through Flower Show Classifications. But the basic questions are:

  • Is this an inflo or a bloom?
  • Does it have long skinny petals?
  • Are you entering it in the fragrance category or in the general categories?
  • Is it a plant that you grew from a seed yourself? Growing seedlings takes hard work and persistence and seedling developers get separate classes to recognize their hard work (Sections VI, VII, VIII, or IX).

Q.    What’s an inflo?

A.    The whole bloom spike instead of the single floret, short for inflorescence.

Q.    How do I know if my bloom qualifies as a Spider?

A.    Sometimes it is obvious that the bloom has a spider-like shape. The general rule is that the length of the petal should be greater than twice the width of the petal.

Q.    What’s the People’s Choice Award?

A.    The People’s Choice Award is determined by votes from the public between 12PM and 3PM on Saturday, September 2nd. Entry is limited to one per person.

Q.    Who judges a flower show, anyway?
A.     We look for people who have many years of experience with their specific section or class who do not plan to enter our flower show (always the tough part!). Our fragrance category judges are from the San Diego Center for the Blind, so they judge on fragrance and not appearance.

Q.    How do I enter a plumeria photograph?

A.    Please consult the Display Class II: Flower Show – Photography page.

Q.    How do I enter a plumeria floral arrangement?

A.     Please consult the Display Class I: Flower Show – Floral Arrangements page.

Q.    How do I enter a Plumeria Lei?

A.     Please consult the Display Class V: Flower Show – Lei page.  The Lei must contain plumeria blooms as its common element. All Lei shall be made with natural plant materials and limited to flowers, leaves, stems, roots, fruits, pods and seeds. Lei using non-natural material, artificial treatment, or coloring of natural materials are not allowed. String, thread, yarn or dental floss may be used in the construction of the Lei, but NO WIRE OR TAPE. No endangered materials shall be used.

This year you have the opportunity to submit in TWO Plumeria Lei Display Classes – a smaller “lei po’o” (head lei) and the longer “lei a’i” (traditional neck lei).

There will be a total of 8 judging opportunities! There will be four methods of lei making/classifications (Haku, Humupapa, Kui, and Wili) for both LEI PO’O (between 19 to 22 inches long) and LEI A’I (between 30 to 36 inches long).

Measurements do not include 2-inch loop and 2-inch tail. All Lei must have a 2-inch (5.1cm) loop (for hanging) at the top; with a 2-inch (5.1cm) tail at the bottom end (this identifies the top and bottom of the lei). Lei need to be left untied. Measurement will be taken from the knot of the 2-inch loop to the knot at the end of the Lei.

Each classification will have ribbons for the top 3 winners with a Rosette ribbon awarded for the overall Best in Display Class.

If you are entering your Lei in this display class, you must notify the flower show coordinators starting August 1st, and no later than August 30th so that the display area can be prepared. There is a limit of 2 lei entries per person.

Q.    How do I enter an educational poster?

A.     We will not be hosting the educational poster competition in 2023.