1. Tips for the State Floriculture CDE Contest

2. Identification
Look at leaves of plant (some flowers may not be blooming)
For Chrysanthemums, make sure to look for the leaves with 5 leaflets connected to each leaf.
For azalea, make sure you look for the woody stem
Dutch vs. Bearded Iris- Dutch has one bloom per stem, and bearded has a fuzzy ‘beard’ on the petal and had more blooms per stem

3. Judging
Look at leaves of plant to see if they are wilted, broken, or have discoloration. If arrangement in vase make sure there are no leaves inside vase
Look for number of blooms on plant, the more blooms, typically the better
Look for proportion of arrangement to container (1-1 1/2)
Stems should not be long and lanky, compact may be better.

4. Arrangement Should be 1-1 ½ times the container (height, width)
Wet Floral Foam should stick above container 1-2 inches
Start making arrangement by first using foliage around bottom
Add flowers to your desire
Fill in any spaces with filler flowers or foliage

5. Test
Take your time
Make sure you answered ALL questions, check that you did every page
Read question THOROUGHLY, small words are key, they can change your answer