Philadelphia Chapter Show
Emerson A. Reed, Media, Pennsylvania
After a lapse of ten years in holding a cut truss show, the Philadelphia Chapter has resumed this activity and on May 18-19, 1974, held a successful show at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Building, 325 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
The committee consisted of Dr. Franklin H. West (Chairman), Maxine West, Betts Layman, Kenneth Miller, Lloyd Partain, Philip Livingston, Edith and Emerson Reed. Considerable support and encouragement were received from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, especially from Ms. Evelyn Hett to whom many thanks are given. The expertise of the judges, Lewis Bagoly, Charles Herbert and Robert Huber, was much appreciated.
Fifteen participants entered a total of 176 specimens. Each person had at least one award-winning truss. The John C. Wister Rhododendron Trophy and Plaque for the best truss in the show was awarded to the truss of 'Trude Webster', entered by Warren Burnett of Lima, Pa. Sweepstakes was won by Dr. and Mrs. West of Gladwyne, Pa. Their entries won 13 first awards, 4 second and 3 third awards.
Interest in hybridizing may be indicated by the fact that the largest number of entries (33) was in Class 7, "Newly Created Hybrids Raised from Seed by Exhibitor". Section 7A, "Azaleas," had only two such entries, both by Dr. and Mrs. West; Section 7B, "Rhododendrons," had 31 such entries. Many of these appear worthy of propagation and testing. In this section, all four awards went to entries by Mrs. Halsey A. Frederick of Bryn Mawr, Pa. The first of these was a strong yellow with good petal substance. This was followed by two fine pinks and a beautiful deep purple with a dark blotch. After seeing these trusses, a number of people visited the garden to see the plants from which they came.