STANDARDS AND JUDGING RULES
of the dahlia

1998 Edition

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

The judging of dahlias is not and cannot be an exact science and so, as a decision must often rest on the Judge's Personal knowledge and experience, they must take care that in arriving at their decision they are not swayed by their personal dislikes or preferences, whether for cultivars, colours, formation or for any other reason
It is the duty of all who judge dahlias to acquire a thorough knowledge of all the various groups, their habits of growth, and the formation of their blooms.
All judges must deal fairly and impartially with any infringement of the rules, the show regulations, and all schedule and local requirements of the organisation whose competitive classes are being judged.
The judges should look for perfection in each bloom, and when assessing its true merits, the quality i.e. formation, centre, freshness, colour and stem, should be regarded as factors of paramount importance, and then, all imperfections, defects and blemishes, termed faults should be considered as items detracting from the merits of the exhibit.
A fault may be minor or serious, in accordance with the circumstances, or the extent, to which it is present in the exhibit and few hard and fast rules can be laid down to deal with each of them. It is a serious fault for an exhibition bloom to be badly bruised or malformed or for a double-flowered cultivar to have an open centre, but whereas a damaged, eaten, or malformed floret at the rear of the bloom does little to detract from its beauty and overall perfection, the same defect on the face of the bloom, one which mars its beauty, would be considered a very serious fault.
All faults should therefore be carefully assessed and placed within a true perspective in relation to the exhibit as a whole.
In the case of giant-flowered cultivars the blooms should be as large as possible in diameter and depth, provided the size is not obtained at the expense of quality.
AT ALL TIMES THE QUALITY OF A BLOOM MUST BE THE FIRST AND CHIEF CONSIDERATION, AND MUST NEVER OVERRIDE MERE SIZE.

All exhibits must be judged as seen AT THE TIME OF JUDGING and not as they possibly were, or might become.

with acknowledge to The National Dahlia Society (UK)

All blooms for exhibition should be symmetrical, that is, perfectly balanced in all
respects, graceful and pleasing in appearance. Face view should be circular, that is perfectly round like a ring. Pompon and Ball Type should be as close as possible to spherical in shape, that is, circular from all angles.

All blooms, except Pompons, should face forward and upwards on the stem at an angle of 45 degrees. Pompon should face straight upwards in line with the stem.

Blooms should be staged without artificial support at least 160mm clear of the staging container, between the centre of the bloom and the top of the container.

Dahlias exhibited in competitive classes should be qualified for the classes in which they are shown by formation and size. Classification and colour should not be used.

In fully double types the centre should be closed, with the centre disc and pollen stamens still completely covered by immature and unopened florets. Centres should be well developed with the amount of unopened florets being enough only to ensure the central disc is still completely covered and is in proportion to the size of the bloom.

1.Formal Decorative Dahlias Bloom should be fully double. The centre should be closed and should be as high as the surrounding face florets. Florets should radiate evenly from the centre without gaps, should be broad, smooth and being neither markedly involute nor revolute, gently recurving towards the stem, The tips of the florets should be preferably be rounded. Depth of the bloom should be at least two thirds, but not more than its diameter. 2. Informal Decorative Dahlia Bloom should be fully double. Centre should be as high as the surrounding face florets of the bloom. Florets should radiate evenly from the centre without gaps to be broad, slightly twisted or wavy mature florets giving the effect of not being flat. The tips of the florets should be revolute for not more than one quarter the length of the floret and should recurve towards the stem. Depth of the bloom should be at least two thirds, but not more than its diameter. 3. Semi-Decorative Dahlia Blooms should be fully double, Centre should be as high as the surrounding face florets of the bloom. Florets should radiate evenly from the centre without gaps, should be fully involute for more than one third but less than one half of their length. The tips of the florets should preferably appear to be pointed and should recurve towards the stem. Depth of the bloom should be at least B but not more than its diameter.

4. Semi Cactus Dahlia Bloom should be fully double. Centre should be cone shape and as high as the face florets. Florets should radiate evenly from the centre without uneven gaps between rows, breaking gradually with flat pointed immature florets to outer florets. Outer florets should be broad and flat towards the base, revolute with edges overlapping from the tip for more than one quarter, but not more than half their length, with the tips pointed. Florets may be gently incurved or straight. Depth should be at least two thirds, but not more than its diameter. There should be sufficient florets to prevent gaps in formation and outline. 5. Cactus Dahlia Bloom should be fully double. Centre should be cone shape and as high as the face florets. Florets should radiate evenly from the centre without uneven gaps between the rows, with immature florets to outer florets. Outer florets should be narrower than Semi Cactus but in proportion to the size of the bloom, revolute edges should overlap from the tip for at least half and preferably two thirds of their length with tips pointed. Florets may be gently incurved or straight. Depth should be at least two thirds but not more than its diameter. There should be sufficient florets to prevent gaps in formation and outline. 6. Exhibition Cactus Dahlia Bloom should be fully double. Centre should be cone shaped and as high as the face florets. Florets should radiate evenly from the centre without uneven gaps between the rows to outer florets. Florets should all be very narrow, long and pointed with revolute edges overlapping for as near as possible to their length giving a tube effect, rather than a flattened appearance. Towards the tips the florets should be strongly incurved and may regularly curve one way. Depth should be at least half but not 7. Fimbriated Cactus Dahlia General requirements should match the Cactus or Semi Cactus Dahlia. Fimbriation or splits should divide into two or more points giving a splayed effect. The fimbriation of splits should be in proportion to the size of the bloom. ie the fimbriation in miniature blooms should be at least 10mm from the tips. Centre will give a slightly brush effect as florets open, but should still be closed, as high as the surrounding face florets and as cone shaped as possible. 8. Fimbriated Dahlias other Types Fimbriated Dahlias should match the Standard for their type. As a guide, the fimbriation in miniature blooms should be at least 10mm from the tips.

9.. Ball Dahlia Blooms should be fully double and spherical like a ball. Centre should be as high as the surrounding face florets. Florets should be uniform in size and formation throughout the bloom, involute for most of their length and fully involute, to the extent of edges touching (forming tubes) for at least half their length. Tips should appear to be rounded or blunt. Florets should be compactly arranged without gaps between rows. Florets on the back half of the bloom should not flatten completely, still maintaining the tube effect of involute florets. Back florets should reflex fully to the stem. 10.Pompon Dahlia Bloom should be fully double, symmetrical and spherical like a golf ball Centre should be closed, fully developed and as high as the surrounding face florets. Florets should be uniform in size throughout the bloom. All florets should be involute for the whole of their length, regularly arranged and the tips of the florets should appear to be rounded. Back florets of the bloom should reflex to the stem.

11. Waterlily Dahlia Bloom should be fully double, and symmetrical. Side view should be saucer shaped and face view should be circular in outline and regular in arrangement. The centre should be closed and dome shaped, breaking gradually to fully developed outer florets. The layers of florets should be openly spaced, with four to seven rows, to give a delicate and light appearance. Outer florets should be broad and slightly cupped with rounded tips.

12. Collerette Bloom side view should be flat. Centre should be open, disc shaped, with fresh pollen bearing stamens. Outer florets should be equal in size and shape, broad flat and rounded at the tips. Outer florets should radiate regularly and evenly away from the central disc and should overlap to avoid gaps. The outer florets shall be eight. The inner row of florets should form a collar evenly around the central disc, of wavy florets with multiple divisions and preferably not exceed half the length of the outer florets. The colour of collar should preferably contrast greatly with outer florets. 13. Single Dahlia Bloom side view should be flat. Centre should be open, disc shaped with fresh pollen bearing stamens. Surrounding the centre should be a single row of flat equally sized and shaped florets that may overlap but should not assume double formation. Tips should be rounded. Florets should radiate evenly away from the central disc and must number eight.

14.Anemone Dahlia Bloom should be fully double. Side view of the centre should be dome shaped., made up of elongated tubular florets, compacted tightly, so that the central disc does not show. Outer florets should preferably form one row of evenly sized flat, broad florets with rounded tips, regularly arranged around the centre florets. 15. Orchid Dahlia Bloom side view should be flat. Center should be open, disc shaped with fresh pollen bearing stamens. Surrounding the center there should be a single row of eight involute florets that preferably show a different colour or shade on the reverse side. Florets should be involute for their whole length and fully involute with edges overlapping for at least half their length. 16. Stellar Dahlia Bloom should be fully double. Center should be closed and as high as the surrounding face florets, breaking gradually with immature florets to fully developed outer florets. Outer florets should be narrow and involute, and preferably be a contrasting colour or shade on the reverse side. Depth should be at least half but no more than two thirds of its Diameter. 17. Peony Dahlia Bloom should be flat. Center should be open, disc shaped with fresh pollen bearing stamens. Surrounding the center should be two to four rows of ray florets. Florets adjacent to the disc flower may be smaller, twisted or curled 18. Miscellaneous Dahlia There are other types of dahlia which at present have no officially recognized standards for judging. Some show schedules have items for these types of dahlia, and It is up to the judges to use their knowledge and experience in judging these types.

Dahlia Stem Requirements
The stem should be straight, situated centrally to the bloom, rigid and round. Thickness should be in proportion to the bloom it carries. The length of stem should be at least 160 mm clear of the container. The stem should carry the bloom facing upwards at an angle of 45 degrees, except Pompon that should face straight upwards in line with the stem. Artificial support is prohibited except staging mediums,eg. Oasis or paper, which should not protrude above the neck of the container.

Condition Requirements
Blooms should be perfectly fresh and mature. They should be of firm substance and fine in texture. They should also be clean and free from blemish.

Colour Requirements
The colour of a bloom should be clear, bright and attractive Blend and Bi-coloured, dahlias should be evenly marked.

*note: to convert mm to inches, multiply by 0.03937

Dahlia Sizes

Giant 260mm and over
Large Over 210mm and under 260mm
Medium Over 160mm and under 210mm
Small over 120mm and under 160mm
Miniature under 120mm

Formal, Informal, and Semi Decorative Dahlias, Cactus and Semi Cactus Dahlias come in all five sizes.

Ball Dahlia's come in Small and Miniature sizes.

Exhibition Cactus Dahlias are under or over 160mm, Medium or Small.

Fimbriated Dahlias are under or over 160mm. Medium or Small.

Pompon Dahlias are under 50mm

Waterlily Dahlias are under 160mm

Collerette Dahlias are under 160mm

Anemone Dahlias are under 160mm

Orchid Dahlias are under 160mm

Stellar Dahlias are under 160mm

Single Dahlias are under 160mm

Miscellaneous Dahlias. Under 160mm and 0ver 160mm

Seedlings and Sports

1. Seedlings are plants grown from seed.
2. Sports are Mutations or sudden variations from parent plant.
3. That a seedling or sport be an unnamed cultivar
4. That a cultivar be undesseminated
5. That the showing period for an unnamed cultivar be three years from the first entry for public showing.
1 That once a cultivar wins a Major award (ie. Blue Ribbon or Size Type Champion) it must be named and cannot be entered again as a unnamed cultivar

Guide Sheet for Point Judging of Dahlias

List of faults and allocation of points to be used when assessing the quality of a bloom. All blooms should be assessed above or below 85 points which is the average quality of blooms exhibited. Blooms should be separately assessed in comparison with the ideal standard. Other blooms staged should be ignored during assessment but assessments of all blooms of corresponding size and type SHOULD BE REVIEWED after completion for reasonable results.

FAULTS TO BE PENALISED	PENALTY
Form	40
Variation from approved standard type Blade florets in cactus type Fluted or involute florets in decorative Types	8
Lack of distinction Lack of variety of types Pin petals, hair like petals, serrations.	8
Open or about to open centres in fully Double blooms Stale pollen in open centre blooms	10
Poor centre in proportion to size of bloom Oval, sunken, depressed, brush, hard green, isolated from outer florets, distorted, unattractive green bracts.	6
Build rough appearance, unbalanced, gaps or uneven floret spacing, excessive depth, sparse or overcrowded florets. Width of florets in poor proportion to bloom size, Shallow, immature.	8
Stem	15
Strength, weak or soft	5
Build crooked, bent, misshapen, untidy, too thin, too thick	5
Bloom held at wrong angle i.e. facing downward or straight upward (except Pompon which should face straight upward in line with stem).	5
Condition	25
Harsh substance, stale, withered, limp, drooping	10
Coarse texture, lack of distinction.	5
Cleanliness, eaten, bruised, damaged, dirty, marked, bleached	10
Colour	10
Lack of distinction, dull, unattractive, uneven markings or blends.	5
Faded, bleached, discoloured	5
Size	5
Blooms varying in size in Class	5
Staging	5
Unbalanced exhibit Obtruding or loose plugging, too high, too low, Not placed facing viewers, unnamed.	5
TOTAL	100

Judging Multi-Vase Exhibits.

Multi-Vases exhibits may be classified into three distinct types.

1. Championships (State or Show )
2. Displays
3. Collections.

Championships

Championships usually consist of a multi-vase exhibit including both single and multi-bloom vases.

Blooms in a Championship should be judged to the same standards as all other specimen dahlia bloom classes.

1 An overall view of each entry should be made before any vases are moved, a note should be taken as to the staging, and arrangement of each entry, and this should be used in case of equal points at the end of judging the entries.
2 A vases should be selected, from one of the entries, judged and given a pointing out of a certain number of points, ie.10 pts up to 100 pts
3 A note is made of the points awarded to this vase, and all other vases in the entry are judges against this vase.
4 All the points awarded to vases in this entry are added together and that is the result for that entry
5 All the other entries are judged in the same way against this vase, and all the totals checked and the winner obviously has the highest points.
6 An alternative to this method is that first a vase containing a single bloom is chosen as the base vase, and all other single vases are judged against this vase, and then a vase
7 containing multi blooms is chosen and used as the base vase against which all the other multi-bloom vases are judged.
8 The result being calculated as before.

Displays
A Display usually contains several vases, These can be either of the same type
or of different types, single or multi- bloom, usually
a display consists of a variety of colours, either blending or contrasting.

Elegance of arrangement and colour harmony 30 pts
Quality and freshness 40 pts
Variety 20 pts.
Finish 10 pts.

100pts

Collections

Collections as the name suggests are usually a collection of different Types and Varieties of dahlia blooms, with emphasis on the different types.

Varieties and Types 40 pts
Quality and freshness 40 pts Arrangement and staging 10 pts
Stems 10 pts
100 pts

Bunch Work
Another schedule item that is sometimes called for is for a Bunch of Blooms, In Victoria this normally means a vases or vases containing more than 6 blooms.
Arrangement. 35 points
Uniformity 20 points
Quality and Condition 25 points
Colour blending 20 points
100 points

Faults

1. As a general principal anything which detracts from the perfection of a bloom, or an exhibit, is a "fault" and the seriousness or otherwise of the fault depends upon the degree of imperfection. In judging an exhibit the following faults must be evaluated accordingly.

2 .It is a Very Serious fault if a bloom:
(a) is malformed
(b) f aces downward
(c ) has been badly damaged
(d) has limp drooping florets
(e) has had an excessive number of florets removed
(f) has an open centre (double-flowered cultivars only)
(g) has a centre which is hard and green, large and undeveloped or badly distorted
(h) seriously departs from the standard formation of the group of dahlia for which the class calls
(I) presence of pests.

3. Faults of a Lesser Degree, in accordance with the amount by which the fault detracts from the perfection of a bloom, are as follows:
(a) oval, sunken or isolated centres
(b) irregular or oval outline of bloom
(c ) Uneven, irregular, or unbalanced formation
(d) florets lacking freshness or which are bleached, discoloured, faded, eaten, bruised, malformed or otherwise blemished (e) where florets have been removed
(f) stems which are bent, weak, short jointed, thick and out of proportion
(g) uneven or inconsistent colouring
(h) uneven tipping of bi-coloured blooms
(i) shallow blooms, i.e. those lacking depth or fullness (with the exclusion of Groups11-17 )
(j) blooms which are either immature or past their best

4. Angle of Blooms
(a) Blooms of Pompon dahlias should face upwards on a straight stem and any variation of this
must be regarded as a fault.
(b) When several blooms are shown together in an exhibit, it is a fault for them to face at different angles.

GLOSSARY
Abbreviations
Cult.       Cultivar.
C.V.A.        Colour Variation Allowed(i.e. different cultivars, same type)
DIST.        Distinct.
E.        Exhibition quality cultivar.
F.        Floriferous- suitable for florists, cut flower.
G.        Garden cultivar of outstanding merit due to floriferousness, and or colour and/or cut flower keeping qualities but whose blooms does not meet exhibition form requirements.
N.A.S.        Not According to Schedule.
N.A.        No Award. Exhibit is of insufficient merit.
S.S.        Staged Singly. One bloom to a vase.

Attractive Bedding
Dahlias Appealing, pleasant, Dwarf border singles, Dwarf Redskin semi-double with reddish foliage and Hi-Dolly semi-doubles.
Axil        Upper angle between leaf and stem it springs from, or between branch or trunk.
Balance        The relative placement of plant materials in such a way that a sense of visual stability is established.
Basket        A container with or without fixed handle, woven from twigs, rushes, or other flexible material (may be metal or plastic).
Bearded        A bloom having more or longer ray florets below an imaginary line,drawn through the centre of the bloom,than above the line.
Bi-Coloured        Having two distinct and sharply separated colours on the face of the ray florets.
Bleeding        Term applies to the intermingling of the two colours in bi-coloured dahlias. Bleeding is a fault in bi-coloured dahlias.
Blend        Two or more colours which merge.
Bloom        The flowerhead, including florets, bracts, and calyx.
Blown        The stage where a double flower has developed to the point of exposing its central
disc and ray florets. It is then said to be "daisy eyed" . It is strictly no longer a double bloom and is of no use for exhibition.
Bract        A small scale like leaf which accompanies each flower.
Breaking        gradually Opening with undeveloped florets of varying or increasing size until fully developed florets are reached.
Bruised.        Mechanical damage to the flower parts, stem or foliage.
Brush centre        A mass of florets of the same length making up the centre. The tips of these centre florets look like a brush.
Bud.        An unopened bloom still enclosed within the involucre and not showing colour.
Calyx.        The outer set of perianth segments which are green.
Central Rays.        The short immature ray florets comprising the central portion of the fully double flowers when at their prime stage.
Circular.        Round, like a ring.
Class        A group of entries conforming to the specifications required by a competitive schedule in a dahlia show.
Classification.        Allot to a group of the same size and type of dahlia for reference purposes.
Closed centre        A group of undeveloped florets closing it from view. completely covering the centre of the bloom
Clock faced Bloom        held flat against its stem so that when the stem is vertical the bloom faces directly forwards.
Coarse        A bloom where the florets are over large and out of proportion to the diameter of the bloom.
Collection.        More than one size and/or type of dahlia grouped in a class or garden.
Colour        The criterion for judging refers not to the shade or tone of colour, but to the quality of colour trueness to type for a particular cultivar.
Colour Harmony        A pleasing interaction or appropriate combination of colours.
Cone-shaped        Round at the base and coming to a point at the top. Note. florets with pointed tips unopened form a cone-shaped centre.
Condition        An exhibit is in good condition when it is in the most perfect stage of development, is fresh and free from damage
Confusion        Confusing appearance of irregular patterns, caused by florets growing in varied directions, irregular ,inconsistent formation
Crown Bud        Flower bud which occurs at the end of the main stem. It is flanked by two wing buds. Also known as terminal bud.
Cultivar        A cultivated variety.
Cupped        Hollowed-see involute.
Daisy eyed        See blown.
Depth.        Distance between the face of a bloom and the outermost point of the back florets.
Development.        The state of maturity of the flower.
Disbranch.        Pruning to remove unwanted branches of a plant to open it up or limit growth or shape the plant.
Disbud.        A practice of timely rubbing off or breaking out the side buds of a dahlia to spur production of a superior terminal bloom for exhibition purposes. The broken stem should be clean and healed over leaving no stub.
Disc centre.        Flat, round shaped centre.
Display.       An exhibit in which attractiveness of arrangement and general effort is of prime importance.
Disqualify.        To remove an entry from a competitive class for a specific reason such as: not according to schedule, virus or disease, or other named rule infraction requiring disqualification.
Dome-shaped.        Semi-circular, half circular, Note florets with rounded ends usually have closed dome-shaped centres.
Double.        A bloom with multiple rows of ray florets , the disc florets are immature and completely covered by the central rays when the bloom is at its prime.
Dwarf.        Dahlia varieties which do not normally grow taller than 600mm(24in.) in height
Entry.        An exhibit in a class at a show.
Even.        Equal, level, smooth, uniform in quality, proportionally or equally balanced
Fimbriated.        Deep lacerations, Shallowly split tips of florets known as serrations are a fault in a bloom. A bloom having florets which are split of forked into two or more points.
Flicked Floret.        A floret that is twisted and spoils the outline of a bloom.
Florets.        Small individual flowers which make up a dahlia bloom. Ray florets are incorrectly called petals
Fluted.        Grooved - see involute.
Foliage.        The leaves, and stems supporting them
Form.        The shape of the blooms. Certain characteristics of the form of dahlia determine their type.
Formal.        A bloom with neat, precise floret formation.
Fully Double.        Multiple rows of florets and a closed centre of undeveloped florets.
Garden Cultivar.        Cultivars with attractive attributes but lacking sufficient of the ideal standards to successfully compete with cultivars of the same classification
Gappy.        A bloom with gaps in its formation caused by uneven floret
Green Centre.        Blooms where the ray florets making up the centre are still underdeveloped and give the bloom a hard or green centre.
High Centre.        A centre as high as the surrounding face florets.
Hybrid.        A plant derived from the interbreeding of two or more species.
Ideal.        Perfect. The highest conception of standard for imitation.
Incurved        Florets which towards the tip, gradually curve forward toward the face of the bloom.
Informal.        Blooms where the florets are somewhat twisted and lie less
Involucre.        The structure made up of green bracts which encloses the developing flower bud.
Involute.        Margins of the ray florets roll forward along their longitudinal axis. When fully involute, the margins touch or overlap so only the reverse of the floret is visible.
Isolated.        A centre which is quite distinct from the rest of the bloom.
Kind.        Group of plants, flowers or vegetables, e.g. Chrysanthemums, dahlias, roses, peaches, pears, plums, onions or parsnips.
Lateral.        The side shoot of a plant.
Marginal Rays.        Fully developed ray florets which establish and determine the maximum diameter of a flower, as distinguished from the immature central rays.
Neat.        Tidy, well shaped, proportionally balanced, opposite to coarse.
Neck.        Junction between the bloom and the stem. Some cultivars are said to be weak necked because the bloom flops around the stem at this point.
Node.        Slightly enlarged portion of the stem where leaves and buds arise and where branches originate
Petal.        The common name for a conspicuously coloured part of the floret.
Petaloids.        Additional floral parts on ray florets having the form and appearance of smaller petals. Most noticeable in collerette dahlias
Pompon        Bunch of threads round in shape attached to a cap. Note: Pompone is not a correct spelling.
Plucked        A bloom from which damaged or old florets have been removed.
Pole Sitter.        A bloom which sits directly on top of the stem.
Quilled        Tubular, round like a pipe. The centre florets of Anemone Type dahlias are tubular see revolute.
Ray Floret        One of the broad, conspicuously coloured florets, the structure of which suggests a single petal of an ordinary flower.
Recurve.        To turn back toward the stem.
Reflex.        Recurve on itself. Outer florets which toward the tip gradually curve backward toward the stem of the bloom.
Regularly.        Even, uniform or consistent patterns.
Revolute.        Margins of the ray florets roll backwards along their longitudinal axis. When fully revolute, the margins touch or overlap.
Rigid.        Not easily bent.
Saucer shaped.        Round with the whole edge raised slightly.
Seedling.        A plant produced from seed.
Semi.        Half of one thing and half of another.
Serrated.        Shallowly split tips of florets. A fault in a bloom.
Shallow Bloom.        A dahlia in which there are a limited number of ray florets and in consequence appears rather plate like.
Size.        A measurement which allows blooms to be grouped in comparable classes for exhibition.
Slightly incurved.        Not much curvature toward the centre of a bloom.
Species.        A group of closely related plants e.g. Dahlia coccinea and Dahlia variabilis.
Spherical.        Round from all points of view, like a ball in shape.
Sport.        A mutation or sudden variation or change in colour, form, size or other characteristic of a plant or part of a plant.Such change is perpetuated by vegetative propagation only. Such changes do not come true from seed.
Stalk.        For the purpose of exhibition a stalk is that part of the stalk below the last pair of true leaves.
Standard.        A description of the perfect bloom or state of bloom generally accepted as being worthy of imitation.
The objective toward which dahlias are grown for exhibition purposes.
Stem.        For the purposes of exhibition a stem is that part of the stalk below the bloom and above the last pair of true leaves . A bract often occurs on the stem.
Stiff.        Hard to bend, not easily bent - see rigid.
Straight.        Straight florets have no visible curvature throughout their entire length..
Strongly incurved.        Vigorous, large proportion, decided upward curve in florets. Outer florets of an Exhibition Cactus curve forward toward the centre of the bloom
Substance.        Fully turgid florets in sufficient number to give a bloom adequate bulk.
Sunken.        Center of a bloom below the general outline leaving a saucer like depression.
Symmetrical.        Perfectly balanced in all respects, graceful and pleasing in appearance.
Symmetry.        The equal balance of weight (actual or visual) around the centre of a bloom.
Texture.        The almost invisible grain or ribs of a floret structure. Fine grain as of skin, painting, etc. It includes the sparkle, sheen and brilliance of a plant and its blooms..
Tuber.        The swollen root portion of a dahlia plant.
Undisseminated.        A dahlia will be considered disseminated when it is offered for sale by the originator and/or introducer through catalogue advertisement, and/or any other means. A dahlia will also be considered disseminated when the originator distributes roots or cuttings of an udisseminated cultivar to growers without the stipulation of growing for seedling bench competition and that are entered, named, in show competition.
Variety        A dahlia cultivar.ie. Winkie Colonel, Hamari Accord, Rokewood Opal, areVarieties of dahlia.
Variegated.        A ground colour, striped, spotted or splashed with a distinctly different colour.
Wavy.        Raising and lowering of the surface of florets along their length.

Acknowledgment to The National Dahlia Society UK