NAPS Midland & West - STANDARDS - 6. Double Auricula Pips and 7. Gold-Laced Polyanthus

The truss should not be congested and each pip should be clearly displayed and not deformed as a result of overcrowding or overlapping. The pips should be at the same stage of development and be of similar size.

The pip, Double forms of any type of auricula are acceptable and the doubling may be of any character. The individual pips should be circular in outline and have sufficient additional petals to cover and obscure the tube. The petals should be smooth-edged without notches; their conformation should be neat and regular and effectively fill the pip. Pips with open centres are disqualified. The optimum pip size should be about 29 mm.

The individual petals may be variegated, shaded or self-coloured, but should be clear and bright. The colour is secondary to form. Where meal is present it must not be 'smeared', but crisp and bright.

7: GOLD-LACED POLYANTHUS

All plants must be thrum eyed and carry a minimum of five fully-expanded pips. Only one truss may be left on each plant.

Pips should be round, flat and approximately 20 mm in diameter. All the pips in a truss should be uniform. They should be held out evenly by the footstalks without overlapping. Unopened pips must be removed.

Each petal should neatly abut its neighbour. There should be no gaps between them. Petals may overlap but not more than the width of the lacing.

The ground colour is preferably red or black. The colour should be dense and have a velvet-like appearance, so as to give the flower a brilliant and attractive look. All the pips should bear the same ground colour. The colour should be uniform across the petals. Any shading will be considered a fault.

The tube should be circular. It should be about 3 mm in diameter and lie at the centre of the pip. It should be of the same bright golden-yellow as the eye and be well filled with anthers. It may have a raised rim which should inhance, but must not detract from, the roundness of the tube.

The eye which surrounds the tube should be circular and bright golden-yellow. It should extend to about half the diameter of the pip. There should be a clean edge where the eye meets the ground. The eye should be as free as possible of radial indentations and darker markings and it should not be cut into by the joins between petals.

The lacing should be golden, even, unbroken and smooth. It must run completely round the edge of each petal and also down the centre of each petal to join up with the eye. Its colour should be as close as possible to that of the ground. The width of the lacing should be sufficient to emphasise the colour ot the ground. It should be neither too fine, thus producing a wire edge and giving the ground too heavy an appearance, nor too broad, drawing the eye away from the ground and detracting from the delicate balance between lacing and ground.

Each petal should have a neat, shallow indentation at the centre of its outer edge. This should be of the same depth as the indentation at the junction of two adjacent petals. The ideal is to form as near as possible to a circle with even undulations in its rim.

The scape should be long enough to hold the truss above the foliage. Staking is not permitted.

The foliage should be clean, fresh and free from pests and desease. If should not be over-extended.

The whole plant should be presented on a neat, preferably single crown at the centre of a clean, round-topped pot of a terracotta colour. The size of the pot should be appropriate to the size of the plant.

6: DOUBLE AURICULAS
a)	The truss should not be congested and each pip should be clearly displayed and not deformed as a result of overcrowding or overlapping. The pips should be at the same stage of development and be of similar size.
b)	The pip, Double forms of any type of auricula are acceptable and the doubling may be of any character. The individual pips should be circular in outline and have sufficient additional petals to cover and obscure the tube. The petals should be smooth-edged without notches; their conformation should be neat and regular and effectively fill the pip. Pips with open centres are disqualified. The optimum pip size should be about 29 mm.
c)	The individual petals may be variegated, shaded or self-coloured, but should be clear and bright. The colour is secondary to form. Where meal is present it must not be 'smeared', but crisp and bright.
7: GOLD-LACED POLYANTHUS
a)	All plants must be thrum eyed and carry a minimum of five fully-expanded pips. Only one truss may be left on each plant.
b)	Pips should be round, flat and approximately 20 mm in diameter. All the pips in a truss should be uniform. They should be held out evenly by the footstalks without overlapping. Unopened pips must be removed.
c)	Each petal should neatly abut its neighbour. There should be no gaps between them. Petals may overlap but not more than the width of the lacing.
d)	The ground colour is preferably red or black. The colour should be dense and have a velvet-like appearance, so as to give the flower a brilliant and attractive look. All the pips should bear the same ground colour. The colour should be uniform across the petals. Any shading will be considered a fault.
e)	The tube should be circular. It should be about 3 mm in diameter and lie at the centre of the pip. It should be of the same bright golden-yellow as the eye and be well filled with anthers. It may have a raised rim which should inhance, but must not detract from, the roundness of the tube.
f)	The eye which surrounds the tube should be circular and bright golden-yellow. It should extend to about half the diameter of the pip. There should be a clean edge where the eye meets the ground. The eye should be as free as possible of radial indentations and darker markings and it should not be cut into by the joins between petals.
g)	The lacing should be golden, even, unbroken and smooth. It must run completely round the edge of each petal and also down the centre of each petal to join up with the eye. Its colour should be as close as possible to that of the ground. The width of the lacing should be sufficient to emphasise the colour ot the ground. It should be neither too fine, thus producing a wire edge and giving the ground too heavy an appearance, nor too broad, drawing the eye away from the ground and detracting from the delicate balance between lacing and ground.
h)	Each petal should have a neat, shallow indentation at the centre of its outer edge. This should be of the same depth as the indentation at the junction of two adjacent petals. The ideal is to form as near as possible to a circle with even undulations in its rim.
i)	The scape should be long enough to hold the truss above the foliage. Staking is not permitted.
j)	The foliage should be clean, fresh and free from pests and desease. If should not be over-extended.
k)	The whole plant should be presented on a neat, preferably single crown at the centre of a clean, round-topped pot of a terracotta colour. The size of the pot should be appropriate to the size of the plant.