SHOW:Refrigerating Irises

So it is 6 days til our show and all my best stalks are showing color or in
some stage of breaking bud. I don't have any experience at trying to slow down
a bloom for a show by refrigerating it, so I am looking for some advice from
you more experienced competitors.


For ease of discussion lets define some stages:

Tight bud - no color showing

Bud showing color - no more than 1/4" of color showing at the top of a bud

Breaking bud - flower is extended above spathe (at least an inch) but still
tightly wrapped

Loose bud - falls are starting to unwrap  from the bud but are still vertical

Tight standards - falls are at not yet horizontal, but are separated from the standards


So at what stage can I start to refrigerate a stalk and hope that it will hold
for the show 6 days hence? I know it is not an easy question. I assume you
have to refrigerate for a while and then bring it out of refrigeration early
enough for the bloom to open.

John                     | "There be dragons here"
                         |  Annotation used by ancient cartographers
                         |  to indicate the edge of the known world.

John Jones, jijones@ix.netcom.com
Fremont, California, USA, Earth, USDA zone 8/9 (coastal, bay) 
Max high 95F/35C, Min Low 28F/-2C average 10 days each
Heavy clay base for my raised beds.
There are currently 83 Iris pictures on my Website. Visit me at:
http://members.home.net/jijones
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