Re:CULT:Shows

Thanks Kathy for your post on shows.I end up in much the same 
competative position with Dan McMillan at our show. As I show a lot of 
median iris, transportation is a bit easier for me. Also I'm usually 
4-7 days later in my garden then a lot of others, I often don't have 
as many TBs in bloom. This also means that when everyone else is 
bloomed out, I have many TBs at peak. Even so there has been only one 
year when I have been able to enter my Very Late seedlings. (another 
story, I have a series of TB seedlings that bloom about 2 weeks after 
the others). I use those pop containers where six, two liter pop 
bottles fit. Those very large bottles, I can't remember the American 
size equivalent.A stock can fit in it nicely and with care they don't 
hit each other. Bear bottles in the bear cases work  well for 
transporting SDB and will also work ok for IB and MTB. For TB a bucket 
with newspaper tubes works well. This is newpapers rolled up into 
thick tubes and as many as possible stuck into a bucket and then 
filled half way with water. Another means of transporting is a heavy 
cardboard box with short sides. The type used to transport cantelopes 
or cabbage etc. Holes are cut each side about 1 1/2" from the bottom 
about 6" apart. Each side has a grove cut , lined up with the hole on 
the opposite side. Then the stalks can be placed so that the bottom of 
the stalk is in the hole on one side  and resting in the grove on the 
other side. The stalks alternatively face opposite directions, so they 
ballance each other. I usually start with the box in the vehicle and 
add the stalks. The box can be anchored with a large rock in the 
bottom aand/or appropriate bracing on the sides. The plants do well 
without water for the time it takes to get to the show, which is for 
me about an hours drive plus the time to get everthing unpacked and in 
show jars.
the rest of what Kathy does is similar to my own procedures.

Chuck Chapman zone 4/5 Guelph, Ontario, Canada
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