So!, today is the December 29 and our lily show is not until January14.With the growing season well advanced[about 3 weeks] upon last year, most asiatics are 'well gone',along with a lot of species.The trumpets have been in flower for a week,along with a few ot's....I've just carried out an FBI style scan on lily growth in all regions of my humble garden to find that i must act quickly in this 27 degree heat or face ridicule and public humiliation , for not being able to defend my 6[yes6][its a good thing theres not a capital 6 on here or i would use it]champion awards boil-over, from last year,.Yesterday,i dragged about 60 pots from the garden and into the garage, where it is cooler,about 10-14, but thats not going to be enough to hold some of these babies back for 2 weeks..I've spotted a brilliant,late, stem of asiatic,' Tiger Play', brilliant candelabra shape,3 tiered bud sizing,with one flower almost fully reflexed at the bottom row..Oriental 'Robina' in 'christmas tree' shaping, is pouting its 1st buds,,, and i must save'at least a flower' of the 'green backed ' trumpet to show.Theres only one thing to do,'pull out the big refridgerator'................Stay tuned........

We're rooting for you, Anthony!

I was lucky, to be given a large fridge, no longer wanted at a local colledge,.,.it has a 10 stage coolness setting and for this purpose, i use 1-being the warmest setting,[somewhere between 2-3 degrees],.,you dont want any cooler, or the petals burn,.,.,..,.its big enough to fit 2 bottled stems of medium size and about 10 bottled flowers[ but no way does 1 good stem of 'Silk Road' even come close],,.Please remember, your choice of stem or flower will look almost the same, 2 weeks later, as it did when you placed it in the fridge[but deterioration rate is very rapid, 1-1 1/2 days ] after being removed and benched,.Also remember, the plant still has a little bit of stored growth energy,when cut, so it may open ,just a little more,.,.............stay tuned....

The lily stem or flower, i cut usually one full day after flowering-they tend to look and be at their best stage of growth,.,.with stems, judges are looking for at least 2 fully open flowers[to compare] 1 partly open and maybe one pouting[as in the pic on the last entry]Even-ness and fullness of the floret[no squashy blooms or overcrowding]attract full judging points, so with such little space in the fridge, it pays to gamble with your 'ACE' for fridging...

In all the hype,[and another FBI styl scan] i think im going to be able to present a single'Auratum Platyphyllum''-for the 1st time and maybe a couple of lesser known auratums,.,.Lesson learned-never overlook and become complacent[every year is different]

The outcome- Tiger Play won best asiatic stem-!7 days after being placed in the refrigerator
Robina- -big failure, but a later blooming one ,won ameteur champion
A few of the Starburst Sensation, single flowers, looked good at benching time , but terrible by judging time.,,.
It shows,there are many benefits from fridging flowers, if you show them

I like the show reports.Its an aspect of gardening I never thought about but am curious.

You mentioned a window of 1 - 1.5 days before they start to decline. Do you find a difference in quality if the stem has been in the fridge for a couple days as opposed to a couple of weeks?

The 'Tiger Play' was really looking sad by Sunday, but was still the best asiatic stem in the show..Definately, the less time spent in the fridge,adds to the lasting ability..Just to note, the Davidi single flowers that i snipped about 4-5 days earlier and placed in small bottles[that i bench mini daffs in] did not seem to last..But in the intrests of showing some of them, [the only ones in the show] i benched the 3 best ones....So out of that i would say that the larger exhibits last longer in the fridge-possibly their ability to take in more water helps

Thanks, really appreciate your info.

found a pic of it [Graffiti]:glare: Vollmeri won best species stem last year, after 13 days[i think]that was one of my 1st stem experiments

Did you refrigerate these dry? That's important.

No!,- bottled up ,full to the top ,ready to show.. they drink about 1/4 0f the water

They should be stored dry and when removed from refrigeration, then water. This brings them back to life.

I just wanted to be sure I was correct in what I was telling you. So I asked my friend Dr, Brian Bergman of Ontario (Lilycrest gardens) how he does it. Brian won the Best of Show last summer and several other top awards at the NALS Convention in 2011. This is what he said:
Downfacing lilies especially asiatics need to be stored in water.The Dutch material,upfacing especially the LA's should be stored dry.This allows them to "wilt" slightly and they can be transported(otherwise they are very brittle).Dry cold storage only in bud ,if they have an open flower than they need water.If you plan to store in cold storage plan to pick the stem in bud NOT opened.Often they will open in cold storage.If they have been in cold storage,ideally take them out for about 2 hours to warm up. Again they wouldn't be so brittle.So this cold storage for showing ,is an art. Best to pick a stem in bud with lots of colour showing.So it is really hit and miss.Some varieties do well others just fall apart.One of the tests the Dutch do is to see how well a variety handles being in cold storage.If it can't handle the cold storage ,the line is destroyed.

Thank's for that, that opens up more options :thumbsup:[Im glad im not a non-conforming dutch lily] I refrigerate the show daffs too- but they need to have been open for at least a day b4 fridging