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Originally Posted by sanddrag
So, could you describe this "clever use" a little more?
And yes it is for the Tournament of Roses Parade.
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Cool. If you have a means, a latex rubber skin made from just two pieces seems to best solution. That would require making a mold that, potentially, is as big as 9' x 3' x 3' or so. Ultimately it depends on the design of the tail. The two halves can be joined such that the seams are along the anterior and dorsal parts of the tail and the only joint would be at the tail's base -- a static connection.
I don't have any hands-on experience with latex rubber, but it's what Disney uses on its animatronics and they've made some pretty big, highly mobile monsters. A test is always a good idea.
If a large mold is not possible, you'd need to put a shell around each segment -- but the challenge is in being sure the shells do not destroy flowers as they slide in and out of one another as the tail moves. Obviously, you'd want to minimize the number of joints and I think you could manage sufficiently smooth motion with three or four 2' segments along an 8' tail.
You could similarly make several smaller latex skins that join in the middle of each segment rather than at the joint. That will offer flexibility over the joints without squishing flowers over and over again.