Protecting Blooms
From Winter’s Worst
Nothing improves your mood faster than a burst of
natural beauty when dreary winter days start getting on your nerves.
Flowers are blah-busters and can do just that. They break up the whitewash of winter and
energize the indoor landscape, alleviating the boredom of grey days
with a splash of colour.
As you read this, night temperatures are falling in the single digits and flowers in the garden have long stopped photosynthesizing; in fact, deciduous plants have lost their leaves and dormancy is well established. Unlike garden flowers, commercial blooms are produced year-round regardless of weather conditions, thanks to technology and equatorial growing locations. But commercial winter blooms are still vulnerable to winter conditions and the quality of the flower can decrease as the temperature drops and the daylight hours become shorter.
The end of photosynthesis puts a huge pressure on the quality of a cut flower. When photosynthesis stops, so does the internal supply of nutrients and energy. It’s critical to add these ingredients to flower food solutions used for processing so buds and flowers continue opening and holding in the vase. Water relations get out of sync at harvest – plant growth hormones are no longer manufactured and bacterial pollution is ready to explode in any solution. Flower food positively affects vase performance year-round but it’s especially critical during winter months. All blooms benefit from an acidic pH, which boosts flow through stems by dissolving air bubbles. Flowers with lots of florets like hydrangeas, delphiniums and lisianthus need sugar to keep buds opening. Bulb flower food contains hormones to help replenish their weakening internal supplies and stop premature foliage from yellowing; narcissus, tulips and iris last several days (two to five) longer if their internal chemistry is well balanced.
What about the stress of the winter environment? Cold, dry air is tough on cut flowers and plants in more ways than you might consider. Arrangements and bouquets require special packaging to protect against biting temperatures when customers take purchases out of the shop to their cars. Remind them that cut flowers suffer chill damage if left in a car without heat for more than a half hour. With the exception of Norfolk pines and boxwood topiaries, there are few ornamental houseplants that survive freezing temperatures for more than an hour or two before suffering severe damage.
In the home, furnaces and space heaters remove moisture from the air as part of generating heat. Transpiration (the process of flowers and plants losing moisture) plays a huge part in overall quality. Do you know the term “permanent wilting point”? It describes that point at which dehydrated flowers or potted plants cannot be revived. Specialized cells on the bottom sides of leaves open and close to equalize the water vapour in the tiny space around the stem. If the air is dry, leaves give off more moisture than they take in, so it’s important to avoid removing too many leaves before stems are completely hydrated. Give these “pumps” time to pull in solution and fully fill stems. Wilt-sensitive flowers (the hard to hydrate group) like roses and bouvardia have small vascular systems and this makes water flow more difficult than in succulent stems like alstroemeria or tulips. Don’t rush the time allotted for hardening of these wilt-sensitive types; at least four to six hours minimum is a good rule of thumb. Another trick for slowing down dehydration is to use a finishing mist. These commercial finishing products are water-based wax sprays that lightly “seal” the cells of leaves and petals blocking the loss of moisture. One important consideration is to let blooms dry completely before placing the flowers in the cooler.
Forcing bulbs like amaryllis and paper white narcissus are popular holiday home décor projects for Christmas cheer. Keep in mind that narcissus blooms (both cut and plants) are sensitive to ethylene, the odourless, colourless gas that causes premature death to many flowers and plants. Keep these plants and flowers away from the fireplace and out of areas where cigarette smoke accumulates, including delivery vans. Even space heaters can produce ethylene. Other flowers common to winter designs and sensitive to ethylene exposure include spray orchids, carnations, gyp, freesia, aconitum, mistletoe, holly, bouvardia, sedum, euphorbia fulgens, lilies, delphinium and the mother of holiday décor, poinsettias.
Order slow-opening blooms far enough in advance so florets have time to start opening. Several varieties of Oriental lilies can take as long as four to six days before the blooms even start to open. Process lilies in a bulb flower food and keep stems away from sources of ethylene for maximum vase performance.
Winter flower handling requires close attention to detail and correct product use because flowers are not as vigorous as in summer months. Follow these tips so your customers receive healthy, long-living flowers to add colour to their day and stave off the winter blahs. Happy Winter!
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