Ever been tempted to use flowers from the garden for
design work in your shop? Who hasn’t clipped a few lengths of ivy to
embellish a bridal bouquet or used a few sprigs of grape hyacinth in a
corsage? And why not? Garden branches of luscious lilac or huge
hydrangea blooms beckoning outside the kitchen window work well for
special design requests providing the flowers are properly processed
prior to use.
Before imports dominated the floral scene in North America, the San Francisco flower market sold a plethora of locally produced and wild-gathered products. Back in the late 1970s, wild mushrooms and fresh eggs were for sale as well as bundles of lilac, myrtle and Woodwardia ferns gathered in the hills an hour or two north of the city. One of my market neighbours sold cut violets and marguerite daisies following a family tradition started years before when his grandfather emigrated from Italy. My company was the first to offer garden varieties of roses for use in commercial retail sales – a unique concept back then.
The success of utilizing backyard lilac or Siberian Iris requires basic understanding the advantages of various flower pre-treatments. Many people lean toward the “one-size-fits-all” mentality and get completely flummoxed when you start talking about hydration solutions versus flower foods. Don’t worry, you need not be a horticulturalist or a biologist to choose the right product for the right job.
First consideration in cutting your own products is to get stems in treated water immediately. Carry buckets to the cutting area and make clean your operative word: clean solutions, clean buckets, clean tools. Nothing stops uptake faster than bacteria, so consider using a slow-release chlorine pill or a hydration solution containing a biocide to ensure good flow. Treat your garden flowers in the same way you process dry-packed flowers in your shop. It is important to cut stems immediately before placing them in solution because they “bleed” enzymes, carbohydrates and organic materials as a function of healing wounded tissues. Callous tissues impede flow. Adding a biocide is an important step to control pollution because organic compounds provide a banquet for bacteria explosions.
Second consideration is to use clean, sharp cutters: not dirty, dull garden clippers gunked-up with sap on the blades. After harvest, get flowers into a cool dark place to drink. 38 to 40 F is recommended. Let blooms hydrate for at least six to eight hours before using them in design. Overnight is better.
Keep in mind: some “field” flowers are just not well suited for commercial use because it is impossible to get them hydrated. A good example is wild carrot, the tall umbrella-shaped field cousin of Queen Anne’s Lace. It wilts down very quickly after cut regardless of what you do. Another bloom-buster is ethylene gas – the naturally occurring growth hormone that causes premature flower death. Harvesting some flower types triggers the internal production of ethylene and without a pre-treatment of silverthiosulfate (STS); these blooms shatter and fall apart. Sweet Peas, Viburnum, Asclepias and Tritoma are good examples of ethylene-sensitive blooms that are not long lived unless treated withSTS; a solution not readily available for home use.
A bit of trial and error helps determine the best treatments for non-commercially cultivated cuts. If the flowers are wilt-sensitive, they’ll benefit greatly from a hydration solution. Hydration acidifies water to boost flow and dissolve the air bubbles so solution flows freely through cell membranes. Hydrangeas, salvia garden roses, veronica and lysimachia are good examples of wilt-sensitive types.
Zinnias and garden lilies offer another challenge when cut from the garden. These blooms require some knowledge about temperature management. Zinnias are happiest out of the cooler – no colder than 55 F – and lilies (especially Orientals) can suffer if the stems are cooled too quickly. Growers gradually lower the temp on these beauties until they hit optimal cool temps of 35 F to 38 F.
Regardless if flowers are from your yard or arrive at your shop dry-packed from the grower, the first drink should be clean, slightly acidic and cool. With few exceptions, it is always best to avoid using the same flower food used to fill vases as a “first drink” solution because it has too much sugar in it, which can slow uptake. Sometimes sugar (too early in the hydration process) can stimulate leaf yellowing. Where do you get post-harvest treatments? Ask you local wholesaler for a hydration solution, slow-release chlorine pills or low-sugar display solutions. Happy gardening!
Tips on getting the most out of your processing efforts
1. Always start with clean buckets and tools. Disinfect tools daily.
2. Sanitize buckets using a biodegradable detergent.
3. Read the instructions and measure! You’re wasting time and $$ if you under-dose.
4. Follow treatment time parameters. Customers will be disappointed in bloom performance if you rush the hydration period. Flowers do NOT hydrate with a quick dip. It takes time for cells to get completely full.
5. Mix solutions with cold water for faster uptake.
6. Get flowers under shade/cooler as soon after harvest as possible.
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