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Care & Handling: April 2006
Bartending Florists |
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Written by Gayle Smith
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Bartending Florists
Are You Offering Your Flowers Their Preferred Cocktails?
Why does flower care and handling cause so much
confusion? Well, for one thing, flower handling is not always a
straight-line process. How you treat flowers depends on the desired
outcome, how fast the flowers are going to the consumer and whether you
are trying to achieve vase longevity or a more immediate WOW effect.
Another issue is that each of the companies producing flower treatments describes their products a bit differently, making it difficult to compare similar products. Ever shopped for a mattress? Then you know how difficult it is to compare apples to apples when making your buying decision. The consequence? Customers tend to reach for the cheapest product and hope they get it right.
A friend of mine was grousing that our local supermarket was really pushing their private label items – including ketchup. He went on to say that ketchup lovers can discern Heinz from Brand X blindfolded. I’m sure that I would fail a ketchup taste test miserably, but it got me thinking about how many industry people view flower treatments in the same way – basically as all the same thing. Yet, people in this camp will swear there’s no coffee better than a double-double from Tims! Ketchup, flower food and coffee – is there a difference between brands? Yes!
On the other hand, there are floral professionals focused on getting it right. They know there are differences far more important than price when it comes to varieties of red roses, flower foods and floral tools. They know which products deliver. When comparing costs, they check the dosage of each, do the math and compare the cost of ready-to-use (RTU) solutions rather than comparing the cost of concentrate containers. With the fast-growing trend of offering consumer vase life guarantees, it’s time to get up to speed on the difference between solutions: what’s what and what solution to use when.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone tells me they don’t use flower solutions because “the flowers move through so fast, it doesn’t make a difference.” The downside of that kind of mentality is that consumers get stuck with flowers that fail after a day or two. Think about it, everything done on the front end relates to the longevity and performance on the back end (the consumer’s house). How do consumers judge flower quality? Vase longevity!
Hydration Solutions:
A little flower physiology makes it easier to make the right decision on the best solution and when to use it. First of all, any treatment labelled as a “hydration solution” will not contain food (sugar); therefore, flowers should not stay indefinitely in these solutions – they begin to starve. Hydration is all about getting flow going by lowering the pH and keeping the solution clean. Cold water is recommended when mixing hydration solutions and it won’t be clear – it may appear slightly milky. Hydration happens every time the flower gets transferred from a dry condition into a solution. It is critical immediately after harvest to make sure the stems can withstand the rigours of transport. Equally important is (re)hydrating dry-packed flowers. They need a long drink (minimum four hours) of clean, acidic water to restore turgidity in depleted cells.
Flower Food Solutions:
Flower food solutions, on the other hand, also acidify the water; they keep it free of polluting microbes and supply food (sugar). Supplying sugar is important because the flower can’t photosynthesize or manufacture its own supply once harvested. Sugar allows buds to continue opening and holding in the vase. It also stabilizes colour. When flowers are displayed in water or under-dosed solutions, the immature buds (freesia or larkspur for example) look anemic when they push open, if they push open.
Display, Bulb, and Vase Solutions:
Flower foods are not made equal: there is a low-sugar solution for processing and display. There is a flower food specially formulated for bulb flowers and a formula for soaking foam and filling vases. Decide the right solution by determining the stage of the blooms. Are you processing flowers that have been dry from your wholesale house to your store? If so, use a low-sugar flower food mixed with cold water. If you have a wedding or party where everything needs to be open and dramatic, use full-sugar flower food and mix it warm.
Processing tulips, iris, alstroe or lilies? Use the bulb display solution specially formulated to solve the problems from which bulb crops suffer.
You know the symptoms, but maybe you didn’t know the reason: pre-mature yellow foliage (lilies, alstroe, tulips), loss of colour vibrancy (nerines, anemones, ranuculas), stagnated bloom opening (iris, freesia, glads, lilies), and short vase life. There are all due to an imbalance of hormones. Oops, let’s be horticulturally-correct – these are all due to an imbalance of plant growth regulators (PGR’s). Bulbous flowers – flowers from bulbs, tubers, corms and rhizomes – include some of your favourites like dahlias, hyacinths, muscari, frittilaria, alliums, tuberoses, liatris. Maybe you already buy from top-notch growers who treat their blooms with hormone solutions in post-harvest. But, as 51 per cent of the population knows, the need for consistent levels of hormones is important for one’s well being.
What About Gerberas?
If your gerberas fade far faster than other flowers, it’s probably due to clogged stems. Very sensitive to bacterial blockage, gerberas fail if the water, bucket or tools are not exceedingly clean. Have you tried the pill? There are Professional Gerbera pills available from Pokon & Chrysal to keep the solution clean. These flowers don’t need sugar for opening or colour stability. In fact, sugar can make gerberas stretch. They want to be clean! Process gerberas into a litre of water and toss in a pill. If the gerberas are part of a mixed bouquet, add a pill to the flower food solution for a super clean drink.
Information & Satisfaction are Powerful Tools!
Train your staff. Give them the information needed so they make the best decisions on appropriate product use. A consistent program of care and handling makes good business sense. It’s an important way to ensure maximum vase performance and reduce shrink. Customer satisfaction is a powerful (and free) form of advertising!
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