Slay Those Care & Handling Sacred Cows!
A good business mantra is “under-promise and
over-deliver!” Customers demand value and come back to buy more if they
feel your product was worth the price. When it comes to appraising the
value of flowers, vase-life performance is the bottom line. That’s why
proper handling practices make good business sense. Using the right
solution at the right time makes a huge difference in vase performance.
Everyone agrees that quality matters. Why, then, is there so much
confusion about the handling techniques that maximize quality at every
step of the chain? What about common flower handling questions? Let’s
slay a few sacred cows.
What’s up with bulb crops? I pierce my tulip stems then add pennies to the water. I keep my glads in the dark, pour gin in the iris buckets and strip my lily foliage to maximize vase performance on bulb flowers, right?
Most bulb crops suffer major hormonal imbalances when blooms are cut from bulbs, tubers, corms or rhizomes. Harvesting disrupts the production of plant growth regulators (hormones). This imbalance can negatively affect bloom development, foliage quality, colour stability and overall vase longevity. You know the symptoms: Many Oriental varieties, some Asiatic lilies and Alstroemeria suffer rapid leaf yellowing, making the stems appear old before their time. Some iris varieties suffer floret stagnation – buds start to crack open, but instead curl-in and turn brown. Freesia and glads stop opening after one or two florets. Some tulip varieties suffer pre-mature yellow foliage while their stems gooseneck over the top of the sleeves.
Droopy iris or tulip stems drive me crazy. What’s a good solution?
Bulb flowers need something different than traditional flower food. Bulb flowers need a hormone-based, rather than sugar-based flower food. Ask your wholesaler for bulb flower processing T-bags and bulb consumer food. Mix solutions with cold water and keep sleeves in place while flowers take the first drink. Sleeves in place keep dehydrated, limp stems from hardening off in crazy directions as solution flows into stem cells.
Should I remove the anthers of lilies to eliminate the possibility of pollen stains?
Yes, plucking off the anthers helps avoid pollen stains and enhances vase life. If and when pollen stains clothing or tablecloths, use tape (masking or scotch both work) to lift the pollen off material. It’s OK to blow it off, but avoid touching or brushing it with your hands because the oils in your skin set the pollen into the texture of the material.
How can I get Gladioli to open all the way?
Fill display buckets with cold, bulb processing solution. Fill customer vases with bulb flower food rather than generic flower food. Ask your wholesaler for a few samples. Test vase life between tulips or iris in bulb t-bags vs. water or your current solution. The best ideas come from customers! Chrysal Professional #2 T-bag technology originates from a customer request in the U.K. Wanting a goof-proof method of treating buckets and a visual check to prove flowers were drinking treated solution was the brain child of T-bags technology. Two years later, the concept was enhanced with the addition of T-bags especially formulated for bulbous crops.
What’s the deal with delphinium? I love the beautiful blue tones, but they fall apart after two to three days.
If your flowers suffer signs of premature aging, ethylene may be the culprit. The entire delphinium family is highly sensitive to ethylene gas and needs to be treated at farm level with STS to prevent damning effects of ethylene exposure. Another alternative is treating ethylene sensitive flowers with 1-MCP gas during transit.
Rose handling is easier than herding sacred cows!
Will placing rose stems in boiling water help hydrate them?
NO! Boiling water causes more harm than good. It is too aggressive for most flower stems, damaging the cells, causing stem discoloration and subsequent cell collapse. Proper use of a hydration solution will give far better results. Notice the emphasis on “proper”? That means the solution is mixed according to instructions and used for the appropriate time listed on the label. Commercial hydration solutions are available from flower food companies.
I like to clean my roses before arranging. Does it matter if I strip off most of the foliage?
Specialized cells, called stomata, are located on the underside of the leaves. These cells are the pumps that pull solution up the stem into the bloom. Roses need ample foliage to hydrate. To avoid droopy heads, leave as much foliage intact as possible. Strip only those leaves that fall below the water level when hydrating blooms to keep the solution clean so bacteria does not plug up the vascular systems.
Should you remove or dull rose thorns?
Removing thorns does make handling easier, but take care when stripping stems because bacteria and air bubbles can move in through thorn wounds. Use a knife or heavy rag to remove or dull thorns, but avoid rose strippers; with strippers, it is very easy to nick or damage the stem bark,especially if you’re heavy-handed.
Should you remove guard petals from roses?
Refrain from grooming roses unless the guard petals are blemished or have Botrytis spots. Every petal removed loosens the overall bud composition thereby accelerating the opening rate. Remember, any wound (including the area where guard petals attach to the calyx) on a flower or flower stem is an avenue for bacterial infection!
Proper flower handling starts with variety selection and continues along every link of the chain. The method your wholesaler uses to process flowers impacts your bloom success! Every time consumers are polled on how long they think flowers last, they answer two to three days. When you exceed that vase-life expectation, you are planting seeds for repeat business!
Gay Smith draws information from a horticultural education and more than 30 years experience in the floral industry. Her experiences include floral wholesale management in SF, LA and Seattle flower markets, Holland auction buying and industry consulting. She currently works as the technical consulting manager for Pokon & Chrysal, USA.
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