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Do the Right Thing
Dispelling the Myths of Care |
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Written by Gay Smith
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Care and handling information has to be the poster child for weird
urban myths in the floral world. Usually, the more outlandish the
flower food concoction or handling method, the more dearly (some) folks
embrace it.
Dispelling the Myths of Care and Handling of Flowers
Care and handling information has to be the poster child for weird urban myths in the floral world. Usually, the more outlandish the flower food concoction or handling method, the more dearly (some) folks embrace it. I can (begrudgingly) forgive Martha Stewart for telling readers to mix a cocktail of 7-Up and Clorox for their flower vases, but when I listen to floral “professionals” tell me the best solution for tulips is Vodka or that they swear by a finishing spray of Elmer’s glue diluted with water, I shake my head in dismay. Recently, a floral manager told me not to waste my time with Leaf Shine, rubbing your foliage with mayonnaise works much better! I don’t know about you, but I’m more apt to give a quick spray for brilliance than rub leaves with mayo any day.
Flower handling techniques and options have improved dramatically in the past 20 years, yet confusion prevails about everything from the best way to hydrate roses at store level, to the most efficient way of providing protection against ethylene damage. Some confusion arises because retailers often don’t know what steps their grower or wholesaler has taken as flowers move through the chain. Adding to the confusion is the fact that best practices of care and handling depends on many factors: Are the flowers wet-packed to your store? What solution are they shipped in? If dry-packed, is it better to mix solutions with cold water or warm? How do I determine if my roses are cut too open, or in fact, need an open cut point to ensure development?
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| Flowers suffer harvest stress that affects overall quality. Therefore, they respond very well to treatments focused on the stress issue. |
Botany 101
A bit of flower physiology helps dispel some confusion. Flowers suffer harvest stress that affects overall quality. Therefore, they respond very well to treatments focused on the stress issue. For example, it can be difficult to hydrate roses and bouvardia because they have very small vascular systems. Process these flowers in a hydration solution that contains an acidifier and biocides. Lowering the pH helps boost flow and also maximizes the effectiveness of the biocides. Hydration solutions do not contain sugar because introduced too early in the system, sugar can slow down water intake. Don’t rush hydration. Those dry-pack blooms are suffering jet lag and need to drink to harden-off properly – at least four hours, but it’s OK if they stay in that solution up to three days. Since there is no sugar in hydration solutions, it’s necessary to transfer stems after three days so they don’t starve. A “quick” hydration dip would be better classified as a stem sanitizer and is not really needed if flowers are given ample time to harden off. Mix hydration solutions with cold water so stems harden off, but buds don’t blow open.
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Clean buckets and tools are a must to prevent cross-contamination. Make sanitation measures a high priority in flower handling.
Photo courtesy of Van Belle Floral Company
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Bacteria and Sanitation
Crops like sunflowers, stock and celosia have fleshy stems that get plugged easily with bacteria and often arrive with bits of soil on stems. Flowers themselves, aggravate the situation by exuding enzymes and secretions that cause bacterial growth to go wild. Keeping the solution clean is critical. Repeat this mantra while filling buckets and you’ll never go wrong: MEASURE when mixing. Whether you are mixing a hydration solution or a flower food, it is the ratio of ingredients (pH correctors, biocides and glucose) that makes all the difference in keeping the solution clean, clear and odorless. Clean buckets and tools are a must to prevent cross-contamination. Make sanitation measures a high priority in flower handling. Remember, if you wouldn’t drink it or out of it, neither will your flowers. Save money, properly mixed solutions can be (re)-used for five to six days without compromising your flower quality.
Food
Basically, flowers stop photosynthesizing once harvested. This means they need external sources of sugar (flower food) to continue opening and holding in the vase. For processing and floor display, use a low sugar solution like Chrysal Professional #2 or Floralife’s Professional. If you are soaking foam or filling consumer vases, use a full-sugar flower food like Chrysal Professional #3 or Floralife’s Crystal Clear. Remember to follow your mantra and mix your flower food with cold water. Warm water was recommended for years because granules dissolved faster in warm than cold, but with improved formulas and liquid foods, cold water is the way to go to avoid flowers opening too quickly.
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Long-lasting flowers transform the occasional flower buyer into a habitual flower purchaser.
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Do you love delphinium, wax, sweet peas and Monk’s Hood? Then you know the negative effects of ethylene gas on these beauties: symptoms include distorted or stagnated bloom development, shattering petals, bluish discoloration, leaf abscission and/or bud abortion. Ethylene is a naturally occurring growth hormone hastening maturation in many flower types. It is deadly to flowers in minute amounts. It is produced by decaying plant material, cigarette smoke, some fruits and flowers, auto exhaust and decorative mosses. Ethylene protection happens best at the grower level by means of a systemic post-harvest drink of silverthiosulfate (STS). This treatment protects both the open flowers and closed buds from harvest to the end. Another means to block ethylene damage is 1-MCP. This product is released as a gas during transit protecting any exposed flower petals against damage for three to seven days on average. If your flowers start falling apart and look old while still in bud stage, ask your supplier if they are pre-treated against ethylene.
Finally, training employees on best practices regarding what it takes to keep flowers fresh requires that you instill the following realization among your staff:
Long-lasting flowers transform the occasional flower buyer into a habitual flower purchaser. Providing fact-based information about what flowers need to keep them looking great gives employees the tools needed to make sure displays look great and flower performance is maximized. No doubt, the responsibility of developing habitual flower purchasers is a shared responsibility. Does your mother care where the flowers were grown, the production conditions, or the arduous trip they made to her local market? No! All she cares about is whether the blooms will last at least a week in her home.
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.
Here are a few “Best Practices” care and handling tips grounded in facts, not urban myths or opinion.
1. Measure when mixing ANY solution. The dosage is always listed on the hand pump, the container of concentrate or the T-bag. The effectiveness of any solution is contingent on being properly dosed.
2. Use cold water when mixing your solutions. Cold-water hydration allows flowers to drink and harden off, without blowing open too fast. (Exception: use warm water if you are trying to get flowers to open quickly for wedding work.)
3. Never sell a bunch of anything directly out of a box. Flowers need time to drink and re-hydrate to ensure vase performance.
4. Work clean! Sanitation matters as much with flowers as it does with food! Buckets, cutters, aprons, brooms, worktables should be sanitized frequently with a commercial cleaner appropriate to flowers. Frequent sanitation helps prevent potentialy damaging cross-contamination.
5. Never spritz any flower going into the cooler. If Botrytis spores are there, you are providing a perfect environment for infection to start up. If you use a finishing spray, let flowers dry first before storing in cooler.
6. Tropical flowers and foliages like gingers, heliconias, anthuriums, and spray orchids suffer chill damage at temperatures colder than 500F. Birds of Paradise are a bit less cold-sensitive, but only if the flower is still encased in the bract.
7. Kick the drum! Make sure your container of flower food concentrate is not empty! The Dosatron (injector) will click, regardless if your concentrate container is empty or full.
8. Always top-up arrangements, display buckets and vases with freshly prepared flower food, NOT tap water.
9. Remind consumers to use flower food packets (as directed) when filling vases at home. It makes a very positive effect on their appreciation of your product quality!
10. Help breakdown the intimidation factor of flowers – share your passion. It never hurts to remind consumers of the huge bang-for-buck effect flowers provide! |
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