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Care & Handling: May 2011
Busting Flower Myths |
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Written by Gayle Smith
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Best practices for flower handling are rife with myths that doggedly persist, regardless of research offering legitimate information to the contrary. Maybe it’s their quirkiness or the prevailing DIY emphasis that fuels interest, but no doubt everything from alum to Viagra is recommended as the perfect way to treat blooms. Here is a clear-eyed look at offbeat flower-handling methods and suggestions of proven practices and solutions to maximize vase life.
It’s the combination of logic and commentary that fuels handling myths, especially at the consumer level. The public loves reading Martha Stewart’s recipe for home-brewed vase solutions. In all fairness, flower handling is not a black and white activity – many variables influence the success of bloom performance and myths often contain an element of truth. But as floral professionals, it is important we stay abreast of the best solution choices and handling methods when preparing products for designs or sales display.
Let’s start with one so-called truth that was fuelled from within the industry itself: the need to mix flower food with warm water. In the 1970s and ’80s, before clear glass was hip, warm water was advocated as the best temp to use when prepping buckets and vases because one of the components in flower food formulas did not dissolve well in cold water. Aluminum sulphate, a tried and true ingredient in flower treatments, works beautifully to boost flow in stems, keep pollution in check and lower the pH, but it does not dissolve readily in water. Used as an acidifier, aluminum sulphate lowers the pH of water to boost flow into stems and dissolve air bubbles that block flow. Uptake in flowers is most efficient when the pH range is between 3.5 and 5.0. Depending on the quality of the starting water, lowering pH with aluminum sulphate sometimes gives a milky residue as a function of pH chemistry. With the advent of clear containers, the aluminum sulphate component was replaced and “clear” flower foods were developed for clear vases.
The new formulas not only dissolved clear, they dissolved easily in cold, warm or tepid water. Innovations moved us from powdered flower foods to liquid concentrates, which dissolved instantly in water. Back to the correct mixing temperature of water to use: Research in the Netherlands and the U.S. has proven that cold water travels more quickly through stem cells than warm. It has to do with the amount of gases in the cold water versus warm. Cold water and degassed water contain less CO2 and nitrogen, thereby flowing faster through stems. Another advantage to mixing with cold water is that when cold flowers (boxes in cooler) touch warm solutions, condensation develops on petals and inside sleeves, leaving flowers open to Botrytis infection.
If you’re a baby boomer, you’ll recall the common practice of pounding woody or tough flower stems. The myth here was that pounding stems increased surface area for better uptake. If you are still pounding stems, please stop immediately! Research shows that pounding damages cells so badly that any advantage of increased uptake is completely lost. Use sharp, clean shears to prepare woody and tough stems.
A few more urban myths that prevail concern flower preparation. Puncturing stems of tulips may provide a zen moment to your day, but research proves it does nothing to stop stem stretch. As far as the water versus flower food controversy for bulb crops, use food specially formulated for bulb flowers, such as bulb t-bags. It’s true, sugar is not too important for bulb flower opening, but bulb t-bags and bulb sachets are not filled with sugar. These formulations include hormones. Tulips (and other bulbous flowers) suffer imbalanced hormones when stems are cut from bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and tubers. Chances are, you’ve seen the symptoms – premature yellow foliage, buds that don’t open, loss of colour vibrancy in petals, and short vase performance. Rebalance the hormones and the symptoms disappear. Bulb t-bags acidify water into the “flower zone” and contain clarifiers to check pollution, too.
This next myth could be a chapter in Harry Potter – treating poppies, lobelia, tweedia, and snow on the mountain stems in boiling water or flaming stems. The idea is to stop the flow of latex, which blocks xylem tissues. Since boiling water is difficult and a bit dangerous to work with, it’s better to process these blooms in slow-release chlorine pill solution. It prevents bacteria explosions that block xylem caused by latex bleeding into the water. Let stems fill overnight in super-clean water, then transfer bunches into flower food. The same concept works for daffodils with their thick sap. Dahlias and cut hyacinths also thrive in super-clean solutions. Slow release chlorine pills prevent bacteria from growing in the juice bar of carbohydrates and organic substances that are released when stems are cut. When buying cut hyacinths, remember to look for bunches that have a piece of the basal plate intact on stems. The plate is essential for overall quality, water uptake and maximum vase life of stems.
Next up: Elmer’s glue diluted as a finishing spray to slow water loss in corsage flowers. Sounds messy, eh? It is! Commercial sprays are cleaner, easier to use and protect tissues from losing water too fast.
To clean calcium spots from lily foliage or spray residue from rose greens, consider the choices of leaf polishes available – all of which are better than the old-fashioned method of rubbing foliage with mayonnaise! Water- and silicon-based leaf shines are preferred over oil-based formulas because there is no danger of sunburn, which can occur when oil-based shines are used on plants placed in sunny locations.
Last but not least, my favourite handling myths involve vase cocktails mixed with 7-Up, vodka, gin or Viagra. I’ve heard testimonials about these treatments and their wonders for gerberas, tulips and . . . well, whatever. But honestly, gerberas respond best to a 12- to 24-hour drink of slow-release chlorine water to fill stems completely before using in vase solutions for design work. Slow-release chlorine pills also keep summer zinnias perky and callas upright for summer wedding work. Save the gin and vodka for happy hour!
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