Proper Cut Flower Conditioning

Clean Buckets

• Clean all your buckets with bleach (or effective green cleaner) & a scrub brush – to kill bacteria, fungus, etc

• Rinse well

• Use plastic or glass containers – not metal – it will corrode & contaminate the water

Cut Flower Food

• Mix the appropriate amount of cut flower food– Improper mixtures can result in not providing enough biocides in

relation to sugars

• Using soda, aspirin or any other homemade mix isn’t as effective as cut flower food because it isn’t measured out correctly like cut flower food

• Cut Flower food contains:– Sugars (help provide energy in usable form)– Aging retarders(growth regulators)/color enhancers– Chemicals to quicken absorption of water (wetting agent)– Bacteria killers (biocides = germicide)– Acidifiers to lower pH (this helps with better absorption & less

bacterial growth)

Water

• Warm –110 Degrees- like bath water – for most flowers– Warm water helps remove air bubbles, making for easy water flow

up the stem (warm water contains less oxygen than cold)– Warm water will also encourage flowers to open quicker– Warm water absorbs faster because warm water molecules move

faster

• Cool – for bulbs (daffodils, tulips) and any other flowers that you don’t want to open too quickly

• Buckets should be filled 6-8” with water

Cutting

• When flowers have been out of water the exposed outer cells dry out, forming a callus, which will not absorb the water– Additionally, air will have entered the stem, bacteria, and other pollutants

– preventing water absorption • Cut about 1-3 inches off the stem• Use a knife or very sharp pruners – if your tool is dull, it will crush the

plant cells and they won’t absorb• Cutting under water will help prevent air bubbles, but can also pollute

the stems when the water becomes unclean• Cut at an angle to keep the stem from sitting directly on the bottom of

the bucket, where debris, etc. will clog the stem (not proven)• Cut between the internodes on flowers like carnations

Removing packaging & foliage

• All elastics & plastic should be removed, except for roses and greens.

• If you keep roses wrapped up they won’t blow open as fast. However, you cannot keep them wrapped for more than a few days – they will rot.

• It is more effective to keep certain greens in plastic rather than in buckets of water

• All foliage that would be in the water should be removed – it will rot & clog the stems – Be sure to avoid scraping the stems when removing

leaves

Absorbing• Leave flowers out of the cooler for 3-5 hours so

they can absorb correctly• Put roses in immediately• Put bulb flowers in immediately• Do not put tropical flowers (bird of paradise) in

the cooler – they should be at warmer temperatures (so unless you have a special warmer cooler for them, keep them out) Orchids can go in the cooler.

• If your flowers are really dehydrated, you can submerge the entire flower after it is cut into a tub of water

Floral Coolers

• Do not keep food, especially fruits, in your floral cooler – these items give off high amounts of ethylene gas which speeds up aging. Dying flowers will do the same so remove them.

• Coolers should be kept at 38- 40 degrees F, tropical coolers at 55-60 F

• Relative humidity of 80%• Must have a FLORAL cooler – non-floral coolers

have one large fan blowing fast air – this dries out petals

Change water in buckets

• You should recut stems and change the water in buckets if possible every 3 days

• This will extend the vase life of the flower

• Vase water has bacteria, fungi, yeasts, & mold which block xylem and produce ethylene and toxins

Special Notes on Flowers

• Lillies – remove anthers to prevent staining & pollination which will cause the flower to die quicker

• Baby’s Breath – use warmer water to “pop” buds• Bird-of-Paradise – manually open flower heads• Calla – only 1” of water to minimize curling of stems• Roses – remove outer damaged petals (this will

encourage opening as well); only remove thorns that need it – this damages tissue & will cause early death

• Daffodil – sap is harmful to other flowers when conditioned; keep separate & do not recut stems when designing

• Gerbera – use a rack in the bucket for support• Hydrangea – dip in alum (spice/pickling)• Snapdragons & Tulips – store in upright to prevent

geotropism• Gladiolus – remove top bud to encourage others to open• Poinsettias and other flowers that secret latex – burn the

end – this opens water conducting while sealing