April 2007

Care & Handling: Specialty Cut Flower Techniques

All cut flowers need to be processed, conditioned, and environmentally controlled to promote long life. Certain situations arise in the shop, however, that require a special focus or technique that involves a combination of skills. Some of these techniques are highlighted below, along with examples of applicable situations.

Bud Opening
Bud opening involves steps that promote the opening of tight flowers that might have been harvested too soon or that come from a grower who normally harvests in the tight bud stage. There are advantages to bud-cutting or cutting tight, as long as it is not so tight that the flowers will not open. Advantages include less bruising in transit and longer vase life compared to flowers that are cut at the normal stage. The proper follow-up technique must be executed on arrival, however, to ensure success with these crops. The bud-opening technique described here encourages opening more quickly than regular care and handling procedures. It is meant to crack open tight flowers to a stage where they will open under normal care and handling conditions. Flowers that commonly arrive in the tight bud stage are carnations, miniature carnations, chrysanthemums, roses, gladioli, and gypsophila.

Bud opening techniques could be utilized in the following situations. For example, a florist may review a shipment of roses that are tight on Thursday and need them for a wedding on Saturday. In another case, tight gladioli may arrive, a particular day, that are needed for funeral or church pieces the next day. Likewise, a last-minute holiday fill-in shipment of carnations may arrive tight and be needed the next day for design work.

One of the primary things that must be considered when using the bud-opening technique is time. It can take from several hours to 2 days or more for buds to open, depending on the flowers and environmental conditions. While the florist cannot always control the planning, he should determine whenever possible if time is needed for bud opening. This decision should be based on conversations with the wholesaler regarding flower stage, as well as on past experience with specific growers' products. Another consideration is sufficient room. Since bud-opening requires warm temperatures, there must be enough space in the shelf for keeping extra buckets out of the cooler. The keys to bud-opening are warm temperature, high humidity, and optimum solution uptake. The steps are explained next.

  1. Process flowers by removing lower leaves and re-cutting stems under warm water. Stems can then be dipped in a stem-sanitizing solution, as described in Chapter 4. This will help remove stem-clogging dirt and bacteria from stems which encourages solution uptake and promotes faster bud opening.
  2. Put flowers in a bud opening solution that is made by mixing twice the recommended rate of preservative with warm (100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit) water. This may be called a 2 percent solution. (Additional manufacturer's directions may be given on the label.)
  3. Place the bucket with flowers and solution in a warm, but not hot, location (approximately 68 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit). To speed up the process, flowers can be covered with a sheet of plastic. It is important that the plastic sheet does not directly sit on the heads of the buds, but is tented on top of them. The plastic tent helps maintain higher temperature and humidity. The plastic should be taken off once or twice a day to allow for ventilation. In hot areas, flowers should be closely observed to ensure the temperature does not get too high under the tent.
  4. This process usually takes 12 to 14 hours and sometimes longer. When the flowers start to open, the plastic can be removed, the flowers transferred to a preservative solution mixed at the normal rate, and placed in the cooler.
  5. Note that regular care and handling procedures which encourage hydration, such as rose hydration treatments, may be sufficient for bud opening if the flowers are kept in warm temperatures until opening is started.

Holding at a Development Stage
Sometimes, the situation opposite to bud-opening arises: flowers have already opened to the stage needed so further opening is not desired. Regular care and handling is still important in order to encourage longevity, but additional steps are needed to delay further development. Flowers that commonly need to be retained at a certain stage are roses, tulips, daffodils, and anemones.

An example, of an applicable situation involves roses that arrive on Thursday and are not needed until Saturday for a wedding and are already at the right stage. In another case, tulips may arrive on Monday for use in Monday through Wednesday work and are already opening.

The florist can take a preliminary step in holding a flower at a particular stage of development if he or she knows that the flowers are arriving on a particular day and will not be used for 2 or 3 days, particularly in remote areas with less frequent deliveries. The step involves attempting to order a variety that is known to open slowly. There can be a tremendous difference in opening characteristics between cultivars of the same species. With roses, for example, the white cultivars Cascade and White Masterpiece and the red Samantha and Royalty take longer to open and maintain good form and color compared to some other varieties of the same colors. The same is true for tulip cultivars and other flowers. This step requires planning and interaction with the wholesaler but can be well worth the effort. In other cases, if flowers arrive and development-retention efforts are needed, the florist can follow the steps below. The key is cool temperatures.

  1. Remove the flowers immediately from shipping boxes.
  2. Process flowers immediately by removing lower leaves, re-cutting stems, and using stem dip (these life­ prolonging steps are essential).
  3. Place flowers in preservative solution. Preservative is still needed to prolong life. It may be helpful to mix this solution with cool or luke-warm water so that the heat of the water will not promote opening. Often, the flowers that are open the most have been kept in water, and they do not have the stem-clogging problems. However, if the flowers are dry and limp, warm water should be used.

Cool temperature is the key to delaying further opening. Unless the flowers are dry and limp (in which case they should remain out of the cooler 1 hour for uptake), they should be placed immediately into the cooler. Sleeves may be left on, particularly for tulips, but flowers need to be watched carefully so mold will not develop.

Quick Revival
Quick revival can be likened to emergency steps that are used to revive humans. The flower "patient" needs stabilizing procedures and close observation, followed by techniques to promote continued recovery and a healthy, long life. Quick revival is a combination of previously discussed care and handling steps that help maximize water and food uptake and minimize water loss. It is different from typical conditioning, because it is a more intense application of procedures: processing is done more quickly, warmer temperatures are used, and all possible steps are taken to maximize water uptake (rather than one or two steps). Flowers that need to be revived quickly are those that arrive in a limp, wilted state or those that are observed in the shop in such a state. Wilt-sensitive flowers and/or flowers that have been dry shipped for long distances are likely candidates for these procedures.

The possibilities for using quick revival techniques range from one or two roses in a bucket that exhibit bent neck the day after arrival in the shop to flowers in a bucket where solution ran out or in a box that was dry stored for a prolonged period.

The key to quick revival is water - maximum uptake and minimum loss - along with the life-giving food source. The steps to take are listed below.

  1. Remove stressed flowers from the shipping boxes, cooler, etc., immediately upon discovery.
  2. Remove lower foliage. (Do not spend excessive time with this. For very leafy crops, such as roses, the remainder of the leaves can be removed after revival.)
  3. Recut stems under water, using warm water.
  4. For roses, place them in a warm, pH-lowering, hydrating solution of citric acid or a chemical with similar action for 30 to 60 minutes (this can also be used for chrysanthemums and other flowers according to label recommendations), and then transfer flowers to a preservative solution. For other flowers, dip stems in a stem-sanitizing solution; then, put them in warm preservative solution (plain water or water plus bleach will not be as beneficial). Even ethylene-sensitive flowers can be treated in this manner, with recovery being the key, and silver thiosulfate (STS) or other special treatment can be used after revitalization. For single stems of roses (such as those found with bent neck 1 or 2 days after arrival in the shop), the entire bloom, stem, and foliage can be submerged under water for approximately 20 minutes; then, the stems should be placed back into preservative solution.
  5. Keep flowers in a warm (68 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit) and humid area. If the area is known to be dry, a sheet of plastic can be placed over the flowers. Flowers can be left here for 6 to 12 hours to encourage solution uptake and corresponding recovery. Roses may be placed in the cooler sooner if they show signs of recovery. (Conditioning roses in the cooler in the dark actually helps maximize uptake and reduce bent neck problems.)
  6. After recovery, keep flowers in preservative solution and place them in the cooler.

Using Individual Flowers and Florets
The use of individual flowers and florets is most common in corsage and bouquet work for weddings and proms. However, they may also be used in other aspects of design.

Individual flowers or florets (part of a flower cluster) may be those that are cut from a blooming plant or from an individual cut flower inflorescence (cluster). While it is very important for the plant or main flower stem to be properly conditioned, it is also important to condition the individual flowers separately after cutting (particularly the florets), using some of the same techniques even when the plant or main stem has already been conditioned.

When using individual flowers or florets, it is most important for designers to remember that the same techniques are used on individual flowers and florets as for regular cut flower stems, including the following.

  1. Plan ahead. Individual florets should not be planned for use immediately after they are cut. A sufficient conditioning time of several hours or overnight should be allowed before use.
  2. Cut off the flower or floret desired with a sharp tool. The flower or floret can then be moved to a shallow pan of warm water and a piece of stem cut off under water.
  3. Place stems in a warm preservative solution that is in a small vase or container that offers support. Short­ stemmed florets can be floated in a shallow container of warm preservative solution.
  4. After a few hours, place the flowers or florets in the cooler to finish the conditioning or hardening off process, except flowers from blooming plants or chill ­sensitive cut flowers. The container may even be placed in a bag to help retain moisture. It should be kept in a safe place in the cooler, such as an upper shelf, to prevent damage.

Using Flowers from the Yard and Garden
This technique involves cutting materials and handling them so that they have the longest vase life possible. Commonly, materials from outdoors are collected hurriedly, in the heat of the day, or without regard to care and handling. As a result, they frequently wilt and die prematurely. Planning and proper procedures can prevent this from happening. A few examples of materials harvested from the yard and garden for use in design include annual and perennial flowers, blooming shrubs, evergreens, cattails, and even garden fruits and vegetables.

The use of materials from the yard and garden can provide a casual, country garden look and add unique shapes and textures to designs. Unusual materials found in yards can be unique, one­ of-a-kind pieces that are well suited to some contemporary and naturalistic designs. The florist may be tempted to cut materials from fields and roadsides. However, this is not suggested because it can interfere with nature's balance and may be illegal.

The same techniques that apply to commercial floral products also apply to materials from the yard and garden, including the following.

  1. Take materials immediately inside; do not let them sit out in the hot sun. Leave floral crops in preservative solution and keep them out of the cooler to condition for at least 2 hours, then place them in the cooler for 6 hours to overnight before use (tropical materials should not be placed in the cooler). Fruits and vegetables can be placed in a plastic container or bag, misted with water, and placed immediately into a regular refrigerator (not the floral cooler) for several hours to overnight.
  2. Plan ahead. These materials should not be used immediately after being harvested. They need a conditioning time of several hours to overnight.
  3. Just as other crops grown in fields or greenhouses, carbohydrate (food) levels are highest at the end of the day, so try to harvest products in the late afternoon or early evening.
  4. Take a bucket of pre-mixed preservative solution out to the cutting area. Cut off materials with a sharp tool, and place them immediately into solution (do not hold them in the hands or lay them on the ground until all materials are collected). Actually, cutting the stems under water first, immediately after harvest, and then placing them in preservative solution is best. Fruits and vegetables can be gathered in baskets or bags and misted with water. Inspect all materials closely for insects before taking them into a floral shop.