Tender Loving Conditioning for Beautiful Cut Flowers
With midsummer in full swing, you may find yourself with the unaccustomed luxury of having plenty of flowers for cutting. For the greatest satisfaction in your cut flowers and the longest-lasting flowers bouquets, try some of these tips.
Carry a bucket of lukewarm water with you into the garden. Placing your blooms in a trug (a shallow, rectangular garden basket) may seem romantic, but it is the worst way to treat your flowers. The most important trick for getting the most from cut flowers is to immerse the stems immediately in lukewarm water.
Cut flowers early in the morning or late in the evening. At midday flowers have low turgidity (water content) and less stored starches for energy.
Always cut stems cleanly with a sharp knife or a pair of pruners. Cut stems at an angle to expose the greatest number of water-carrying cells.
Except for chrysanthemums (which take up water through leaves as well as stems), remove all leaves from the part of the stem that will be below water. Leaves left in the water quickly begin to grow bacteria, which clog the plant stems and prevent water uptake.
Choose newly opened flowers or those that are still partially in bud. Mature garden flowers fade quickly.
Once you've filled your bucket with flowers, leave them to soak five or six hours (or overnight) in a cool, dark place. This final step before placing the flowers in a vase or arrangement is called conditioning. Professional florists always condition flowers before arranging them because they know that it helps to make flowers last.
Before you add your flowers to the vase water, add a few drops of chlorine bleach to the water. Bleach reduces the number of bacteria in the water and does no harm to the flowers. If you choose to add some nourishment to feed the flowers while they are in the vase, don't add table suger because it encourages bacteria. Use a professional floral preservative, which is sold in packets in florist shops and garden centers.
Some flowers require a little extra help to prolong vase life. Flowers that exude a milky sap from the stem, such as poppies, should have the cut end dipped in boiling water for about 30 seconds. Take care to shield the bloom from the steam of the boiling water. Flowers from bulbs, corms, and tubers (such as glads and dahlias), should be conditioned in cold instead of lukewarm water. Some foliage plants used in arrangements, such as ferns and ivies, keep better if the entire stem, leaves and all, is conditioned in cold water before being placed in the vase.
(Source: Rodale's Good Times Almanac)