After harvesting, the flowers should be taken to a cool,
dim room to complete what professionals refer to as 'conditioning'.
This allows the stems and petals time to recover and to
take up as much water as possible before being placed in
an arrangement.
You should:
Always handle the material as little as possible. Prepare
sufficient pails of water to hold the flowers loosely. Hot
water should be used for flowers with hard stems such as
roses. Add floral preservative as directed on the package.
Remove any foliage that will be under water in the arrangement.
Recut the stems under water about 3 cm above the original
cut. In addition: slit hard stems a further 3 cm. Fill hollow
stems with water and plug with cotton. Burn the end of stems
that exude milky sap in a flame until blackened. Dip the
end of woody stems in boiling water. Leave the pails of
flowers to rest for a minimum of 6 hours and a maximum of
1 day.
Flowers from a florist should already be conditioned. However,
if time permits, recondition by recutting under water.
Foliage material is improved by immersing
completely in water for 3 hours before being placed upright
to condition.
During the conditioning period, check for
drooping flower heads and foliage, an indication that the
stems are not taking up moisture. Remove them from the pail,
hold the end of the stem in boiling water for 10 seconds,
then return to the pail to continue conditioning.
After flowers have been conditioned, simply
cut again one cm from the end of the stem before placing them
in your arrangement. |
