Floral Foam Fundamentals

Florists and designers have known it forever (well, at least since 1954)… For long-lasting hydration, and physical support for floral arrangements, it’s hard to beat floral foam. Let’s take a moment to appreciate this workhorse of the floral industry, find out what’s new, and learn how Floralife products interact with floral foam.

The story begins with the Founding Fathers of Foam: Smithers Oasis! The first floral foam was introduced in 1954.

“Oasis is a trademarked name for wet floral foam, the spongy phenolic foam used for real flower arranging. It soaks up water like a sponge and acts both as a preservative to prolong the life of the flowers and a support to hold them in place. The foam’s structure is similar to that of plants and has capillary action to move water to the surface and up the stem.” Wikipedia

Floral foam originally appeared as a green brick. Today, it comes in various colors and a variety of shapes such as spheres, crosses or wreaths suitable for a variety of arranging needs. Also, as a sign of the times, Smithers Oasis has been working long and hard to make floral foam more environmentally friendly:

“OASIS® Floral Foams are simply the best products in the industry for long-lasting flower life. Each variety of foam allows you to create with confidence while consistently saving you time and labor. Now all OASIS® Floral Foam Maxlife has enhanced biodegradability!” Smithers Oasis Website

Of course, Smithers Oasis and Floralife go hand in hand, and Floralife has conducted extensive research on the interaction between foam and Floralife Flower Food for various species. The bottom line: just as Floralife Flower Food solution is better for your flowers than plain water, floral foam soaked in Flower Food is better than foam soaked in water. Here’s all the research you’ll ever need:       

• Maximize Water Uptake and Minimize Water Loss of Gerbera with OASIS® Floral Foam Maxlife + Floralife® Floral Foam Food  (April 2014)
• Floralife® Floral Foam Food: Soft Stemmed Flower Arrangements in OASIS® Floral Foam Maxlife (September 2013)
• OASIS® Floral Foam Maxlife Combined with Floralife Crystal Clear® flower food Prolongs the life of cut hydrangea (August 2012)
• New OASIS® Floral Foam Maxlife Trial Shows Enhanced Gerbera Performance (March 2011) 
• Benefits of Saturating Floral Foam with Floralife® Flower Food (December 2010) 
• Effectiveness of Premium OASIS® brand Floral Foam Enhanced with Floralife® Technology (March 2009) 
• Recent University Research Study on Anti-leaf Yellowing Properties of Floral Foam (January 2009)

How about you? Have you worked with Floral Foam? What do you think? Let us know in the comments section!