Cut Flower Care and Handling: Bird of Paradise

Floralife has expanded the Flower Care and Handling section of our website to offer a bunch of useful tips for the postharvest processing of many different varieties of cut flowers. Grower, wholesaler, retailer, enthusiast – there’s something for everybody. Let’s go down the list! Today’s star is the Bird of Paradise!

Bird of Paradise, also known as Crane flower, Crane lily or Wild Banana, is native to southern Africa. Each flower is multi-colored and features blue, white, orange and yellow. As always, Floralife has some practical Bird of Paradise care and handling tips for the grower, the wholesaler and the retailer. Here is a preview.

For the grower, you will find some very specific recommendations on harvesting the Bird of Paradise. You can harvest when the first orange flowers appear, or when the flower is in the tight bud stage. Also, you typically pull the Bird of Paradise using a side to side motion (gently!) instead of cutting it.

After cutting, place flower stems in a solution of HydraFlor^® 100 hydrating treatment. Or, if your flowers will be in the cooler longer than 24 hours, use one of the Floralife^® 200 storage and treatment products. Please contact Floralife for specifics.

For the Wholesaler and Retailer, buying tips for the Bird of Paradise include avoiding stems with the appearance of brown lesions, and also stems that are black or slimy in lower portion. Look for waxed paper bags on each inflorescence and the paper wrapper on each bunch, to protect the flowers from handling and drying out.

Unpack your Birds of Paradise immediately and recut the stems.

Pretreatment: You have a couple of options. Hydraflor^® 100 is useful for all flower types to rehydrate and condition flowers after a period of dry transport for increased quality and enhanced flower life. Floralife^® Quick Dip 100 is a ready-to-use version of a hydration solution. This quick one-second dip might be more suitable to retail flower shops.

Storage and Transport: If your flowers will be stored in a cooler, use Floralife^® 200 or Floralife^® Clear 200, or Floralife^® Clear ULTRA 200 storage treatment solutions.

Vase Solution: It’s the last step prior to consumer purchase. A final opportunity to give your Bird of Paradise a boost before it heads out the door. Floralife’s vase flower foods hydrate and nourish the flowers for maximum enjoyment, and they encourage the flower to properly start opening and showing its vibrant colors. Use a Floralife Flower food solution such as Floralife Crystal Clear^® in your buckets, vases and Oasis floral foam arrangements.

There is a lot more at the original piece, including discussion on Bird of Paradise vase life, ethylene sensitivity and storage temperature tips, so check it out! Are you a fan of the Bird of Paradise? Tell us all about it in the comments section!