Reusable HydraFlor® 100 Offers Water Savings

Floralife Research Updates, located in the Care and Handling section of our website, are a valuable source of cut flower knowledge. Our goal is to help growers, transporters, wholesalers and retailers get the most from their investment, and present healthy, long-lasting flowers to the consumer. Let’s take a look at a recent care and handling essay, “Influence of Fresh and Reused Hydrating Pretreatments on Rose Cultivars.”

This Research Update was written by John Kihia, Floralife Technical Manager and Reinier v. Groeningen, Floralife Manager Key Accounts. It opens by stating a simple fact in the world of floriculture:

“Water is a vital and valuable resource around the world. This is particularly true in developing countries around the equator, where a significant quantity of the world’s flowers are grown and harvested. The water supply must support the enormous needs of both irrigation and postharvest care and treatment at the farms and support industries.”

Water Management is Vital

Responsible water usage is a big concern in the flower business. Floralife certainly takes it seriously. Our Spotlight series, which features grower best practices, almost always touches upon each farm’s responsible water usage. And you can check out our Water Wise page to learn more about our commitment.

This commitment extends to Floralife products such as HydraFlor® 100 hydrating treatment. HydraFlor® 100 improves the flow of water through the flower stems by clearing air and natural compounds blocking the stem’s passageways. It lowers pH and surfactants, increasing water uptake.

Effectiveness of Reused Hydration Solution

Additionally, we developed HydraFlor® 100 to be reusable, “so that farms and support industries could reuse their solutions longer and thus be able to decrease original water consumption.”

This sounds great, as long as the solution is still effective. So the Floralife Research Department put it to the test.

Here’s the condensed version: Almost 1,000 roses were tested, both in the lab and in standard harvest, storage and shipping settings (i.e., the real world). Floralife, in conjunction with Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Kenya compared the results of using fresh HydraFlor® 100 vs. a day-old, pre-used solution. They tested roses at 5 stages of processing over three days.

Study Results

Researchers found there was no loss in vase life of the tested roses when the solution of water and HydraFlor® 100 was reused once. Also, after three days after grading, bacteria growth was no higher than in the freshly mixed solution. In other words: “Water properly mixed with HydraFlor® 100 can be re-used at least once for pre-treating roses, without sacrificing flower quality.”

So, for the flower processor who is concerned with water conservation, but doesn’t want to sacrifice the effectiveness of the hydrating solution, HydraFlor® 100 is the way to go. For further study details, be sure to read the original Research Update!