Timely Flower Opening is Stress-Reducing!

Flower opening in time for the big event… Will it happen? Can I (safely) nudge them along? Flower opening is a big concern – and a leading cause of stress in the floral realm.  There’s a lot of folk wisdom on the topic, for better or worse. Fortunately, there is also reliable care and handling science, and this is the topic of the latest Floralife® article for Florists’ Review entitled “Tips to Expedite Fresh Flower Opening.”

In ideal business relationships, clients plan ahead and flowers have time to open naturally for special events. However, as many of you know, last minute requests can be common. When faced with these situations you must work your magic so that closed flowers reach the desired openness in time for picture perfect photos.

If you need to encourage and expedite a flower’s blooming process, you need to understand the proper care and handling of both open and closed flowers. You must also be familiar with the different characteristics of flower types and varieties, and the kinds of care and handling procedures that work best for each.

These include the proper rotation, temperature management, feeding and hydration, and handling. Done properly, these all enhance a flower’s natural life cycle, its presentation on the day of the event, and its take-home vase life afterward. Of course, IMPROPER care and handling will jeopardize all of these!

Flower Opening Formula?

Is there such a thing? Well, there are certainly some helpful “Do’s” to consider:

Ways You can Doom your Blooms, including

• Blowing Buds Open
• Squeezing the Stems
• Applying Direct Heat

And, Tips to Having Awesome Blossoms

• Proper Hydration
• Feeding Flowers Well 
• Lose Your Cool: that is, feeding, hydrating, and storing at room temperature

If you want to expedite cut flower opening, the methods described in the article can help. Know which techniques work, and avoid the ones that stress and damage flowers and shorten their vase life.

And, as you know, there’s an extra responsibility with “event flowers.” These are the arrangements that guests often take home. Your reputation has to shine past the sell-by date. So protect your good name (and future business) with flowers that open on time and look great – not only for the “day of,” but beyond! 

As always, MUCH more detail at the original piece. Check it out!