Some of the most common types of questions we are asked at SBe is what is the best way to process my flowers when they arrive at my workspace? Although all designers have their own tricks and tips, here are the industry recommended ways to maximize the life of a few of your floral favourites.
Roses
Wholesale roses come tightly wrapped in cardboard and plastic, which need to be removed. Do not try to pull the roses out, best tip is to cut the plastic off and unroll the cardboard wrapping.
To process roses, please follow these simple steps:
- Make sure to remove foliage that will be submerged in water.
- At an 45 degree angle, trim the end of the roses. If you choose to use a hydrating solution (such as Quick Dip™) place and hold in the solution for 3 seconds before putting into clean water with floral food.
- Do not remove guard petals until roses are fulling hydrated and ready for designing.
- Not all florists remove the thorns, however, if you do, try to clip the edge of the thorn to prevent damaging the stems excessively.
Hydrangeas
To process hydrangeas, please follow these simple steps:
- Clean all leaves from the heavy wood stock that will be under water.
- If you have purchased your hydrangeas in cases, then the cotton and bags may remain from their shipping. You must remove this with a sharp knife before continuing.
- Cut the hydrangea stock at a 45 degree angle with a sharp knife. We recommend at this point to dip in Quick Dip™ for 3 seconds before placing in very warm water and flower food.
- If hydrangea head is starting to wilt, reprocess immediately with warm water again.
- The trick with hydrangeas is reprocessing often to increase length of life and bloom size.
Happy designing!