Re: GWL Conditioning cut flowers

**"* P* <s*@hvi.net>**

Hi Betty:
Your suggestions for conditioning flowers is really great.  Can I use it in 
my column in the American Ivy Society News Letter?

Hot enough for you?
Suzanne
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Betty Mackey" <BettyMackey@verizon.net>
To: "Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum" 
<gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 5:59 PM
Subject: Re: [GWL] GWL Conditioning cut flowers

> Dear Nancy,
>
> It sounds like you have a lot of cut flowers in mind, for a great cause.
> Geri's flower conditioning advice is good. Good conditioning often makes 
> the
> difference between a bouquet that wilts in an hour and one that stays 
> pretty
> for four or more days.
>
> Lisianthus is a very long lasting cut flower, and can stay fresh in a
> homemade bouquet for up to two weeks.
>
> Here are more tips on cutting and conditioning cut flowers:
>
> Before cutting anything, set up some conditioning buckets nearly filled 
> with
> cool water and  floral conditioner and set them in a cool workplace away
> from wind and direct sunshine. You can buy a floral conditioning product 
> or
> make your own by adding a tablespoon of bleach and a teaspoon of sugar to
> each gallon of water.
>
> Use sharp shears to cut the flowers. Carry a bucket of cool water with you
> as you stroll around collecting the blossoms, and add them to the bucket 
> as
> you go. For a lot of flowers you'll need several buckets. Flowers should 
> be
> well hydrated before they are cut, and they may be harvested in the 
> evening
> or in early in the morning with good results.
>
> Thoroughly trim the flowers you have just collected before putting them 
> into
> the conditioning  buckets. Remove all the lower leaves, otherwise they 
> foul
> the water. Recut the stem bottoms on a slant. The purists recut them under
> water to prevent air bubbles from blocking the veins in the stem and
> preventing uptake of moisture. That is rarely necessary with most flowers,
> in my experience, but roses are more sensitive than most others. For woody
> stems, make several shallow slits in the very base of the stem. Do not 
> crush
> them with a hammer the way some books tell you to. For poppies, scorch the
> stem end with a lit match before conditioning. Two days is the most you 
> will
> get out of a poppy so although beautiful it is not so good in gift 
> bouquets.
>
> Add the trimmed blooms to the conditioning buckets and do not crowd them.
> Let them sit and take in water for at least several hours or overnight
> before arranging the flowers.
>
> The vases should be clean enough to drink from. Arrange the flowers and 
> take
> the bouquets to their recipients. A good florist will refrigerate bouquets
> before they go out, but you don't have to go quite that far.
>
> Peace and good wishes,
>
> Betty
>
> Coauthor, "Cutting Gardens," (Halpin and Mackey), Simon & Schuster, 1993
> and "A Cutting Garden for Florida" multiple editions, by Mackey and
> Brandies, B. B. Mackey Books
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Nancy Szerlag" <szerlag@earthlink.net>
> To: "Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum"
> <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 12:29 PM
> Subject: Re: [GWL] GWL Conditioning cut flowers
>
>
>>
>> In a couple of weeks I will begin delivering cut flower arrangements
>> to hospice patients in my area. So, all you cut flower mavens, please
>> give me your tried
>> and true secrets to timing, conditioning and any thing else that will
>> increase the vase life of the flowers.
>> When my late partner Jeff became bed bound I kept fresh flowers at his
>> bedside. My Griffith Buck roses flourished and he could see them from
>> his
>> bed. They gave him great pleasure. His hospice caretakers also
>> commented on how much they enjoyed them.   Thanks in advance. Nancy
>> Szerlag
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
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