Ethylene
Ethylene is an odourless, tasteless, and invisible natural plant hormone that affects many plant processes, including flower aging.
.
Ethylene reduces the life of the flower or plant. Common sources of ethylene are ripening fruit, ripening flowers, vehicle emissions, decaying plant material, cigarette smoke, and propane powered warehouse equipment. Flowers need ethylene to mature, and we try to reduce or remove it from their environment so they will not mature.
To reduce ethylene damage:
Store flowers in a cooler. This reduces the metabolic activity of the flower and reduces ethylene production.
Remove garbage and leaves from cooler and work areas. Decaying materials are often the number one ethylene producer.
Do not store food or lunches in your floral cooler.
Do not smoke.
Minimize exhaust from delivery vehicles when loading and unloading.
Hygiene
Cleanliness is everything when it comes to fresh flower vase life.
To maximize your customers’ experiences, keep the following hygiene tips in mind:
DCD is our recommended cleaner as it is more stable than bleach and does not evaporate.
Re-cut flowers using a sterile cutting tool. Tools should be cleaned in DCD at least twice a day or more.
Clean buckets after every use. Do not rinse off the cleaner as it has a residual effect that provides protection.
Clean work surfaces and design benches daily with DCD.
Clean cooler walls and floors weekly with DCD. Airflow in your cooler will spread bacteria and fungus to walls and back to your flowers.
Delivery vehicles and delivery containers should be cleaned on a regular basis. for this block. Use this space for describing your block. Any text will do. Description for this block. You can use this space for describing your block.
Nutrition
Cut flowers need a source of energy. Feed them what they need – Floral Food!
Most Floral foods contain three ingredients:
1. Sugar – Source of energy for the flower. Promotes colour development and bloom opening.
2. Citric Acid – Lowers pH to improve water uptake and reduce bacteria growth that can clog stems
3. Biocide – Inhibits stem clogging bacteria growth
Proper mixing is essential as the biocide (flower food) is only effective if mixed at full strength. If under dosed bacteria will not be controlled and will feed off of the sugars. This will harm the flowers more than help them. If you are over dosing you are wasting money and can harm the flowers with the additional sugar.
To ensure proper dosing, set a protocol for measuring consistently each time. Ensure any of your team members filling buckets are aware of the protocol and follow it.
Consumer packs are the area where dosing of preservative most often fails. A standard .5 gram pack is for a litre of water, which is much less than most vases hold. Take some time to educate your customers on the importance of mixing properly, and provide them with the right number of packs for the volume of flowers and vase size.
Specialty Preservatives
Rose Pro – an everyday all-purpose food that contains a higher percentage and quality of sugar along with a fungicide to help prevent stem blockage. We highly recommend this product for Roses, Hydrangea, Lilacs and other woody stemmed flowers. It does not harm any flowers and can be used as your everyday preservative.
Gerbera Tablets – A slow release chlorine that act as a biocide to keep water free from bacteria. Gerbera are unique as they do not require sugar due to the bloom being fully formed and developed at harvest. Removing sugar from the solution removes the source of food for bacteria. Most effective in the cooler and holding solution, no consumer packs available. If using Gerberas in mixed bouquets use regular food as the other flowers require it. Tablets will not harm other flowers.
Bulb Flower Food – Contains a hormone to prevent leaf yellowing that is common with bulb flowers like Tulips, Iris, Lilies and Glads. It does not harm non-bulb flowers and can be used in mixed bouquets. The leaves stay green longer and actual/perceived vase life is increased. Most effective at the consumer level by using consumer packs of bulb food rather than using it in your holding solution.
Treatments
Crowning Glory – Anti-transparent that seals the flower to reduce water loss. Effective for event and wedding work with limited water source for the flower. Use once the bloom is opened at the stage you require. Once you’ve applied Crowning Glory, the bloom will not open much after application.
Finishing Touch – Hydrating treatment that controls moisture loss. The Nutrients are absorbed into the leaves and petals, this allows flowers to “breathe” and continue to take up water and flower food. Ideal for floral arrangements in vases or floral foam with a source of water.
Full Bloom – Forces tight blooms to open for event work. Expect one day of vase life. This is not a care and handling product.
Cooler Temperature
Coolers are the most vital piece of equipment we use and we generally don’t pay much attention to them until they stop working.
Scheduling regular maintenance and making plans for a cooler breakdown can mean the difference between a minor problem and total disaster.
Here are some basic recommendations for cooler temperatures and maintenance:
Temperature – 2-5°C is recommended. If your cooler has an unreliable history then 5—8°C may be safer.
Tropical flowers and orchids prefer 13°C or higher and will be damaged if stored at Lower temperatures.
Measuring Temperature – Always measure in water. Air temperature tends to fluctuate more often. The water should be measured first-thing in the morning as the cooler has been closed all night. We strongly suggest measuring daily and keeping a temperature log of the readings.
Calibrate your thermometer occasionally by placing it in a glass of ice water. It should read 0°C in ice water. If it doesn’t, note the difference and add or subtract that amount from any readings you take. Mark this difference on the thermometer so everyone using it is aware of the difference.
Thermostats – There are two types of thermostats: mechanical and digital.
Mechanical thermostats that feature a dial are more commonly found on coolers. These thermostats can be difficult to adjust in small increments. Adjust the temperature slowly and over many days. Make sure your thermostat is calibrated. You can do this by comparing your overnight water temperatures to what your cooler is set at. You could have a cooler set at 8°C , but running at 3°C. If you are happy with your cooler and do not have any performance problems do not touch your thermostat. If the performance changes suddenly call a service person.
Service Maintenance — Annual service checks and semi-annual cleaning of fans is the minimum recommendation. Your service person may recommend more frequent cleanings in certain cases. Try to work with the same company and if possible same technician as they will get to know your cooler and environment.
Protecting Your Flowers – If you have a monitored alarm system, install a temperature sensor in your cooler. The sensor will trigger when the temperature reaches a high and low temperature setting. We suggest freezing, and about 15°C. This allows room for general daily fluctuations due to doors opening and closing and equipment defrosting. When the sensor is triggered the alarm company will contact you. Check the calibration of the sensor the alarm company installs versus your water temperatures. Our experience is these are rarely calibrated correctly; do not be surprised if it is more than 5°C out of calibration.
Communication – Make sure all staff knows who to call and what to do if they have a problem. Make a chart near any thermostat that indicates the calibration so service and staff members do not make any damaging changes.
What should you do if the alarm company calls with a problem?
If your cooler is freezing, open all the doors of the cooler to raise the temperature. If this doesn’t work, remove the flowers until your service person arrives.
If it’s too warm, leave flowers in the cooler or remove them to air temperature depending on your needs. If you have a power failure, leave the flowers in the cooler until it reaches room temperature and then open the doors. The cooler will hold the temperature much longer if you keep the door shut. Keep in mind that the water will stay cool even longer, so any stems in water will be cooler than the actual air temperature.
Water
Unsatisfactory vase life? Ask your customers about water quality.
Water quality is often overlooked, especially in rural areas. If your customers are experiencing a short vase life, ask them what type of water they’re using. Using filtered water could greatly improve customer satisfaction.
Recommend customers to try this: Test your water vs. bottled water to determine if the quality of water is affecting your vase life.
Take a bunch of flowers and divide it in two.
Place half into a container filled with regular tap water using normal preservatives, and the other half goes into a container filled with bottled water and the same preservative ration. The test only works if all things except the water are equal.
The test results will speak for themselves. If both vases are relatively equal in vase life, then tap water works just fine. If the results are noticeably different, strongly consider a purification system or alternative water source to improve vase life.
Do the test several times a year as water quality changes.
To maximize your customers’ experiences, keep the following hygiene tips in mind:
DCD is our recommended cleaner as it is more stable than bleach and does not evaporate.
Re-cut flowers using a sterile cutting tool. Tools should be cleaned in DCD at least twice a day or more.
Clean buckets after every use. Do not rinse off the cleaner as it has a residual effect that provides protection.
Clean work surfaces and design benches daily with DCD.
Clean cooler walls and floors weekly with DCD. Airflow in your cooler will spread bacteria and fungus to walls and back to your flowers.
Delivery vehicles and delivery containers should be cleaned on a regular basis. for this block. Use this space for describing your block. Any text will do. Description for this block. You can use this space for describing your block.