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Wanted: floral advice

18:36 / 28.06.04

Me and Xoc both like our cut flowers. In the early days of our relationship, they had a weird sort of Barbary apes/Tower of London ravens magical significance: y'know, if we ever allowed all the vases in the house to go empty, it'd signal The End. 'Course, the me moving to London thang put an end to such romantic notions.

Haaaving said which, this is traditionally a blooming time of year for us, with my birthday, Pride, our anniversary and Xoc's birthday, all within a few weeks - and the flat's overflowing with floral loveliness. Although we usually go for lilies, orchids and scented stuff (stock, jasmine, etc.), we currently have a vase of long-stemmed white-with-a-pink-edge roses. They're absolutely beautiful but, in the past, we've tended to avoid roses because they do that droopy head thing that pleases no-one. This time, I went through the proper routine of snipping them at an angle and plunging the cut ends into boiling water for 40 seconds before sticking them in a vase.

Seems to have worked - but, five days on, the water's looking a bit cloudy. Should I change it? Would the snipping/boiling thing work again in prolonging their life?

Any budding (ho ho) florists in a position to enlighten me?

19:10 / 28.06.04

In my experience, changing water & re-cutting does make a difference.

I've never done the boiling water thing, though.

19:16 / 28.06.04

I've never tried that boiling thing, either.

I've read that roses can be propped back up by lying them flat in a bath of cold water for a bit.

the thing that kills cut flowers is the bacteria, and the frequent changes will help. there are penny, aspirin and bleach techniques to keep the water bacteria free, but the best two things I know of is A) keep the stem portions below the water line free of leaves, which rot and add to the problem, obvious and B) use cut flower powder stuff, which keeps them perkier, brighter colored, and more mold free than anything else I've used

19:18 / 28.06.04

Yes, changing the water will make a difference and also putting a bit of sugar in it too. Dont ask me how I know this its just one of the miriad of things I know that will be of absolutly no use to me whatsoever. However if it works let me know.

19:23 / 28.06.04

I've already denuded the below-waterline stems of leaves, and stirred some cut-flower schtuff into the water. Inspired to cut 'em now, though. I've heard the penny, aspirin and sugar theories, but wasn't sure whether these referred specifically to roses...

I think the reasoning behind the boiling water thing is that it (somehow) gets rid of any air bubbles that might be lodged in the (phloem? xylem?) stems, and allows proper transfer of water.

Guess I'll recut and change the water.

odd jest on horn

19:38 / 28.06.04

My mother in law suggests keeping them in the fridge over night. Mind, I don't know anyone who has the fridge space to spare :-Þ

19:44 / 28.06.04

gets rid of any air bubbles that might be lodged in the stems, and allows proper transfer of water

OOH, reminds me - some people crush the bottoms of the stems for this very reason

22:17 / 28.06.04

Okayyy, so I've snipped a good couple of inches off the end of the stems, changed the water (cleaning the vase properly) and done the boiling water thing. They look happier; let's see how long they last...

Ex

09:30 / 29.06.04

Whereas I heard you shouldn't crush the ends because it encourages bacteria. Although you should trim the stems at a slant, because then the surface area of the stem cross-section will not be jammed against the bottom of the vase and will be able to suck up more fresh water.

Ah, the arcane rituals of housewifery...

09:38 / 29.06.04

The quickest overall preservative I know is 7up or Sprite. One can per one litre of water. Christian Slater comes up with that in "Bed of Roses" where he's that shy fellah. I asked my florist about it and she said that it was good for roses than just water but you should really get floral preservative.

Now, I'm not really sure about this whole boiling water thing Ganesh. I was told you should but the stems into water about 100 degrees Farenheit, which is about 38 celsius. Doesn't the water go green and the stems sort of dissolve with really hot water?

Tips for Roses specifically is - and this might sound silly, but still - kepp them out of direct sunlight, and make sure you check their water everyday as they are extremely thirsty. If they do wilt, it's good to re-position them for an hour or two upright, as this seems to help.

Also, you're right about them wilting because of the lack of flow up the stem, and therefore it is probably worth checking the skin (bark?) for cuts above the water line.

12:01 / 29.06.04

I heard you should trim the ends and slit them a bit, and use lemonade instead of water. Maybe flat lemonade?
And they do seem to last longer after being sprayed with that stuff the flower shop uses.
I'd change the water if it was cloudy. Keep the bacteria levels down.

12:03 / 29.06.04

And remember not to cram the vase. Leave some room for the butterflies.

12:35 / 29.06.04

heeeee! I'm giddy with all of this (conflicting) information. I need roses so I can try!

MORE!

17:43 / 29.06.04

I'll check with my mom who is a florist but to the best of my knowledge:

Boiling water: absolutely not! cold water only. Some plants may like hot water but I'm 99% certain roses are not among them.

Bleach/aspirin: Bleach to rinse out the container, yes, but as a general additive to the water, no. Aspirin's mildly effective but floral preservative is better.

Crushing stems: absolutely not. This is for things which have a woody stem. The idea is to create more surface are for absorbing water (I think).

General rose care: Cut stems at angle under running water, keep in cool spot (away from direct sun, heaters, etc), keep water clean and free of leaves (this means changing it frequently -- every 2-3 days).

18:59 / 29.06.04

Not flat lemonade -- the CO2 is part of the charm, you see. For the plants, it's like oxygen.

19:12 / 29.06.04

Boiling water: absolutely not! cold water only. Some plants may like hot water but I'm 99% certain roses are not among them.

I'm well aware that they're not to stand in boiling water. I was told to place the cut ends in just-off-the-boil water for thirty or forty seconds only before putting them in cold water.

19:21 / 29.06.04

I just did the boiling water thing a few weeks ago for roses--which have a very woody stem--and I think it definitely added to their lifespan. They were from a reception and had started wilting by the time they got home, recut and hot water worked wonders. It does have to do with airbubbles and softening the woody stems so they absorb.

21:00 / 29.06.04

Ok! If it works for you, go for it.

04:05 / 30.06.04

I am tired so I did not read the whole thread. I hope I am not posting something already posted.

This doesn't make sense to me, but my mother, (who has the greenest thumbs I ever known), told me to to make a mixture of 1 tbsp. bleach & 1 tbsp. sugar - level, for about a dozen roses in a vase with 1.5 to 2 litres of tepid water. The air in the room should not be too warm either. Air conditioned rooms being best, and preferaby filtered sun perhaps through some sheer curtains, but of course some sun is good.

She is amazing with plants of all kinds and fresh cut flowers. I think she she could grow a field of tobacco out of a cigarette butt.

Now, good night all.

22:13 / 30.06.04

Ok, checked with mom.

Boiling water treatment: sunflowers, dahlias, poppies (not roses)

Smashing stems: things with a woody stem like lilac or dogwood (not roses)

But go ahead & do these things anyway if you want, it's fine by me.

22:31 / 30.06.04

Well, online sources seem to give conflicting advice. This page says specifically

If roses should flop at their heads re-cut and plunge the stems only into boiling water for a short time

as does this one and this one and this one.

This one suggests boiling water dipping for poppies, and "hot water" for roses.

This one reckons the boiling water treatment can "promote rot" and advocates the cutting-stems-under-water method instead.

We seem to have stumbled into a hotbed of floral controversy...

00:00 / 01.07.04

This calls for an experiment! I'll try to design one and see if you can duplicate my results (though obviously our water won't have the same composition).

It reminds me of the thing about searing meat to keep it juicy.

These sites:
http://www.cooking.com/techniques/vidtech.asp?id=26
http://www.combat-online.com/cook5.htm
http://www.dto.com/cooking/method.jsp

all recommend the practice, but Harold McGee:

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/article.asp?did=4663&bdc=55956

did a rather nice experiment to disprove the notion. I still get chefs arguing with me that they've been doing it for years and it works for them, so who knows? Maybe the cold-water-only-for-roses thing is just something my mom does because that's what she was taught, and not because keeping roses cold is better for them.

It'll be fun to find out.

14:05 / 01.07.04

And a further clarification from mom:

The theory behind the boiling-water treatment is that it seals in the moisture by 'cauterizing' the cut end, sealing in the juices so to speak, so it's funny I thought of the steak thing. Though I don't think it makes sense that liquid would move from the stem to the surrounding vase of water, but we'll see what happens.

She recommends, as a remedy for the specific problem of drooping heads, a product called (ahem) Stem Stiffener. I made a joke about poppers for flowers but happily, my mom did not get the reference. Alternatively, she recommends soaking the whole flower in cold water for an hour or so to plump it up.

23:24 / 01.07.04

Is this thread dead yet?

Well, I'll post the design & results of my experiment elsewhere. Perhaps in the laboratory?

(I'm KIDDING.)

09:15 / 02.07.04

We just need a little Thread Stiffener(tm).
S'funny, smashing MY stem with a hammer and dipping it in water, cold or boiling, usually has the opposite effect.