On 17/5/05 20:03, in article , "datsy"
wrote:



I know this is not really a gardening question but I thought there will be a
lot of cut flower experts out there. I regularly buy cut flowers from the
supermarket and always cut an inch or so off the bottom. They go straight
into water with the packet of crystals attached plus four drops of Bach
Rescue Remedy. With most flowers I have no problems - they last for ages,
but very often I find that roses have started to wilt overnight - so much so
that I've just about stopped buying them. Yesterday I bought some stocks, by
this morning all the leaves had wilted and a couple of the heads were down -
now they're all down. Anybody know why this happens and what I can do to
stop it because it's really frustrating?!


The rose and stock problem is because of the way they're treated before you
buy them. Some flowers handle it better than others. If you ever go to a
flower wholesaler, you'll find that they're in and out of cold storage on
their way to the wholesaler, while at the wholesaler and then in and out of
the shops before going into your warm home. They don't know if they're
coming or going! Many of the roses imported into UK are grown in Egypt, so
just imagine the transitions they go through. Occasionally I do wedding and
other flowers in our neighbourhood and I always cut at least 1 to 2 inches
of rose stems and plunge them into deep, cold water for at least one night.
Then, when I arrange them, I cut a further inch off.
But, in your own use of roses, when they start to flop, catch 'em early, cut
an inch or so off the stems and plunge the stems into boiling water for
about half a minute, then straight into deep, cold water. That usually
works but if it doesn't, don't buy roses from supermarkets any more! I
haven't tried this with stocks but it might be worth the experiment.
--

Sacha
(remove the weeds for email)