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Cut flower water
Sometimes shortly after being placed in a glass vase, some cut flowers turn
the water very milky looking. Is there any chemical that will stop this happening, without damaging the flowers? |
#2
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Cut flower water
On Tue, 9 Aug 2011 14:09:26 +0100, "john thompson"
wrote: Sometimes shortly after being placed in a glass vase, some cut flowers turn the water very milky looking. Is there any chemical that will stop this happening, without damaging the flowers? Flowers such as poppies, euphorbia, some dahlias and hollyhocks release a milky sap - a form of latex - when cut (this is usually an irritant so best not to let it get on your skin). The usual treatment is to seal the stems before putting them in a vase. Cut the stem and then immediately hold the cut end in the flame of a candle or cigarette lighter or dunk it into boiling water for a few seconds to seal it. I prefer the candle option as there's no risk of sap dripping onto my hand (lighter) or messing up a saucepan (boiling water). (This treatment will not shorten the life of the blooms in water - the latex would stop them from absorbing water through the cut ends if left "untreated".) Cheers Jake ============================================== Gardening at the dry end (east) of Swansea Bay in between reading anything by JRR Tolkien. www.rivendell.org.uk |
#3
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Cut flower water
On Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:35:06 +0100, Jake Nospam@invalid wrote:
On Tue, 9 Aug 2011 14:09:26 +0100, "john thompson" wrote: Sometimes shortly after being placed in a glass vase, some cut flowers turn the water very milky looking. Is there any chemical that will stop this happening, without damaging the flowers? Flowers such as poppies, euphorbia, some dahlias and hollyhocks release a milky sap - a form of latex - when cut (this is usually an irritant so best not to let it get on your skin). The usual treatment is to seal the stems before putting them in a vase. Cut the stem and then immediately hold the cut end in the flame of a candle or cigarette lighter or dunk it into boiling water for a few seconds to seal it. I prefer the candle option as there's no risk of sap dripping onto my hand (lighter) or messing up a saucepan (boiling water). (This treatment will not shorten the life of the blooms in water - the latex would stop them from absorbing water through the cut ends if left "untreated".) The milky discoloration in other cases is generally bacterial, and bacteria often grow on the cut surface, blocking the entry of water. The Brooklyn Botanic garden, among others, gives a recipe for cut-flower food on its website. I've been using it, with variable results, as follows: Per litre of water, 1 teasp sugar, 1 teasp household bleach, and 2 teasp lemon juice. (I've tried 3 vinegar instead of lemon juice, and it seems to be equivalent.) I have the unscientific impression that carnations don't like the bleach. Apparently some Irish nuns ran some experiments, and found that simply sticking to plain water and changing it a lot worked as well as additives. But they probably had a higher power on their side... -- Mike. |
#4
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Cut flower water
On Aug 9, 10:49*pm, Mike Lyle wrote:
On Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:35:06 +0100, Jake Nospam@invalid wrote: On Tue, 9 Aug 2011 14:09:26 +0100, "john thompson" wrote: Sometimes shortly after being placed in a glass vase, some cut flowers turn the water very milky looking. Is there any chemical that will stop this happening, without damaging the flowers? Flowers such as poppies, *euphorbia, some dahlias and hollyhocks release a milky sap - *a form of latex - *when cut (this is usually an irritant so best not to let it get on your skin). The usual treatment is to seal the stems before putting them in a vase. Cut the stem and then immediately hold the cut end in the flame of a candle or cigarette lighter or dunk it into boiling water for a few seconds to seal it. I prefer the candle option as there's no risk of sap dripping onto my hand (lighter) or messing up a saucepan (boiling water). (This treatment will not shorten the life of the blooms in water - the latex would stop them from absorbing water through the cut ends if left "untreated".) The milky discoloration in other cases is generally bacterial, and bacteria often grow on the cut surface, blocking the entry of water. The Brooklyn Botanic garden, among others, gives a recipe for cut-flower food on its website. I've been using it, with variable results, as follows: Per litre of water, 1 teasp sugar, 1 teasp household bleach, and 2 teasp lemon juice. (I've tried 3 vinegar instead of lemon juice, and it seems to be equivalent.) I have the unscientific impression that carnations don't like the bleach. Apparently some Irish nuns ran some experiments, and found that simply sticking to plain water and changing it a lot worked as well as additives. But they probably had a higher power on their side... -- Mike.- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - After cutting dip the stems into hand hot water for around 10 seconds then move then straight into cold water with a level teaspoon of bleach to every 2 pints of water. As for Dahlias having a milky sap, I'd like a plant of that variety, I grow over 300 varieties, and in my time I have probably grown twice that number of varieties, from species to hybrids and have never once found any with anything that coule even faintly resemble a milky sap, and in all my years I have yet to hear of anyone having a reaction to dahlia sap. David Hill |
#5
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Cut flower water
On Wed, 10 Aug 2011 01:28:29 -0700 (PDT), Dave Hill
wrote: On Aug 9, 10:49*pm, Mike Lyle wrote: On Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:35:06 +0100, Jake Nospam@invalid wrote: On Tue, 9 Aug 2011 14:09:26 +0100, "john thompson" wrote: Sometimes shortly after being placed in a glass vase, some cut flowers turn the water very milky looking. Is there any chemical that will stop this happening, without damaging the flowers? Flowers such as poppies, *euphorbia, some dahlias and hollyhocks release a milky sap - *a form of latex - *when cut (this is usually an irritant so best not to let it get on your skin). The usual treatment is to seal the stems before putting them in a vase. Cut the stem and then immediately hold the cut end in the flame of a candle or cigarette lighter or dunk it into boiling water for a few seconds to seal it. I prefer the candle option as there's no risk of sap dripping onto my hand (lighter) or messing up a saucepan (boiling water). (This treatment will not shorten the life of the blooms in water - the latex would stop them from absorbing water through the cut ends if left "untreated".) The milky discoloration in other cases is generally bacterial, and bacteria often grow on the cut surface, blocking the entry of water. The Brooklyn Botanic garden, among others, gives a recipe for cut-flower food on its website. I've been using it, with variable results, as follows: Per litre of water, 1 teasp sugar, 1 teasp household bleach, and 2 teasp lemon juice. (I've tried 3 vinegar instead of lemon juice, and it seems to be equivalent.) I have the unscientific impression that carnations don't like the bleach. Apparently some Irish nuns ran some experiments, and found that simply sticking to plain water and changing it a lot worked as well as additives. But they probably had a higher power on their side... -- Mike.- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - After cutting dip the stems into hand hot water for around 10 seconds then move then straight into cold water with a level teaspoon of bleach to every 2 pints of water. As for Dahlias having a milky sap, I'd like a plant of that variety, I grow over 300 varieties, and in my time I have probably grown twice that number of varieties, from species to hybrids and have never once found any with anything that coule even faintly resemble a milky sap, and in all my years I have yet to hear of anyone having a reaction to dahlia sap. David Hill Aaaaargh! Did I say "dahlias"?. Slip of the digits. I was thinking of something else but can't remember what it was now. Began with "D" though. And welcome back. Glad to see that you've finally managed to plant everything. Cheers Jake ============================================== Gardening at the dry end (east) of Swansea Bay in between reading anything by JRR Tolkien. www.rivendell.org.uk |
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