OT supermarket cut flowers
 

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?!

don't cut flowers do best in fizzy lemonade?

"datsy" wrote in message
...


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?!

"datsy" wrote in message
...


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?!

Some ideas he

http://www.ehow.com/how_118231_revive-wilting-cut.html

http://tinyurl.com/dcnwo

Regards,
Emrys Davies.

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)

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?!

There is an old flower arranging trick of submerging the stems in water
and cutting off an inch or two, making the cut under water. That way you
get the xylem clean again without any airlocks in. Some woody stemmed
plants like roses can suffer particularly badly if cut in the air.

It is the opposite of what you want when taking cuttings. You want the
wound to stay open an risk the stem rotting to keep water going up to
the flower. The easiest way is to make a fresh clean cut on undamaged stem.

Regards,
Martin Brown

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?!


Many thanks for the advice - I'll try something with roses next time I have
a problem. The stocks were too far gone to be saved yesterday - the stalks
had broken with the weight of the drooping heads (within 24 h!!). I suppose
I should have taken them back because they do always put a "guaranteed for x
days" sticker on them. Not sure I'll buy stocks again though - no smell!