Conditioning Done Right

Most people have never heard the term ‘conditioning’ for flowers, but it’s one of the most important things a flower grower can do to make sure the blooms perform at their best in the vase. 

Conditioning starts preparing the stems the moment they’ve been cut, allowing them to rest and fully hydrate.

Cutting flowers at the coolest part of the day (for me that’s early in the morning), when the plants are fully hydrated minimizes stress on them.

Stems are cut at an angle, foliage that will be under the water line is removed, and it’s put directly into a waiting bucket of water next to me.

After harvesting is finished, the buckets get filled high with water and are placed in a cool, dark spot to rest and take up water for a few hours before arranging into posies.

Some types of flowers benefit from wrapping stems to keep them straight while resting. Others are hard to hydrate so need to be seared in boiling water. Woody stems need increased surface area to take in water.  Some stems leak a sap that is toxic to other flowers (or irritating to people with sensitive skin) so they are put in a bucket by themselves until the saps stops oozing from the cut end. And then hollow stems need to be filed with water and the end plugged with cotton.

There you have it. Conditioning cut flowers increases vase life and thus enjoyment of your bouquet.

There is a lot more to bringing you lovely posies than just growing the flowers!

Krystal

Follow us on social media and like our page!

Facebook: @PosiesatHighlandGlennRanch

Instagram: @HighlandGlennRanch