DRY-PACK Flowers arrive limp, thirsty, and jet-lagged. They need a drink!
SOLUTION DEFINITIONS:
• Hydration solutions: jump starts flow, revives blooms and ensures long life.
• Flower food: hydrates cells & provides nutrients so blooms open and hold in the vase
FACTS: All flowers need 3 basic ingredients to maximize vase potential
•pH corrector—flowers drink at pH levels considerably lower than tap pH
•Clarifiers to keep the solution bacteria-free, clear and odorless
•Nutrient source to insure bloom development and long vase life
Processing Dry Packs
1. Start clean: If you wouldn’t drink it or out of it, neither will your flowers
2. Plan ahead: Set up buckets night ahead. Pre-chill. Research proves that cold solutions travel faster in stems than warm
SOLUTIONS (Which one?)
1. For roses, hydrangeas and hard to hydrate flowers use Chrysal Professional #1or Rose Pro Hydration. After 3 days, transfer blooms into Professional #2 food so they don’t starve.
2. For gerberas use Professional gerbera pills. Solution is “active” up to 4 days.
3. For bulb flowers use Bulb T-bags. Solution is “active” 5-6 days.
4. For all other blooms, fill buckets with Professional #2 liquid or T-bags (low sugar flower food. Solution is “active” 5-6 days depending on temperature.
5. For vases and soaking foam use Chrysal Professional #3 or Rose Pro Vase
DETAILS:
•Measure–Don’t guess-ti-mate: Overdosing wastes $$. Under-dosing gives a bacteria soup
•Don’t pour old bucket solutions together when consolidating flowers
•Top up buckets with fresh solution, NOT tap water
•Allow time to drink—Minimum 4 hrs before selling or using blooms in design
•Use sharp choppers, sharp shears for a clean cut. Never ribbon shears or wire cutters
•Give fresh cut to every stem. Sounds obvious, but research shows the #1 reason flowers fail is they never got a fresh cut.
TEMPERATURE
6. Respect the cold chain—Get boxes into the cooler fast! When flowers warm up-even for 15 minutes, a micro layer of condensation develops on petals.
7. Condensation leads to Botrytis problems. Keep blooms dry to avoid Botrytis
8. Cooler set points: 34—38F. Tropical cooler: 50-55F
Source: uBloom