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| [Image: Remove damaged foliage] |
| [Image: Recut stems] |
Flowers are cut in the mornings to be sure that the stem has the highest possible water content. When the sun comes out, plants get ready to photosynthesize and open the stomates in the leaves for gas exchange (CO2 in, O2 and water vapor out) and will lose water until sundown. In early morning, the stomates (breathing holes in leaves) have been closed all night and water content is at it’s peak. Flowers cut in the middle of a hot day will tend to wilt and not recover. Flowers may also be cut successfully in the evening except on on the hottest summer days. Flowers must remain in water at all times. If for some reason they are not placed immediately in water, recut the bottoms of the stems when they are placed in water. If stems dry, they may form a callous that will keep the stem from absorbing water. Stems are recut again after they are bunched.
Strip away the bottom leaves that would be below the water level. As leaves decay, they cause bacteria to grow in the water. Bacterial growth inside stems is the prime reason that fresh flowers wilt. A good keeping solution is ½ cup white sugar and 1 tsp. bleach or vinegar to 1 gallon water at room temperature or warmer.The sugar supplies carbohydrates to the flower, since roots and leaves (which normally supply carbs to flowers through photosynthesis) have been removed. The bleach suppresses bacterial growth. If vinegar is used, it suppresses bacterial growth by providing an unfriendly, acid pH. There are many good commercial solutions available, and their use will save the grower the time of mixing a homemade solution.
Grading and sorting Remove damaged foliage and sort by length. Rubberband counted stems and recut. Wrap in newsprint. Always use a keeping solution. Bunch flowers in 10s or 12s; more if flowers are small or “airy” like statices. Sunflowers are always bunched in 5s due to their overlarge size. Try to make the flowers all the same height and recut the stems after evening up the heads. Wrap securely in newspaper; not so tight that stems look crushed when the bunch is unwrapped. This helps keep the flowers from drying out and also protects the flowers from getting tangled and broken by other bunches in the bucket. Work always in a cool shady location and place them in a cooler in the low 30s as soon as they are bunched. Sell as soon as possible. Every day held by the grower is a day off the vase life. With refrigeration, flowers may be kept for 3 to 4 days with little loss of quality. Don’t store with fruits and vegetables; they give off ethylene gas and speed up flower aging.
Transport to market inside an air conditioned vehicle, away from wind. For brief transport during cool temperatures (winter, early morning), bunches can be placed laying down in covered lockers for travel in the back of trucks. Recut stems and place in water at your destination.
Coolers Sooner or later you're going to need one. You can get by without one if you can sell your entire day's cut every single day. Some growers who market entirely through farmers markets just cut once or twice a week, the day before the market. Cutting so infrequently will necessitate clearing the field of old product with the next cut. You're more likely to accidentally include flowers that are past peak and are dabbling with damaging your good reputation for fresh, long-lasting flowers. Cut as frequently as you possibly can and get those flowers in the cooler. Every second that the flowers are out of the cooler, they are continuing to develop and are aging and losing quality.
Temperatures for most flowers, especially those originating in the temperate (cool temperature) world, should be set in the low to mid thirties. Roses, bulbs and most perennials and annuals fit in this range. Tropicals and warm-season annuals need to be held at a warmer temperature, closer to 45o to 55o F. It's more difficult for a cooler to maintain warmer temperatures because it must frequently cycle to hold the proper temperature. This makes the cooler turn on and off more and can lead to repair problems. If you can only run one temperature, stick to the low thirties and be careful not to allow the petals of the summer annuals like zinnias and sunflowers to touch the walls of the cooler.
A large, used 10' by10' box, can be bought in assembleable pieces from a restaurant supply company for around $1,000. The compressor will cost $1,000 or more. A two-door restaurant cooler (like a Coke wall unit) will work very well and hold eight or more buckets. Look for solid doors rather than glass, since glass doesn't hold in the cold as well as a solid insulated wall.