Ranunculus and foliage cut and resting in the cool dim workshop
The difference between the flowers that are sitting in many gardens in the UK during the summer, and those that are sold by commercial and artisan growers throughout the country is the cutting and conditioning of the flowers.
Cutting and conditioning consists of the steps you take to turn a garden flower from a stem that could wilt in a few hours to a strong stem that will last well in an arrangement. It’s the topic of the 9th Module of our Business of Growing flowers course, which is live this week.
It’s also something that we’re often asked lots of questions about, so here are our top tips.
Tip No 1 - While there are lots of products out there that are supposed to help you increase the length of time a flower stem will last, the best things that we’ve found are clean conditions and fresh water, so our first tip is to get your buckets clean. Don’t let them sit around with dirty water in them, and give them a good scrub before you use them.
Stack of buckets waiting to be washed, not the most fun job but one of the most important
Tip No 2 is to get up early. Heat affects flowers in a negative way, they are stressed by it and are more likely to droop. You need to cut them and get them resting in water (in your clean buckets) before the heat of the day hits them. In June, in the UK (when it eventually stops raining) this can be before 9am, so you need to be up with the dawn. The 2nd best time is in the evening when the sun is going down, but this only leaves you a small period of time before you are picking with head torches.
Dawn in Scotland
Tip No 3 is to know who you are cutting for. Will it be someone who needs the flowers to last a long time, so you need to cut in bud? Do they want the flowers for an event tomorrow? Or for a photoshoot in a couple of days where the blooms need to be open and in full colour? To cut at the right stage, you need to know how the flowers will be used.
Photoshoot Anemone in full open flower
Tip No 4 is Grading….. Not all flowers are suitable for all situations. You shouldn’t be sending the same quality bloom to a florist for a bridal bouquet, as you’d sell on a market stall. But do you know the difference?
Completely different grade Achillea stems.
Tip no 5 is to Test, Test, Test, Test - We can’t over emphasise how important to test everything that you grow. Pick the first one, and put it in a vase, pick one later in the day, pick one in bud, pick one that’s open…… try them all - they don’t have to be artfully arranged, just plonked in a clean vessel, and left with notes taken as to how long they last. Only then will you be able to put Tip No 3 into action!
Flower growers work really hard to grow gorgeous blooms and luscious foliage, so getting cutting and conditioning right means that when the flowers leave you they’re in the very best state and can go on to do their job beautifully.