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Here are 11 helpful hints to keep in mind when buying flowers and their prolonged care before a wedding or special event.
- A commercial flower food will prolong to life of cut flowers. Sugar, sparkling lemon-lime sodas, or aspirin added to the water will also keep the flowers healthier longer.
- If you are using flowers from your own garden, they may not last as long as commercially grown flowers. Garden flowers, like bought flowers, should stay in fresh water before use.
- Make sure that any containers used for soaking flowers are clean and bacteria-free. Rinse them with water containing a little bleach before using.
- Look for bright yellow stamens on lilies; old lilies (of all varieties) have dark stamens.
- Make sure lily stamens are removed; their pollen stains anything it touches bright orange.
- Spray table arrangements with water to keep them fresh and the oasis moist.
- Keep all finished arrangements somewhere cool and dark, but don’t be tempted to store any flowers, including boutonnieres and corsages, in the fridge.
- The length of a teardrop bouquet should be tailored to the height of the bride: the taller the bride, the longer the bouquet can be. For petite bride, a tied bunch is probably more flattering.
- For pinning boutonnieres to lapels, use pearl-headed pins, which look more special than normal straight pins.
- Some of the longest-lasting flowers are chrysanthemums, carnations, orchids, roses, tulips, and calla lilies. Sweet peas and poppy anemones, though beautiful, have a short life once cut.
- Prices of exotic flowers such as callas and orchids can rise markedly during the peak wedding months (May to July), or if supplies are low. If you’re on a budget, go for the flowers less prone to fluctuations in price, such as roses and carnations.
If you need any help, or are looking for flowers for a wedding or planned event, the people at Whole Blossoms Wholesale Flowers would love to help you make it an occasion to be remembered. Please visit their website at www.wholeblossoms.com