When I begin wrapping up with a client’s wedding preparations, I often start the final conversations 2-3 weeks beforehand to be sure we can pre-order the quantities of her prized blooms for a Bride’s beautiful wedding. It is also during this period that I begin surveying my floral vendors to ensure her favorite seasonal blooms will be available for her wedding. As I’ll discuss in an upcoming tip on seasonality, weather directly affects the availability of flowers {and we’re seeing that firsthand this week.}. We are often checking the weeks and days before every special event to ensure we are going to be able to have those 100 bunches of blooming dogwood or bursting ‘Coral’ peonies.
{This photo was taken the day before the event, just before the Coral peonies opened.}
Also, during those conversations with our vendors we discuss timing. I’ll ask about the types of cuts they’re bringing in, “Are the blooms coming in tight or blown open? Shall we get them on Monday or Tuesday to allow them to open for the weekend ahead, or rather wait until Friday to use the next day?” Timing is everything! I encourage readers to talk to your flower growers or vendors to be sure you know where the flowers are in their life cycle and bloom cycle to best suit your needs and purchasing schedule.
To ensure longevity of blooms, consider the following tricks:
* Buy flowers when they are still very tight blooms
* Keep flowers in a cool location (though no colder than 45 degrees)
* Use a squeeze of lemon juice or distilled vinegar to keep the water clean
* Change water 2-3 times week, fresh clean water promotes life
* Talk to your flowers {I know this sounds kooky} they are living beings and respond to gentle urging
Flowers that commonly require a few days to open once they’ve been cut before their peak ‘performance’ include: roses, peonies, poppies, lillies, carnations and freesia to name a few. It is best to buy these flowers 3-6 days prior to your special event to time their peak performance accordingly. If it turns out that they are not opening quick enough for you, there are a few ways to improve their timing in your favor:
* Place them in a warm sunny place, though not direct sun
* Use warm water to help promote their hydration and open quicker
* Remove all leaves on stems and continue to re-cut stems daily
* I’ve even kept flowers in my car for a day or two, because our studio doesn’t get warm enough to encourage them to open
* Talk to your flowers {I know this sounds kooky} but since they are living beings they respond to gentle urging
For more floral tips and tricks of the trade, come to one of our upcoming eco-floral classes! For the full roster of summer classes, go to:
soulflowersf.com/classes.
Happy Flowering!
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