Material provided by Floralife, Inc. Keep It Simply, Simple! The key to offering quality fresh flowers consistently is to choose a post IlaNest care and handling system and Keep It Simply Simple! With a few exceptions, you can process most flowers in the same manner and achieve excellent results. Adopt a System Adopt a system that works well to achieve your goals. Some of your major goals should be: a. Quick hydration b. Nourishment and hydration for the maximum enjoyment of the customer c. Reduce scrap and customer complaints d. Proper temperature control e. Keep the storage areas and cooler "smelling" like a flower shop f. Time efficiency g. Maximum return for your investment in time and materials Many businesses employ systems to make their products more consistent and to attain preset quality standards. McDonald's doesn't "guess" how long to leave the french fries in the fryer. A timer lets them know when they are golden brown. Dairy companies code all products with a freshness date to control quality and stock rotation. Walt Disney World doesn't "guess" at cleaning their parks after a day of 30,000 guests. they have a designated crew arrive at park closing to sweep and steam clean the park so it is "fresh" for the next day. None of the above examples are by accident. They were all thoughtfully planned, explained to their employees, executed and monitored. They make these simple tasks the building blocks of a successful company. You as professional florists and business people need to adopt and consistently monitor a system of post harvest floral care. This can be the backbone of successful and profitable floral retailing. Follow These Steps to Succesful Fresh Flower Care Source the freshest flowers available - you usually get what you pay for! The old saying "garbage in, garbage out" is very true. Know what you're buying! All varieties are not the same, .. a rose is not a rose is not a rose! Do your homework. Check to make sure your wholesaler is committed to quality. Flowers exposed to ethlene open too quickly, fail to open or have a wilted appearance. If flowers have not been treated with an anti-ethylene product, treat as soon as possible with EthylBloc technology. Process flowers immediately upon arrival. Process the most expensive and "problem flowers" first, like roses and gerbera daisies. Give all flowers a fresh cut just before using a hydration pretreatment and placing in a fresh flower food solution. Remove foliage that will be below solution level to prevent rotting. If you cut under water, use Floralife Microbloc greenhouse disinfectant. Pretreat flowers with a hydration solution. To help ensure maximum hydration and a free flowing stem, pretreat your flowers with a long-term formula such as Floralife Hydraflow/100 hydration solution or an instant formula such as Floralife Quick Dip hydration solution. This can be especially helpful with field grown crops and is a must for roses and gerbera daisies to help prevent "bent necks." More Steps to Successful Fresh Flow Place flowers in a flower food solution. Flowers need to be nourished with fresh flower food to maximize their enjoyment for the customer. Flower foods generally contain: • An acid to lower the pH of the solution. Flowers like a pH of 3 - 4.5 depending on water quality. • Ingredients to keep the stems vascular bundle free flowing. • An energy source (sugar) to nourish the flowers. It is important to measure the flower food correctly to maximize results. There are two easy ways to achieve this: 1. Mark gallon levels on the side of your stock buckets 2. Take the guesswork and labor out of this step and utilize a Floralife dispensing unit. If you want your flowers to open, let flowers stand at room temperature for 1 - 2 hours. If you are concerned about flowers opening too quickly, process them and refrigerate immediately. Place flowers in a 34 ° - 36 ° F cooler with 75 - 85% humidity. This is crucial so you don't sacrifice shelf life for vaselife. For example: Flowers kept at 50 ° F will deteriorate 2 to 3 times faster than those kept at 37 ° F Tropicals should be kept at 55 ° F or at room temperature if a 55 ° cooler is not available. Maintaining proper humidity is important to reduce water loss which can cause water stress. Proper refrigeration can also reduce damage caused by ethlylene gas. Final Steps for Customer Satisfaction Give a fresh flower food packet (10 grams) with each purchase. This will help educate the consumer on proper care and handling. Clean buckets, coolers, tools, design benches, etc. with Floralifes D.C.D. cleaning solution. This will help keep the stems free flowing and help inhibit problems caused by bacteria. You don't want to drink out of a dirty glass - your flowers don't either! One gallon of D.C.D cleaning solution makes 128 gallons of use solution. D.C.D cleaning solution also has a residual effect of keeping the bucket clean days after treatment. Properly soak floral foam bricks and shapes in a fresh flower food solution before using. This can help counteract the negative by-products inherent to all floral foams. Also, flowers need to be hydrated and nourished in foam just as they do in a glass vase. Give all flowers and potted plants a spritz of Floralife Finishing Touch finishing spray to refresh, hydrate, and protect. It's the simple, fast and last step for hydrating fresh cut flowers, foliage and potted plants to maximize customer satisfaction. It's a must for wedding designs. By adopting a system of professional fresh flower care, you can help maximize your clientele's enjoyment of their fresh flower purchase and add $ $ to your bottom line by reducing costly shrink. If you would like to use this, use the PRINTABLE PDF.