Cut Flower Conditioning Tips

The trick to making cut flowers last as long as possible is conditioning, conditioning, conditioning!

I visited the local Farmer's Market on Thursday....I pledged to ONLY buy vegetables!!!!                                                                        

And then I spied these gorgeous bunches of Zinnias! Big bunches.....big flowers....and the lady in the stand kept nodding and telling me how freshly cut they were....and only $7....

What would you have done???  

With Zinnia's in arm...I headed home with a few vegetables too!
On the way a couple of ladies stopped me to ask if Zinnias were flowers that would last long in an arrangement!
So I dug in my memory.....and shared some tips for conditioning them to make them stay pretty.....mostly the basics of keeping the water fresh and cutting a new cut at an angle!!!

That made me realize that not everyone knows the importance of flower conditioning!

I thought to myself....this would make a perfect blog post!!!!

I did some good librarian research....and found you all some great links to teach you the ins and outs of conditioning YOUR flowers:

Conditioning Flowers to Boost Vase Life:  This is a nice overview article that gives the basics of flower conditioning.

The Garden Club of Brookfield Connecticut  has put this amazing alphabetical list of lots and lots of flowers and the "rules" for conditioning each one.
Somehow a group that has been in existence since the 1930's give me confidence in their advice!

Now that I am including it in this post....I will be able to stop back and refer to it often!!!
(maybe I will memorize some...so the next time strangers ask me for advice....I won't just be guessing!

Here are just a few of the tips from this site:

• Artemisia: Split stems and place in boiling water for a few seconds. Condition overnight in warm water.
• Black-Eyed-Susan (rudbeckia): Dip stems in a small amount of boiling water for a few seconds. Condition overnight in deep, cool water.
• Gerbera: Dip stems in boiling water. Condition overnight in cold water.
• Phlox: Cut when clusters are one-half open. Split stems. Condition overnight in deep, warm water.
• Zinnia: Place stems in boiling water for a few seconds. Condition overnight in tepid water. Zinnias last better if plants are watered before they are cut.   

Anyway.....here are the two arrangements that I did using my $7 bunch of Zinnias.....It is Saturday and they still look almost fresh from the garden!

Don't they almost look like fine art?

Almost...but not quite!

So here is a little eye candy for you!

Source

Wouldn't this be gorgeous in my Summer Powder Room?

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So pretty....

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How fun is this?

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I really love this botanical....

Finally....whenever I think of Zinnias....I am reminded of one of my favorite alphabet books!

Alison's Zinnia is the most beautiful book....each letter has a gorgeous picture of a flower....and the words guide you to the next letter....and of course....the final letter is Z for Zinnia!!!
This would be a marvelous book for any flower lover to have on the shelf to teach a special young person about flowers.

Wishing you a Great Day filled with beautiful long lasting flowers!

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