Quick Tips

It is best to re-cut your flowers every time you put your cut flowers in a new solution. Re-cut should be ½” to 1”. Cutting your flowers steps at an angle is not better than cutting straight across. You are not creating any more surface area for water uptake!
Best practice – always put your flowers in a solution immediately after cutting so no air bubbles will form and stems will remain free flowing.
You can hydrate flowers and put them directly into the cooler. You do not have to have flower food solution at room temperature to properly hydrate. If you coolers are at the proper temperature (33-38°) your flowers will be fine.
Warmer flower food solution will increase speed of solution uptake into the water because it increases the temperature of the flowers. So if you want your flowers to open faster, use warm flower food solution. However, this will not help your flowers to last longer. The warmer solution actually puts your flowers in “fast motion” and moves them more quickly through their life cycle. For longer lasting you are better off with chilled flower food solution. The flower will get properly nourished and hydrated and the cool solution will slow down the flower metabolism which will slow down its life cycle making the flower last longer.
Quick Dip is good for all types of flowers! Good for all types of flowers, a “quick dip” in this solution will help clear air bubbles and natural components, and keep stems free flowing. Follow the directions for use on the product label.
You can use all flower foods with all types of flowers, but if you want to pay particular attention to a particular flower type, Floralife has specially formulated flower foods for particular flowers. For instance, Rose Food 300 is beneficial for all types of flowers but will be most effective for your roses. We have special formulas for Bulb flowers and Chrysanthemums and certain varieties of orchids along with our universal solutions.
D.C.D. disinfects, cleans and deodorizes tools, surfaces and containers! Will work on all non-porous materials. After use, no rinsing necessary! In fact, residue film actually keeps on working. A dishwasher does not kill all bacteria. Always wash your tools, surfaces and containers with a floral cleaner with a disinfectant like Floralife D.C.D. D.C.D. will clean, disinfect and deodorize thoroughly and no rinsing required. In fact, the invisible film left on the service will continue to disinfect and deodorize long after you have cleaned it and will not harm your flowers.
Flower food is good for both vase solutions and foam arrangements! Even in floral foam arrangements your flowers will last better if they are fed and hydrated, so don’t just soak your foam in plain water, soak it in a flower food solution for best results!
Never force foam underwater, let it sink. If you force it will get air bubbles and it will not be fully soaked. Foam is foam is foam is foam so you can buy what is cheap… not true! The foam has chemistry and you should look for foam formulated to be flower friendly such as OASIS floral foams.
Mark gallon levels on the side of your stock buckets. Properly soak floral foam bricks and shapes in a fresh Floralife® flower food solution before using. This can help counteract the negative by-products inherent to all floral foams.
Even if you think your water is clear, this does not mean that there are not bacteria. The best way to combat bacteria that can harm your flowers is to use a flower food solution. Once you are able to see bacteria, it is already too late. Use proper care and handling protocol to keep your flowers healthy and your bacteria load down.
Environmental conditions are crucial to the heath of your flowers. Make sure your coolers are working properly in regards to both temperature and relative humidity. Also be sure they are clean!
Spraying your flowers with plain water does not help them. In fact, spraying plain water on your flowers can create a ripe breeding ground for botrytis on the flower. When finishing your flowers always use a specialty spray that will protect and hydrate like Floralife Finishing Touch. Finishing Touch has both nutrients and protective ingredients that will enhance your flowers health.
Best to keep flowers out of direct sunlight, high heat, or drafts.
30% of flower health is determined by conditions at pre-harvest. Know your vendors and where your flowers are coming from.

Quick Tips for Shop Sales

Follow proper FIFO (first in, first out) when rotating the flowers in and out of the store.
Late afternoon and the weekend is still a key trading time. Keep flowers available at key trading times.
Keep your most popular flowers always on display.
Keep overnight display stock low because store temperatures may cause overnight quality loss.
Remove poor quality flowers and replace with fresh stock constantly.
By adopting a system of professional fresh flower care, you can help maximize your customer’s enjoyment of their fresh flower purchase and add $$ to your bottom line by reducing costly shrink.
What makes a great display
- Keep the display full with flowers – take out empty buckets and replace with fresh stock.
- Keep flowers by variety in their buckets.
- Color blocking can create an even more attractive display.
- Personally place back flowers that were taken from the bucket by customers.
- Conduct regular quality checks and remove poor quality flowers and / or damaged bunches.