I wear “a lot of hats” in the flower business, but one of the most important aspects of my job is to maintain a high standard of quality in the fresh cut flower products that we offer. To that end, I test fresh cut flowers from different vendors, under different conditions, throughout the year to make sure that Gillespie Florists offers the best products year round.
How do I test fresh cut flowers? Several ways, actually! It seems like a pretty cut and dry (no pun intended) subject, but there can be complex situations in which our flowers are placed.
The most common placement of fresh cut flowers are in a clear glass vase with water and flower food (FloraLife or Aqua Plus are our two favorites). Several times throughout the year, I test the vase life of our most popular varieties of flowers (roses, carnations, gerbera, pom pons and lilies) with different brands of flower food and even common household items that can be used to prolong vase life (i.e. sugar, sprite, aspirin, alum, etc.). It is interesting to experiment with the flower food in various conditions (heat, sunlight, cold, dim lighting, indoors, outdoors, etc.) to see if the vase life is effected. I have even changed up the type of water I have used to test the cut flowers (tap water versus bottled water; clean water versus water with sediment in it).
Another way that I test flowers is to design sample arrangements for events ahead of time to see how the flowers will behave in a particular environment. For example, we recently had a wedding featuring composite style rose bouquets. Several weeks before the wedding, we designed samples and tested them over a course of a week. I specifically was interested in the longevity of the bouquets since they would be completely out of water (and designed using petals, so there was no stem either)! It was really interesting to see how well the bouquets held up, both in and out of refrigeration. And surprisingly, the samples held up for a much longer period of time than I would have guessed!
I have a wedding coming up soon that features hydrangeas, lilies and calla lilies for centerpieces. Because of the particular design, we have created some unique ways to provide a water source for these flowers in a small amount of space. As you can see from this photo, one of our test designs did not work out very well!
The good news is that the other did work out, so we are armed with the knowledge of how to prepare the centerpieces and NOT experience failure at the most critical time: the day of the event!!!
Additional experiments that I have conducted compare varieties and grades of flowers against one another. For example, the vase life of a Freedom rose versus a Forever Young rose. Both roses are a rich red color, but it can be surprising that they open (bloom) differently and have different vase lives. I test fancy grade versus select grade carnations or alstroemeria frequently. I also test identical products from different vendors to see if a particular flower has a better vase life. For example, I have studied gerbera from Rosa Flora versus Maximum.
Fresh flowers are much more predictable in their longevity as compared to 25 years ago. Advancements in science have contributed greatly to the quality of the fresh cut flower products available today. I believe it is important, however, to test our flowers year round to have peace of mind, knowing that our product is the freshest and most beautiful in the Indianapolis area.
Check out our selection of well tested bouquets by clicking below!
