Story Title: Flower Harvesting
Episode 5: WA's Great Gardens
Date: 13th June 2010
Presenter: Neville Passmore

Learn what happens behind the scenes to ensure the best possible quality in cut flowers.

Neville's tips and facts

• Cut flowers have moved beyond just a gift for birthdays and celebratory occasions, we now find them in our homes and offices as fresh decorations. As we go into winter where flowering in our gardens tends to decrease it's even more important to be surrounded by living colour. 
• A key to quality in flowers is the colour of the foliage. Look for rich dark green leaves as a sign of a plant that has been well fed.
• Roses are still the best loved flowers the world over. By growing these in heated greenhouses it's possible to get fresh blooms right through winter. By holding these in cool storage the blooms remain in a state of suspended animation and this means you get to enjoy the gradual opening of these tight buds into full flowers.
• If you find at home that rose flowers bend over at the top, you can bring them back by total immersion for a couple of hours.
• What can you do to get longer life from the bloom you buy? After unwrapping, cut a centimetre of stem from the base using sharp secateurs. This opens up the tubes within the stem and allows water to be taken up. Then remove any foliage that will be underwater in the vase as this rots off and fouls the water. Refresh the water in the vase every couple of days. If you received a packet of flower refresher, mix this into the water immediately.
• Alternatively there's a home brew that can help. In a litre of fresh water mix one teaspoon of sugar to feed the blooms, a few drops of liquid household bleach to keep the water clean and one teaspoon of vinegar acid to keep the base of the stem open so the bloom can take up water readily.

Contact
Tesselaar Flowers
22 Northwood Street,
Leedverville
6007 WA
Phone: (08) 6389 6222

Please note Tesselaar Flowers is a wholesale florist.