CUT FLOWER CARE

Annuals and perennials alike are or will soon be in full bloom, waiting for you to enjoy them. You can enjoy them a while long- er in the bouquets you make by following some easy care tips. Harvest flowers when it is coolest outside -- usually first thing in the morning. Carry a bucket of water with you when you go out to harvest your cut flowers. Garden catalogs adver- tise trugs or harvesting baskets which look lovely in the pictures. However, most flowers do not re- spond well to lying in a basket while you stroll through the gar- den. Immediately after cutting, place the flowers in the bucket of water; then stroll to the next flower. Upon cutting, commercial flower growers place cut flowers into water with a floral preserva- tive. Preservatives usually con- sist of a sugar which serves as a food source; an acidifier such as citric acid retards the growth of microorganisms which can plug the stems. Special silver salts are used in some commercial preser- vatives as a further bactericide. UNL floriculture professor El- len Paparozzi said she sometimes puts a dime in the bottom of a vase as a silver source. An easy to use homemade floral preser- vative is a mixture of one-half water and one-half non-diet lem- on-lime soda. Next, remove the foliage that is below the waterline, if you didn't strip it off as you cut the flowers. Leaves left on the stems will quickly rot when sitting be- low water, causing the flowers to wilt sooner because their stems become plugged. Whenever possible, recut flow- er stems under water. This pre- vents air from entering the stems, causing blockages later on. Roses are especially suscepti- ble to "limp neck," a condition caused when an air bubble reach- es the top of the stem just below the blossom. The air prevents wa- ter from translocating to the flower and it falls over and wilts. Cutting 1 to 3 inches of stem off while holding the ends under wa- ter will eliminate most air bub- bles. A drop of water on the end of the stem prevents air from en- tering the stem when you move a flower from bucket to vase. Vase life can be extended by placing flowers in a cool loca- tion-- on top of a television is not a good choice. Not only is it very warm when the TV ison, it's hard on the TV when your cat knocks over the vase and water goes in- side. Change the water or preser- vative solution every 3 or 4 days to keep your flowers fresh for as long as possible.