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Thread: Flower arranging questions

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    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    Flower arranging questions

    I was looking at the local hort society's flower show and trying to see what I could enter to support the effort. I have some clematis that is just coming into bloom and so researched if clematis were suitable. Turns out they are wonderful cut flowers but one needs to harden them.

    The concept of hardening is new to me. Maybe IL or another gardener can help me understand the term and whether all cut flowers should be 'hardened' before arranging. The one link talked about Physan for the container. Again that is new to me. I have always used the dishwasher or javex to sterilize my vases.
    Any advice would appreciated.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

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    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    General advice about cutting stems for a show is to cut them early in the morning or in the evening, bring them into the house and put in room temperature water. Sometimes I harden off garden plants, sometimes I don’t, sometimes I can tell the difference, sometimes I can’t.


    I looked up Clematis in my book about exhibiting flowers as a horticultural specimen in case that is what you are doing. Here’s what it says for conditioning and grooming:

    1) Cut flowers when partially open

    2) Re-cut and put cut stems in boiling water for 15 seconds, then in deep cold water, And place in a cool dark place overnight.


    I have exhibited clematis in a horticulture flower show, but I didn’t plunge it into boiling water, I just cut it in the morning and took it to the show later that day or maybe it was the following day. You want fresh blooms.

    I don’t know anything about sterilizing the container and I would ignore that it’s not important.

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    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    I edited my response quite a bit because at first I thought maybe you were showing it in a horticulture show which means you’re putting a cut specimen into a bottle. But seeing the title of this thread, you are making
    floral design using clematis, so that will be nice.

    I have a charming little
    Clematis called Princess Diana that I use quite a bit as an accent plant in a design.I will confess that I don’t harden it, I just cut it and stick it in wet floral foam and it lasts several days.

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    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    Flower food and other helpful suggestions
    Here's how you can scale that down: 1 quart water, 1 teaspoon bleach, 1 teaspoon vinegar, and 1 tablespoon sugar.

    https://food52.com/blog/22901-easy-d...ts-last-longer
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

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