by: Janet Arango

1. Florists realize the virtue of cutting flower stems under water before transferring them from bucket to vase. When flower and foliage stems are exposed to air they will immediately begin to seal up inhibiting the absorption of much needed nutrients. Secondly, when fresh cut stems are exposed to air, bubbles of air become trapped in the stems, preventing the steady flow of water to uptake through the stem.

2. Florists and commercial growers use lukewarm water for their cut flowers. The water temperature should be comfortable to the wrist, approximately 100°F to 110°F. Theobject is to facilitate the water and nutrients to get to the head of the flower as quickly as possible. Warm water molecules move faster than cold water molecules and thus will greatly enhance the absorption process. The one exception to this rule is bulb flowers, such as tulips, tend to thrive in cooler water.

3. Florists know that a well balanced preservative solution drastically increases the longevity of cut flowers. Under normal circumstances, the plant will supply what the flower needs; however, when severed, the flower becomes immediately deprived of these essential nutrients. Commercial preservatives offer a form of these nutrients to the cut flower. Such solutions contain sugar for nutrition, antibiotics to fight bacteria, and citric acid to add necessary acidity to the water. When using a commercially produced or homemade preservative, always be sure to use the recommended measurements. The recipe included with this article offers the same preservative properties found in most commercial brands, and is extremely effective in prolonging the vase life.

Flower Preservative Recipe:
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon bleach
2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
1 quart lukewarm water

4. Florists know that clean, bacteria free, shears or clippers, made specifically for cutting plant stems vastly improves a flower’s ability to uptake fluids. Using ordinary scissors, made for cutting fabric or paper will crush the flower’s vascular system, and prevent proper water uptake. A bulkier gauge tool, designed for cutting stems, will create a sharper cut, causing less damage to the stems delicate vain system.

5. Florists realize the advantages of cutting flowers and foliage at an angle and approximately one inch up from the bottom of the main stem. Cutting a 45 degree angle near the bottom of the stem provides a larger, more exposed area for the uptake of the water. In addition, the angle also enables the stem to stand on a point, allowing the water to be in contact with more of the cut surface.

6. Florists are aware that recutting limp flowers enables the stem to readily absorb more water. A fresh cut will open the veins up allowing the flower stem to absorb necessary nutrients.

7. Florists are aware that keeping fresh cut flowers away from drafts, direct sunlight, and ripening fruit drastically prolongs the longevity of a bouquet . Ripening fruit emits ethylene gas, which encourages poor petal color, discourages petals from opening, and shortens the overall vase life of a bouquet. In addition, direct sunlight and drafts are also major culprits in shortening the life and beauty of a fresh flower bouquet.

8. Florists know that keeping the Oasis foam clean, fresh and soaking in preservative treated water extends the vase life of a floral arrangement. If your bouquet arrives in wet Oasis foam, keep the floral foam soaking wet by adding a small amount of preservative treated water each day. In addition if, after a few days, the Oasis is carefully removed (while keeping the flower stems inside the Oasis), and allowed to drain for only a few minutes, then placed back in a clean vase with fresh preservative treated water, the bouquet’s life can last far beyond the normally expected vase life.

9. Florists know that the stems of hollow-stemmed flowers will benefit from being manually filled with water. Simply turn the flower upside down and pour water into the open cavity of the stalk. To keep the liquid in, plug the stem with a small piece of cotton, then place it in the vase, or place your thumb over the opening at the bottom of the stem and place it in the water. The water trapped inside will keep the stem strong and straight.

10. Florists understand the advantages of removing excess foliage and dieing, wilted blooms. By removing all the lower foliage when initially creating a bouquet, and by tossing the dead flowers as they begin to die, the vase life of an arrangement can be lengthened or even doubled. Changing the water, adding the correct amounts of new preservative, and rearranging the bouquet to compensate for any loss, will also lengthen the cut flower’s general appearance and overall freshness. Simply by taking simple steps to freshen the bouquet, retarding the bacterial growth, you can increase the beauty and life of a bouquet while also creating a bright, appealing floral arrangement that will last well beyond its anticipated expiration

Source : http://www.articlecity.com/articles/hobbies/article_779.shtml

Most recipients of flowers will never tell you they were dissatisfied with the condition of the flowers you sent them, for fear of hurting your feelings. But wouldn’t you want to know if you were being ripped off?

What is a Fake Florist?
A Fake florist is typically an entity that operates on the internet, or advertises in a manner that implies they are local, when in fact they may not even have a physical location, and sometimes even purchase local phone #’s to give they appearance they are local. It is not uncommon for Fake Florists to advertise in such places as the Yellow Pages or Internet Directories and give the impression that they actually deliver flowers locally in a specific area.

What is an Order Skimmer?

Order Skimmers are frequently Fake Florists, or sometimes real florists that operate in an unethical manner. Order skimmers typically use one or more, well known national wire services such as FTD, Teleflora, or 1800flowers to operate. Order skimmers typically focus on gathering flower orders, charging a large or unreasonable service fee (which is typically not disclosed to the customer), and sending the diluted dollar amount to a real local florist, who then receives a discounted order, frequently resulting in a much smaller or cheaper arrangement than what the sender intended or requested.

What is a Direct Shipper?
Direct Shippers are entities that frequently work directly with flower growers or wholesalers, are internet based, and rely on national delivery services such as UPS or FEDEX to deliver their flowers. Direct Shippers are sometimes able to provide flowers at a lower cost claiming to cut out the middle man (the real local florist). It may be true that direct shippers are able to ship fresh flowers but, while those flowers are in transit, they are typically exposed to conditions that drastically reduce their life. These flower packages are frequently shipped with all other types of cargo exposing them to extreme conditions such as freezing temperatures, extremely warm temperatures, no water, and exposure to ethylene gas which contributes to a much shorter vase life.

How do Order Skimmers and Fake Florists operate?
Order Skimmer’s and Fake Florists generally rely on customers to find their phone # or website via advertisements on the internet or publications such as the Yellow Pages. The customer places his order with the company, who then transmits the order through a wire service. The wire service sends the order to a real local florist who delivers the arrangement.

Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_1081212_47.html

A West Vancouver couple isn’t laying to rest a matter involving the use of a municipal property by an American-owned funeral home.

According to Robert and Wendy Harrington, the District of West Vancouver has accorded Hollyburn Funeral Home preferential treatment over other property owners and taxpayers like themselves.

In a June 15 letter to Mayor Pamela Goldsmith-Jones and council, Robert Harrington claimed that the funeral home owned by Texas-based Service Corporation International is paying neither a lease nor taxes on 2,920 square feet of public property it uses as a parking lot.

Bob Sokol, the district’s director of planning, lands, and permits, told the Straight by phone on June 23 that Hollyburn is paying a lease of $10 per year. Sokol confirmed that the funeral home doesn’t pay property tax on that piece of municipal land.

Wendy Harrington spoke with the Straight by phone about this issue.

“They just didn’t get charged for a lease,” she said. “They didn’t have a lease agreement or get charged a lease fee for it or taxes on it. So, in consequence, they get almost 3,000 square feet of property.”

The Harringtons are familiar with the municipal property they’re talking about.

They own a 19,576-square-foot property at 1821 Marine Drive where they operate a business, West Van Florists Ltd.

Beside the Harringtons’ lot is a 9,831-square-foot property owned by Hollyburn at 1807 Marine Drive, and next to it is the municipal land in question.

In his letter to the mayor and council, Robert Harrington noted that the 2010 commercial tax bill on his property is $79,926.25, whereas that on Hollyburn’s 1807 Marine Drive lot is $33,091.12.

While his property is no doubt bigger, Harrington noted that Hollyburn’s lot size should be recorded as 12,751 square feet because it uses the 2,920 square feet of municipal property.

“The taxes levied on the Service Corporation property at 1807 are well below one-half of the taxes levied on the property at 1821 Marine Drive, and the funeral home at 1807 Marine Drive is the more valuable square footage as it is a corner lot,” he wrote.

In a phone interview, Jennifer Roberts, a Texas-based spokesperson for Service Corporation, told the Straight that Hollyburn uses a “small portion” of the municipal property.

Asked for details about the lease and taxes, Roberts declined to give further information.

West Vancouver’s Sokol said that Hollyburn has been paying the district an annual lease of $10 “for a number of years now”.

“I don’t know the exact details of the terms but it was…done many years ago like the late ’80s, early ’90s,” Sokol said. “And what the arrangement was is they paid kind of a significant amount for the first like five or six years of the lease. And again I don’t know the exact details but it was like $10,000 or $15,000 a year for like five years, and then the lease went to $1 a year or $10 a year after that.”

On the matter of taxation, Sokol said that the Harringtons’ 1821 Marine Drive property is zoned commercial and therefore has a higher tax rate.

“The funeral home site—and some of this is, this is B.C. Assessment that’s responsible for this—that’s commercial, and there’s also some residential on the site,” Sokol said. “So it has a different tax rate than the West Van Florists site.”

In his letter to the city, Harrington asked what will be done so Hollyburn will pay a “sizeable yearly fee” and tax on the municipal property.

Sokol said that things may be about to change.

“What we have done is about two months ago, we’ve sent Service Corporation a letter saying that we are reviewing the lease, and are looking into increasing the lease to market rate,” he said. “What we are in the process of doing now is figuring out what the market rate is, and we’re going to be contacting them telling them that either, you know, enter into negotiations with us for a new lease or we’re going to tell them they have to remove the encroachment.”

Source: http://www.straight.com/article-331015/vancouver/west-vancouver-florists-contest-usowned-funeral-homes-taxfree-use-municipal-land