Cutting a piece off the stem of the flower is essential for its ability to absorb water and flower food, in order to develop in a natural way. Cutting also implies creating a wound, which could become infected. Blunt knives and cutting tools, and the resulting stem damage from their use, can lead to an explosive growth of micro-organisms in containers and vases. Therefore, the cleaner the cut, the better it is for the flower.
Advice:
Chrysal flower food contains primarily sugars. Legally, flower foods do not qualify as foodstuffs and they are not meant for human consumption. Consumption of Chrysal flower food should not cause any health problems, considering its composition, however, we would never recommend this.
Once plants are at home the growing activity is mostly low and there is some nutrition in the soil left from the grower, however after a few weeks, additional nutrition may well be required. Depending on the plant activity new nutrition can be added by giving plant food.
Good plant food should contain the following ingredients:
Direct sunlight and high temperatures should be avoided as much as possible. This may sound contradictory, because light and heat are essential for the growth of plants, for the so-called photosynthesis. For the best growth there should be a good balance in climate between temperature, light and humidity. A plant in direct sunlight and high temperatures also needs a high humidity, which is often lacking in room conditions. Without the combination of these three elements, the photosynthesis process quickly decreases or stops altogether.
Most households have more than one vase, so the appropriate one may be chosen for the size of the bouquet and the vases will be stored for some time while not in use. Therefore vases are often at least slightly, and sometimes greatly, contaminated by bacteria. For this reason it is always a good idea to scrub and rinse each vase before use. This gives both the flowers and the vase water a fresh and clean start in order to help vase life performance.
Leaves contaminate the vase water, just like stems do. The stem has to be in the water; the leaf, however serves no purpose in the water, in fact, it has a negative effect! Therefore, it is recommended to remove the lower which would otherwise be in the vase water. The additional positive effect of this is that it decreases the amount of evaporation because the total leaf surface is decreased.