Cut Dahlias

MissyWeitzel

I don't have a cooler. I have always cut the dahlias fresh early in the morning for that day's florist deliveries/pickups.

Now that I'm part of a collective and drop off my flowers to the main site where they're stored in a cooler, I have a couple of questions. Hopefully someone here has experience with cutting dahlias and keeping them in a cooler for a few days.

If cut slightly immature, do dahlias continue to open at all in a cooler?
If they don't continue to open at all in the cooler, will they after they are taken out of the cooler and placed in an arrangement?
Do you use a holding, hydrating or flower food solution in your buckets when storing in a cooler? (I couldn't find dahlia specific info on this)

Below is Sandia Brocade cut a bit immature-wondering if at this stage the center would continue to "poof" out if it was put in a cooler.

calico20hill

Dahlias may open a tiny bit but not a lot once they are cut. I just had to tell that to a mom who wanted to pick hers and drive across country a week before her son's wedding and use them for the decor. I used a solution I made up myself for a holding solution. If I remember right it was 1 gallon water to 1 Tsp chlox bleach and. 1 T white sugar. Some people add acid like vinegar to that but our water was acid so I didn't. I used Laundry Detergent bottles to make up my solution and then used the spigot top to fill the bouquets I made and sold at the Market (In Biodegradable plastic drink cups. It was a while ago but if I am remembering right now it worked well for me and the bleach kept the solution nice and clear.

Krista

For selling or bringing cut blooms indoors, do any of you rinse your blooms in a solution of any kind to ensure bugs or other hitchhikers have been removed? I brought an icky earwig into our office the other day by accident.

MissyWeitzel

Krista you can just gently swirl them in a clean bucket of water. You can also add a drop of dish or castile soap to the bucket if you'd like. If they're going into a cooler then set the bucket(s) in front of a fan to dry dew or water off first.

Krista

MissyWeitzel Oh wonderful, thank you!