Roses can freeze so be careful.

This time of year fresh cut roses can freeze. Now I hear a lot of "duh's" out there, but it is surprising how many time people don't think about it. The colder it is, the quicker flowers will freeze. We store flowers at around 33-35 degrees in our refrigerators on purpose, Just cold enough for them to not freeze.

What do we do about this when delivering? One, you can warm the car up. Dashing from the store to the car is usually pretty safe. It takes longer than 30 seconds to do some damage. Second we wrap the arrangement with bags. This holds the heat in and protects the flowers a little longer this way.

When you have to wait for someone to answer the door it can help. Although you can get some strange looks until you unveil the flowers, then the great big smile comes out. A bit of trouble but well worth it in the end.

The best thing is to have flowers delivered and let the florist worry about the handling, but when that is not an option the tips above can help you save an arrangement from an early demise. So go ahead and send a bright cheery arrangement even if it is cold out, because someone can use a brighter day.

Is it ok to buy roses for a guy?

Well of course. Lots of guys like flowers too. Although you would probably be safer with going for a smaller quantity like a single rose. He may act like it is silly, but I know he will be happy to receive such a lovely gift.

A single red rose is the universal symbol for love. He might prefer you give the rose to him at home and not in front of his buddies though. Guys sure like to give each other a difficult time over such things. It must stem from the childhood tauntings of other children. Like the KISS song and sitting in a tree...

A funny thing happens to guys as they mature, friends tauntings become less influencing, sometimes.
So go ahead and get him a pretty er... ah.. a handsome red rose and see if he doesn't say thanks and look at you all googly eyed.

Is it bad to send or buy artificial flowers instead of fresh flowers?

No! They last practically forever and can be purchased in just about any price range or color and style. For a lot of homes artificial or "silk" flowers are great. No watering, and you don't have to worry about kids or pets chewing on them.

With the advances in construction and materials silk flowers look so real they can be very hard to distiguish from real flowers. For an office they can be great because they are practically no maintenance. Maybe a little dusting ocassionally.

From green plants to decorative trees or even artificial arrangements, silks area a great alternative in any decor. They will last long enough for you to grow tired of them and want a change again. We have them in our home and used them to decorate many places and people were very happy with how good they looked even compared to real plants and flowers.

Buy good quality silks and you will have made a good decision with a floral purchase.
Wreaths trees and so many other things can be custom made to fit any space from tiny to a huge silk tree to fill a grand entrance in the finest homes.

My girl does not like roses, what should I do?

Ok the world is not going to come to an end. Give her two lips, ha ha. Really any flowers are beautiful. Sunflowers for instance, lots of people love the sunny look of sunflowers. They can be upscale, or country. Lily's are great too.

What if she has allergies? Oh dear, maybe you could find her some artificial flowers.
There are some really high quality realistic looking flowers available these days. Not like Grandma's old plastic stuff. You can get some astounding looking roses that are artificial also. We even found some novelty type roses that were huge once.

We once made a Texas sized rose vase. this thing was about 4 foot tall and with a rosebud that was about the size of a football. It was very neat and entertaining. We even made a dozen rose arrangement out of some really large open garden type roses that was about 6 feet tall and about four feet in diameter. the roses were as big as a large serving platter. It made quite a splash.

So just use your imagination and I'm sure you can find something neat and creative, because I think that is what impresses them more than anything when you give them a floral gift.

Why are red roses the most popular?

My thoughts are, from years of taking orders is, that is what people have heard of are familiar with. Kinda like us southern folks asking for a Coke, but meaning just about any brand of soda.
Red roses are safe and usually readily available and most guys are familiar with that so there it is.
Of course flowers for Valentine's Day are mostly purchased by men for women. It is easy to see why so many are sold when you think about it. That even carries over to the term single rose or dozen roses. Refer back to the Coke comment earlier.

When people become more educated and familiar with flowers in general then they become more adventurous with the floral order. Much like going to a new restaurant, folks usually try the tried and true until they become familiar with how different items taste and so on.

Flowers are beautiful and meant to be shared. They bring a lot of beauty and happiness as gifts.
So don't forget your sweetie, whether it is with a single lovely red rose or a stunning display of a dozen, it really is hard to mess up.

Is one rose enough? Or should I get more?

Well, generally speaking one can mean just as much to whom you are giving it too as much as a dozen. We sold roses in all different ways and numbers. Wrapped, boxed, arranged, and even just loose. Lots of guys would buy as many roses for as many years as they had been married for instance. I remember one fellow had a 36th anniversary that we helped him with. That was quite a splash.
One Valentine we even sold an arrangement that consisted of four dozen in an arrangement! That was heavy. Then we have sold countless single roses. Delivering them all gave me a chance to see the faces of those receiving the flowers and they were all just as happy.
I truly believe that just the thought of getting flowers is what makes people appreciate them so much.
Whether you are buying them for somebody for an anniversary or someone in the hospital, when the flowers arrive and their face lights up, well, you know it was worth it. So, don't worry about how many too many or too little, just buy some and enjoy the glowing smile you see when you give them to someone special.

Roses For Valentines, Wrapped in paper, or arranged in a vase?

Many people wonder which is the best option. Yes you can save a little money by buying flowers wrapped in paper versus arranged in a vase. But if you forget to recut the stems as you put them in water then you are harming the longevity of the flowers and they will die prematurely.

As a professional florist I would rather that people buy them prearranged because of the fact that the stems stay wet, and the flowers stay hydrated helping to promote longevity in your floral purchase. So unless you plan on having a high priority of recutting your stems I recommend purchasing arrangements and not wrapped flowers.

You really aren't saving any money if the flowers don't last. Not to mention bad feelings towards the place you bought flowers from. We really don't want you to have a bad experience, especially with the one you are purchasing the flowers for.

Rose Varieties and colors


Red roses are and probably always will
be the most popular color of roses.
They are truly a classic.

They garner a higher demand around Valentines.
Comparatively, 3 to 1 over other colors such
as yellow or pink.
Especially around the rose holiday known
as Valentine's day.

Some of the more noted varieties in red
among florists are Charlottes
Freedom, Classy, Rose Bagier,
Black Magic with Rose Bagier usually
being the biggest head and longest stemmed.

Some of our favorite colors in yellows
were Alsmeers Gold, Judy, and Skyline.

Some of our favorite colors in pinks
were Peekabou, Hot Princess, Anna
Vogue, Raphaella. These range from
regular pink, to hot pink tones to corals.

Our favorites in white colors were
Virginias,and Escimo.

Our favorites in purple or lavendar
are Blue Bird and Sterling.


Then there are the bi-colors, or two tones
such as Confetti, Anna, Lipstick, Millenium
Intuition, Fire and Ice, and perfect for
the fall season or anything masculine, Leonitus.

Somtimes we would sell a blend of tones in roses.
Start with red and then add a dark pink then lighter.
This can be done with any colors. Just mind the shades
of tones and make sure they blend well.

Do not be afraid to try new colors and varieties.
We found that some other people liked the nice
varieties that we sold after they tried them and saw
they were a quality rose also.

Mainly, if the roses start fresh, and are processed
correctly, you will have far better results and much
happier relationships with consumers.

Emergency Hydrating

If you happen to run into a
situation where your roses
have become very dehydrated to the
point of being very wilted you
can always rehydrate them
by soaking or complete submersion.

To do this you can fill the sink or a tub
with cold water, cut the rose stem, and
fully submerge the whole rose and
weigh it down to keep it submerged.
Leave it overnight or for at least 3 - 5
hours and you just might
be a little surprised at how well
the rose will look.

Now this will not work on a rose
that is completely dehydrated to the
point of being dry or crisp feeling.
The best thing to do with those
is to preserve them.

This can be done by drying them or
using a glycerin solution to
preserve them.

This method should really be
considered a last ditch effort.
Sometimes the rose has just dried up to
an extent that no matter what you attempt
it has just become to dry to drink water.


Remember roses are a perishable
item, and only have a certain
amount of life to enjoy. One must
also factor in just how fresh a rose is
as to how long they are going to last.

Some florists use the traditional wholesale
method. Occasionally a wholesaler will
ship older product first. Like the
old adage last in first out.

Hopefully you have a great florist who
watches out for you by making sure they
know where to get the freshest of
roses for you.

Rose Care

A Really important aspect on roses is the care
they receive from the beginning.

Roses are first harvested from the plants in
the fields by the growers at the farm.

The Roses are then sorted by size and
grade, cut, and placed in some water with
either a hydrating solution or in a
container with some floral food and
left to hydrate slowly. Then refrigerated
at a temperature of 34-38 degrees Fahrenheit.

The hydrating solution opens the vascular
system in the rose stem and prepares it
by killing bacteria for the uptake of good
flower food which helps feed the flower
since the roots are no longer feeding the rose.

Some old wives tales suggest using aspirin
in your vase water or Sprite to
help the vase life of the rose. If you had
to pick, Sprite would be the
best, but it really doesn't do much.

Aspirins seem to do nothing whatsoever to
further a rose's vase life. However, we have
found through experimentation of various
methods to prolong rose life that a spoon full
of sugar added to tap water in a bud vase
does seem to prolong the life of a rose in the
event that you do not have the actual floral food.

The proper thing though, is to use a flower
food such as Floralife flower
preservative. Which is available in a
liquid or powder form.

It is unimportant which is used as to
the powder or liquid, just so long
as it is mixed properly according to the
label directions.

Generally we always cut the stems and
immediately placed them in containers with
lukewarm water with the proper amount of
flower food already dissolved in the water.

Rose Thorns

Well, now for the sticky part of the subject.

What should be done about all those thorns?
Thorns are actually a defense mechanism to
protect the rose from being eaten.
Since we are handling them a lot it makes
sense to remove the thorns.

There is a right way and a wrong way to
do this. All roses on the stem's outer
layer has a covering referred to as bark.
This bark is a protective layer for
the core vascular system of the
stem, and if damaged can impede the
water flow of the rose by allowing the
vascular portion to dry out and thereby
not allowing water uptake.
A bit like drinking through a straw
that has been crushed.

With care, a gentle touch, and a very
sharp knife, the thorns can be removed without
damaging the bark. It takes a little
practice, as it is a bit awkward,
but can be mastered relatively easily.

The easiest way to remember how is
to imagine the rose stem is your finger.
Therefore you don't want to hold the
knife edge in a way that it cuts down
into your finger and that you only need
to remove the offensive sharp point.

With a sharp knife this is really easy
to do, and you won't have to push
excessively hard to get the job done.

Proper Rose Cutting

When cutting a Rose stem you expose the fresh
vascular system to air which can
create an air bubble if the stem is
exposed to the air for more than
eight seconds.

When placed in water the air bubble
travels up the stem and
upon reaching the head causes the rose
to wilt prematurely.

Most florists simply use a large
cutter known as a bunch cutter.
A bunch cutter allows one to cut a
whole "bunch" of roses at once.
Draw backs to this method are that
most people often cut the bunch,
lay it down grab another, and so on.
Then they place the flowers in
water which, as we described
earlier, allows air bubbles and
impedes the water uptake.


To extend a rose's vase life, simply
pull the arrangement out, add fresh water
with flower food (mixed as directed), and
recut the stems, placing them back in the
freshened vase of water.

This will remove the clogged lower
portions of the stem, and allow the
roses to drink better, adding life to
your beautiful roses. With these methods,
we experienced customers that told us
of roses lasting two weeks at times.

Another suggestion for keeping roses
longer is to keep them in as cool a place as
possible and away from direct sunlight
and direct heat sources. This will also
greatly add to the vase life of your roses
along with making sure the vase is full of water.

This method can be done every 3 to 4
days which will also help your roses
last better, so you can enjoy their
fresh beauty longer.

Rose Buying Tips

Have you ever wondered what separates
a quality rose from a cheap rose?
Well, let me start by saying we have
been florists for 18 years, and have
learned a thing or two from first hand experience.

First, start with where the rose is grown. We
have found the best quality roses from our
experience have been grown in Ecuador. They
have larger heads, are more fragrant, and have
longer, straighter, and more sturdy stems.

There are so many varieties of roses it
is mind boggling. Generally, the longer
lasting roses are in the red and pink colors.
The shortest vase life in roses, in our
experience has typically been the yellow
and purple varieties.

Further complicating the process, you
can choose between long and short stem
lengths. Over the years the roses have
been sorted by stem length and head size.
The higher quality roses always have a
longer, straighter, stem and a good head size.

How you choose to arrange your roses
or intend to use the roses are what
should determine what to buy,
(i.e. short, long etc.). For instance,
if you are making corsages or a small
vase, short roses work fine. However,
if you wish to show off a little and
go with a dozen roses in a large vase
or something more impressive such as
a funeral spray or a large corporate
arrangement, then of course you will
want to use the longer, nicer ones.

So, just what is a long rose?

Well, let's start with the grades
and sizes. The short roses, or
what I would call a market rose,
(like you see on the corners and
in grocery stores and mass merchandisers)
are usually 40cm long or approximately
15 inches long. These roses generally
don't last as long, and usually aren't
as pretty and shapely as the larger roses
and tend to have lower petal counts.

The more standard size of 50cm, or
about 19 inches are generally a fair
sized rose and more like what you'll
find in a smaller rose arrangement at a
florist or used for corsages. The 50
cm roses are generally a bigger head
with a larger bloom and prettier shape
to them. Now for the higher quality roses,
or what is known as florist quality. These
are 60 - 70 cm or 23 - 27 inches long. This is
what is really considered a long stemmed
rose by florists. Typically this size has
an excellent shaped head and a high petal
count, giving the roses a very firm feel
to them, and the blooms tend to open more
fully. The stems are generally straighter, and
thicker so the rose is fairly sturdy and will
hold up longer in a vase with the proper care.

On occasion, you can find the premium roses
that are 80 cm long or 31 inches or longer.
These are mostly available in the red
varieties. Known for the characteristics
of having very long, straight and really
thick stems (1/4 of an inch or a little better).
Renowned for a superb and shapely head with a
higher petal count, and generally a better
fragrance. Of course, these are going to be
available at a premium price.