Everybody loves a beautiful bouquet of flowers but let’s face it. After a couple of days, the flowers start to wilt and then you have a depressing reminder that not only do you have to throw away the beautiful gift that somebody gave you, but also that you can't keep flowers alive. Both things will ruin your day.

If this is the case then fear not, you are not alone my friend, and you should be happy to know that there is a secret to remedying this situation. In order to know how to fix the problem, we must know why it happens. 

The secret is in the ability for water to travel up the capillaries of the stem. These capillaries are like little straws that direct the water to all the different parts of the flower. 

In order for a flower to keep standing tall and strong, these capillaries need to remain unclogged and full of water. Stuff like dirt, air pockets, and nasty bacteria are all capable of cutting off the flowers supply of water.

So how do we prevent the water supply from being cut off? 

The answer is in the PH (or the acidity) of the water your flowers are in. PH is measured on a scale of 1 to 14. The lower the PH of the water, the more acidic that it is. 

There is a sweet spot for most flowers. A PH of about 3.5 to 5.0 is ideal. Having slightly acidic water is good for the flowers because not only does it kill all that bacteria blocking the stems, but it also makes the water travel through the capillaries of the flower more easily, thus keeping clear of dirt and air pockets.

Now you may be wondering, how do I lower the PH of my flower’s water?  

There are a few ways of doing this, both DIY and commercially. One common way is by adding a little bit of vinegar to the flowers water but be warned. Vinegar is very acidic and has a PH of about 2. This is much too acidic for flowers and can possibly kill them faster than if you left it out completely. 

Also it is not good to give flowers continuous exposure because the acid may possibly weaken the flower's steams, even if in the appropriate PH range. That’s why I recommend using a commercial product designed for flowers.

Floralife® QuickDip is a product that we use on every flower brought into our shop here at TCG Floral, and it is so easy to use.

QUICK DIP INSTRUCTIONS

1. Pour 1 to 2 inches of QuickDip in a non-metallic clean container (No need to dilute the solution, you can use it right out of the bottle)
2. Dip the newly cut flower stems in it for about 1 second
3. Place the flower in a clean vase filled with a mix of clean water and floral solution

And that’s it! So easy, just like I told you. No worrying about killing your flowers with vinegar, just a second or two to dip you flower and you are done!

BONUS!

Here are some Pro Tips when using QuickDip:

• Get it Here: https://www.tcgfloral.com/tcg-floral-floralife-quickdip-16oz-bottle/
• Do not pour used fluid back into container (you may contaminate your solution)
• Do not use with metal cups, or leave any metal in contact with solution
• Perfect to use with your fresh cut flowers (Obviously if you want your flowers to last longer)
• Great for all flowers (especially Roses, Gerberas, Lilac Blooms, and Hydrangeas

Many times we get asked about offering "Free Shipping" on every item, every time.

BUT IS IT REALLY FREE?

While we do offer Free Shipping on other marketplace shopping sites, we have chosen to use a fair, honest calculation of shipping charges on TCGfloral.com.

This likely benefits our customers who are buying more than one item, and would like the advantage of combined shipping costs.

In a recent review of orders we received from our marketplace sales, we were amazed at the real cost of "free shipping"!

Consider a popular item Milton-Adler Diamond Pixie Pins People often buy several packs of these. But say you were to buy 10 packs, all with free shipping?

Our customer would have saved a whopping $30.90 by taking advantage of our low shipping rates on TCGfloral.com!

This is a great way to add a custom yet personal touch to flower arrangements and table settings.

There are wonderful options for this design element from talented makers of small-batch ribbon collections sold online or thru their shops on Etsy (one of our favorite places to shop!!!)

To really add a distinctive touch to your wedding the newest way to get a custom colors or widths is to dye-your-own. If you plan ahead you can plant a textile lover’s dye garden employing perennials, annuals and herbs known to produce beautiful hues.

Check out the following books as resources THE MODERN NATURAL DYER by Kristine Vejar or NATURAL COLOR by Sasha Duerr, these two talented ladies are teaching timeless textile dyeing methods that can help with this process.

If you don’t have time to grow plants and dye your own items(because face it who does???) there are many florists learning this art and they can help you create a custom look for your ribbons, napkins etc. and as an add on service to your wedding floral arrangements. 

Natural herbs and kitchen pantries can yield colors ranging from soft and subtle blushes to vibrant indigo. With seasonally harvested botanicals nature’s bounty continues to elevate floral designs to a whole new level and we anticipate that floral artists will continue to “personalize” textiles with petals seeds, leaves or bark to expand the boundaries of color.

This makes an exciting new trend and we look forward to seeing the creativity of our customers!

Smithers-Oasis Wet Floral Foam has been the industry standard for over 60 years. It comes in bricks, shapes, and forms for creating all types of floral beauty. Like many revolutionary products, it had an "accidental" start...

Vernon Lewis Smithers was a chemist in Akron Ohio in the early 1950's. One of his customers, Union Carbide, had invented a rigid foam product that was light and crushable. The problem was no one knew what to do with it! Vernon was intrigued and since he wanted to manufacture something he decided to purchase the equipment and rights to this weird foam and figure out a use for it.

No one is quite sure how he made the jump from this odd foam to flowers- one thought is he may have purchased flowers for his wife and on one occasion while looking at an arrangement he had a brain storm!

"If I could get water into the foam, perhaps it could be used as a base for the arrangements"
(Before this invention florists used everything from chicken wire and newspaper to wire and glass).

With some experimentation he was able to develop a formulation that would hold 95% water, which allowed cut flowers to be supported and hydrated.

In 1953 at the age of 64, Vernon filed for a patent and set up production in Kent Ohio. 

Sometime after Vernon's passing in 1973, Smither's employee Charlie Walton (who later purchased the Smithers Oasis company) along with his friend Paul Ecke Jr. (a famous California poinsettia grower) developed a new Oasis product called Rootcubes and Rootcube wedges. These products revolutionized the growing industry as a lightweight inert medium that made shipping cuttings much easier and less expensive.

Vernon never knew how important his invention would become for the grower industry just like it had been in the florist industry. In 1985 he was posthumously awarded the Leland T. Kintzele Distinguished Service Award by WFFSA. In 1987 he was inducted into the SAF's Floriculture Hall of Fame and in 1998 he was profiled in a special exhibit at the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Fitting praise for the man who turned the "unwanted foam" into the wet floral foam everyone wants: