Market Farming

["Carol Larsen" <sunborn AT mhtc.net>]

I have never tried 'out of water 'flower travel except for tulips I took on a plane last May. I know that you can easily pick up the big  cardboard boxes that florists get from growers/wholesalers. Just call and ask them to save them for you. I think many have a problem disposing of them and would be happy to let you have them. The boxes come in so many sizes.. full box, half box and who knows what all.  I have florist save me the procona buckets they get when flowers are shipped in water. The procona are rectangle with a hand hole cut in the two short end.'Half' ones make it easy to pick up two at time.

Ok back to the boxes... I know that usually the flowers come to the florists packed with heads at either end and the stem ends in the middle of the length. Then bags of ice or flexible cooled gel bags are placed in the middle over the stems. Sometimes you are lucky and can find a box that has Styrofoam lining or is made from Styrofoam itself but I have not seen those for some years.

With the tulips I used a box that some plants had arrived in ... it was Styrofoam lined but it was only 28-30" long, perfect for tulips. I even used those rigid gel packs on the bottom and top. The tulips went in length wise with stuffed newspaper around them to keep them from shifting. An extra piece of very thin Styrofoam was placed on top then I closed it up and taped it well. The airlines still opened it up but the tulips arrived perfect even with a transfer in Detroit and made it to my son's wedding reception in Raleigh NC, over 1000 miles trip.

Still, the flowers going into the boxes should be fully hydrated and cooled at least overnight in a cooler for the best result. And when unpacked they will need to be recut and placed in water right away before the temperature can climb or the end result could be flowers that last much less than expected.

This is a suggestion... perhaps others have a better way?

Carol Larsen
Sunborn Gardens
608 437 3966