VASE ARRANGEMENT
Water: Change water daily with room temperature water for maximum enjoyment.
Light: Keep florals out of direct sun. Indirect bright light is best.
Air: Keep in a cool, well-ventilated space away from hot and cold drafts. An air-conditioned environment will help flowers last longer when temperatures exceed 70 degrees.
Refresh: Some flowers and foliage in your arrangement may outlive others. Simply remove the freshest parts, then cut and arrange them into a clean, sterile vase with fresh water.
WRAPPED BOUQUETS & ROSES
Remove the wrapped packaging and moss hydration from the ends of the stems.
Prepare a vase with room temperature to warm water.
Add flower food and stir.
Remove any foliage that will be below the water line.
Give the ends of the stems a cut at an angle and place into the vase.
Keep out of heat, direct sun, and drafts.
Change water every other day for maximum enjoyment.
FRESH FLORAL FAQS
Refrigeration: We don’t recommend putting your florals in your home fridge unless it’s completely devoid of fruits and vegetables. Most fruits and veggies emit ethylene gas which shortens the life of and browns most flowers. For this reason, we don’t arrange with fruits & veggies unless requested.
How-to Sterilize a Vase: Hand wash with dish soap until all slimy parts and debris are completely gone. Air or towel dry. Take a 50/50 isopropyl alcohol/water solution and saturate freshly washed vase with a spray bottle on mist setting, or saturate a paper towel and wipe down. Let the solution set for 5-10 minutes, rinse and pat dry.
Water Temperature: A general rule of thumb is to use warm to almost hot water for woody/brown and hard stems, and cool to cold water for fleshy/soft bright green stems. If you’re unsure which temperature to use, simply stick with room temperature water.
How-to Refresh: Fill a clean, sterile vase with the correct water temperature for your florals, set aside. Make sure no foliage is submerged to avoid bacterial growth and murky water. All foliage should be above the opening of the vase. Cut your stem with sharp, sterile gardening sheers or floral knife at a 45 degree angle to maximize water absorption. The shorter you cut your flowers, the longer they will live.
ORCHID PLANTS
Light: Medium, indirect to low light. Keep out of direct sun.
Air: Paphs generally will withstand temperatures ranging from 90-40 degrees. The ideal temperature is similar to ours: 60s at night, 70s during the day. Keep out of direct sun, hot and cold drafts.
Water: with a spray bottle on mist setting, spritz about 10 times at the base of the orchid below the foliage every 2 weeks. Your lady slipper has come in a potting media of bark and sphagnum moss and in an enclosed container without drainage. To avoid root rot, avoid overwatering.
Phalaenopsis “Moth” (Classic Orchid & Mini Orchid)
Light: Keep in a bright, indirect light environment. Keep out of direct sun or in dark environments.
Air: 65-80 degrees is ideal for Phalaenopsis orchids, but they will tolerate slightly more or less. A good rule of thumb is: if you’re comfortable, it’s likely they’ll be comfortable. Keep out of hot and cold drafts.
Water: Ideally, allow the orchid to almost dry out between waterings while in its current potting media. Overwatering is the most common mistake people make with this plant. Err on the side of caution and treat it more like a succulent. Less is better. With a water bottle on mist setting, spritz between 15-20 times at the base of the plant below the foliage every 2-3 weeks. Make sure not to get any water on the crown or leaves of the plant. Use a paper towel to dry off the crown or leaves if watered by accident.
DO NOT USE ICE CUBES. Ice cubes should never be used as a watering method if you plan to keep your plant post-flower. Most orchids are tropical and epiphytic or lithophytic in nature, meaning they live in warm environments attached to trees or rocks with their root systems exposed absorbing moisture from the air. Ice cubes will shock their root systems and slowly kill the plant. The spray bottle method is the best for watering.
Oncidium Hybrids:
Light: Oncidium orchids like bright light environments. They like direct morning sun, but avoid direct noon-till-evening sun. Can be kept in a direct sunny spot if filtered through a mesh curtain.
Water: Oncidium like to stay moist, but not sopping wet. WIth a spray bottle, mist 10 times per week. Adjust as necessary if you notice the aerial roots or top soil is dry/too wet. The pseudobulbs should be plump, never wrinkly.
Air: Fresh air circulation is ideal. Keep away from cold and hot drafts. Oncidium’s ideal temperature is around 64 at night to 85 during the day. If the environment is comfortable for you, it’s likely that it’s perfect for your Oncidium. In the long term, this evening temperature drop will help induce blooming again.
POST-FLOWER ORCHIDS
Fertilizing: A good general rule of thumb would be weakly weekly using an all-purpose orchid food mix. Following the directions the fertilizer came with, simply divide by its instructions to suit weekly watering during the active growing season (spring through summer.) For instance: 1/4 teaspoon fertilizer to one gallon water every two weeks = 1/8 teaspoon to one gallon water every week. Don’t fertilize during dormant seasons. (autumn-winter.)
Maintenance: Dust the upper part of the leaves with a dry paper towel or rag. Never touch or wipe beneath the leaves as touching can clog its pores, losing its ability to “breath.” Do not cut off aerial roots (roots growing outside of the potting media), they absorb moisture and are plan b for the orchid if it loses some of its primary roots. Pinch off or snip dead buds as they appear.
Repotting: When the orchid has finished blooming, it’s a good time to repot with fresh media if you wish to continue caring for it. The media your plant should be repotted with is the same that it came in. Phalaenopsis typically come in compact sphagnum moss. Paphiopedilum, 90% orchid bark, 10% sphagnum. Oncidium, 50% bark 50% sphagnum. Trim off any dead roots and foliage and repot into the same or slightly larger sized pot with multiple drain holes.