souptin

pinkdocmartens

Hey! My wedding is this weekend and I ordered wholesale flowers just for our centerpieces..

Any tips for caring for the following (FYI we pick the flowers up tomorrow)
- Carnations
- Roses
- Freesia
- Gypsophila
- Lily
-Craspedia


Thanks!!!!!!!!!

souptin

Oh My goodness Congrats on your weekend being here already!!

I am not sure what shape the flowers will be in when you get them so I will give you general advice.

The Freesia(I LOVE freesia fyi) , carnations craspedia and Gyp should be no problem at all, just give the stem a little trim and put them in buckets of water with some space so they can fully open up and stretch out.

The roses may need a touch of work. Wholesale roses are not prepped at all and will require a bit of space because they are generally bunched super tight together ( I was amazed when I saw such a small package and was told 25 roses were in it)  they need room to open up
Once you unpack them you will notice they (almost always) still have thorns on them and a LOT of extra green leaves that you dont need. I suggest investing in a rose stripper ( they shouldn't cost you more then $10)
The outer petals of the rose should also be removed. they are kind of like "protector petals" and do not look that nice.
Also its important to trim the stem on an angle and put them in water ASAP so they can start to open up fully.
If you find the roses are not opening up quick enough a little trick is to add some warm water into the buckets you are keeping them in. not boiling water just warm water.

Lilys which I LOVE also and am using in my wedding are also tricky to use. its hard to tell you how to handle them if you dont say what kind they are....calla lily's shouldn't need much work, just remove the cotton thats in them, take them out of the plastic and let them breath in a LOT of water-they suck a lot of liquid so keep an eye on not letting them go thirsty.
Stargazer lilys or Casablanca lilys need much more work and are much more sensitive.
If thats what you got and they are still tight and unopened you have your work cut out for you and I will keep my fingers crossed that you can get them prepped in time.

first you will need to trim the stem and put them in water. Warm water if they are closed tight. next put a garbage bag or dark coloured plastic over them and place them in the sun
then cross your fingers they start to open up. every couple of hours you need to check on them to make sure they are opening up and not too much condensation is building on the plastic because lilys rot and discolour super easily.
Once you get them open remove all the lily pollen ( we call it  lily poop haha) it should just pull off easily with a gentle tug. Be careful you dont stain your hands with it...maybe wear gloves because it will leave yellow/brown marks on you if you are not careful.

I think that covers it.  I hope this info helps. You obviously have great taste because I LOVE your choices! haha
let me know if you have any other questions, i'll pop back on and check TK later today

Happy wedding weekend otherwise!!

estimi

I can't beat that kind of detailed post, just a note, roses (and a lot of flowers) keep very well in the fridge, so you get your flowers and once your pieces are done put them in the fridge, best clear it out of fruits and vegetables that are ripe, they give off gas that encourages other things to ripen. 

souptin

PS I am dying to know how they turned out! ...mind posting pics of the finished product? (souptin says with great hope)