CUT BLOOMS.

Shannon News, 29 September 1922, Page 2

CUT BLOOMS.

SOME POINTS FOR PRESERVATION

Now that gardens are beginning

show promise of the beauty of spring, gay with masses of violet and yellow, varied with the moorland beauty of boronia and heath, and the elusive

pinks of the fruit blossoms, some information with regard to the cutting and care of flowers for indoor decoration may not come amiss. Points to be remembered, first of all, are that-all flowers for cutting should be selected

in their late bud stage, or before they axe full opened; that - practically all blooms last longer if the foliage is re-moved-separate sprays .of foliage

may be used and renewed if tho blooms outlast them; and that the vases should be emptied each day and refilled with fresh water. If slime has collected around the stems, they should be washed carefully, and a

piece about half an inch long cut off the stem. If this length of stem cannot be spared, the stem should bo split for a distance of half an inch the fiist day, more the second, and so on. Flowers used for evening decoration

only will keep fresh for nearly three times as long if during the hours of daylight they arc put away in th« vases in a dark cellar or kept closely

confined in a box. When the blooms show signs of beginning to fade, they will revive if the inside of tho box is damped and the box made airtight, so that the air surrounding them becomes saturated with moisture. Flowers on hard stems, like roses, may be revived

by putting the stems into, scalding hot water, but the blooms should be wrapped in soft tissue paper to protect them from the steam.

Sweet peas should be gathered in the early morning v r hile wet with dew. Daffodils, irises, and pansies should also be cut early, and the buds taken just as they arc opening. On the contrary, gladioli last best if picked.late in the afternoon, and spikes with three or four blossoms open should be selected. They should be left in the sun for ten minutes after cutting before they are put into water. Poppies should be cut in the early morning, just as the blooms are opening, and the end of each stem held in the flame of a candle or a gas jet, and charred thoroughly, not merely singed. The stems of roses and most blossoms with hard woody stalks .should be scraped a good way up from the cut end before putting them into water. Dahlias should be treated in the same way, and the stems placed in hot water. When the Avater has cooled they should be placed upright in a dark place for several hours before they are arranged in the vases. Violets, tulips, snowdrops, and all blooms with soft, sappy steins last best if they are arranged in moss that has been well moistened.