The Persnickety Hydrangea
By LF | June 18, 2009
Blue Hydrangea
One of the BEST selling and most popular flowers for wedding arrangements, the hydrangea has many fine characteristics. They are grown in hot houses and are thus available year-round. Hydrangea come in three or more sizes from mini to jumbo. They are available in a wide array of single and multi-color varieties. Wholesale Hydrangea are also very reasonably priced when you consider how few stems are needed for even a large an arrangement.
So why The Persnickety Hydrangea? It stems (pun intended) from the flower’s insatiable need to be hydrated at all times. Most flowers sold and transported through the wholesale market survive just fine without water while being keep cool. The hydrangea cannot tolerate being dry and must be shipped with water. Once removed from cooling, the hydrangea must be re-hydrated with a fresh stem cut and in some cases additional steps must be taken to get the flower taking water again. Hydrangea only have two states, they are either full fluffy balls of soft petals or completely limp, collapsed and useless for display. Some professionals perform flower CPR on wilted hydrangea by cutting the stem up the center, or smashing the end of the stem, and some even bath the entire stem and flower in warm water to revive them.
So remember the next time you see a beautiful arrangement of white, blue, green, or pink hydrangea, just how they got their nick name!
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You touched on it briefly but, if they’re not too far gone, wilting hydrangeas can be revived by the “hot water method”.
Pour boiling water into a container. Cut the stem with floral scissors or a very sharp knife and hold the bottom few inches of the stem in the hot water. After about 30 seconds, return the stem to room temp water. This will help the hydrangea begin drinking again. It may take a few hours but, hopefully, you’ll see the bloom perk back up.
Nice!