Commercial Floriculture

Vase-life

• Orchid flowers, though long-lasting, should properly be handled to ensure minimum shelf life.
  
• Immediately after arrival, the lower 0.75 cm of the peduncle is cut off, and the flower is inserted into a fresh tube of water containing preservative.
  
• In case of spray-type of orchids, the basal 2.5cm of the stem is cut upon arrival, placed in warm water at 38o C with a preservative and hardened off at 5o C.
  
• In cut-flower industry the major chemical environmental pollutant affecting senescence is ethylene.
  
• Orchid flowers are very sensitive ethylene and proper management and control of ethylene and ethylene like pollutants are important for the success of the industry.
  
• Foliar application of aluminum chloride at 500ppm, ammonium molybdate at 100ppm or boric acid at 1000ppm extends the vase-life of Oncidium foldiana.
  
• Hydroxyquinoline resulted in additional bloom opening of the flowers and also increased the vase-life.