Best Care for Hydrangeas?

 Question: Do you have any recommendations for keeping hydrangeas in hand tied wedding bouquets fresh all day?  We haven't had any problems in the past but we want to be sure that we're doing our best for our customers!Thank you!!!Answer: I've show how to apply ARRIVE ALIVE to a wedding bouquet several times on uBloom… Arrive Alive is a perfect water supply resource... for hydrangeas at any time...It’s also important that you are buying the best quality Hydrangea you can for your wedding and events… sometimes people will be tempted to go with a lower prices hydrangea… but it’s absolutely key to find a great supplier…Arrive Alive provides an excellent water source.. and we also have a video that explains how to use Arrive Alive as a water supply on your wedding bouquets...We suggest GroFlowers- they have an amazing selection of Hydrangeas… (you’ll see them on uBloom and in some upcoming videos)… it’s not just the selection though… it’s about the care and handling the hydrangeas get from the field… all the way through the shipping process … until they arrive at your door. Jaime and his team at GroFlowers work with the best farms, harvesting techniques, cold chain (that means the flowers go directly into water when cut, are graded, packaged and processed under refrigeration- and travel under refrigeration… it’s an important process that insures that the hydrangea you receive has been cared for… all along the way!I’ve had their hydrangeas last for 3 weeks… on my dining room table… it’s an incredible testament to their quality and flowers..Let’s talk just a little about care and handling… when my hydrangeas arrive… (from GroFlowers)… I unpack them… and cut each stem with a sharp knife… I don’t use bunch cutters or table cutters.. I cut each flower individually…. and place them in Chrysal Rose Pro Hydration formula … I then place the bucket of hydrangeas in the cooler immediately for SLOW HYDRATION… the water temperature is also ICE COLD…I ready the solution the day before in my buckets and place in the cooler… then the water is nice and cold… that also helps with hydration…after 3 hours of COLD HYDRATION I move them to a bucket of Chrysal Professional #2… it’s a holding solution… and it’s also cold… prepared the night before… and then I can store them until needed…Since I started this process… I don’t have hydrangea go down… but If I did… I would cut the stem again… and place the end of the stem in powdered ALUM… a pickling spice you can get at the grocery store… then back into the COLD Water with Rose Pro Hydration solution…I NEVER soak the heads under water… it’s an urban legend that this is helpful… but it just causes your flowers to expire faster… it seems to work for the moment…but it causes undo damage to the flowers…Recap… Be sure your FLOWER Seller is getting good quality Hydrangeas (I like GroFlowers and recommend them)Unbox, remove plastic sleeve, and cut with a sharp knife…Place immediately into Chrysal Rose Pro- Hydration Solution (COLD Temp) and place in the cooler for 3 hours…After 3-18 hours… (they can stay in the hydration solution for up to 18 hours)… then they go into Chrysal Professional #2 Solution…It’s an easy process.. and the success rate is tremendous… I do hope this helps… have a Flower Filled Day my Friend!