How to Care for Cut Flowers in Freezing Weather

Receiving Your Orders

When picking up flowers from your favorite Mayesh Wholesale location, load boxes quickly to and from your vehicle. If your orders are being delivered by us, you don’t need to worry because Mayesh owned vehicles are all climate-controlled. However, if you pick up your orders with a vehicle that does not have climate control, here are some tips to help keep your flowers safe from the chill. 

1. Turn the heat up & keep it running! (but don’t cook them) When you pick up, keep your car running, it does not take long for cars to cool down in these cold climates. 
2. Use thermal blankets or packaging to retain warmth.
3. If these temps are normal for your region, it might be worth investing in insulating lining or panels for the cargo area of your flower transport vehicles. 
4. Pack your flower boxes tightly together during transport. This helps decrease the empty spaces that allow cold air pockets.
5. Cover the boxes with blankets or any insulating materials. Make sure to secure whatever you use well, so the insulation stays in place during transit.
6. If you are transferring your flowers in water, insulate the sides of flower buckets by lining them with insulating materials before adding water and blooms. This slows heat transfer. Yeah, science! 

Processing Your Flowers

Once you have safely gotten your flowers to your shop, immediately move flowers into your temperature-controlled area and remove any protective packaging or blankets.

1. If your flowers were transported in water, change out the water. If the water froze, give your flowers warmer water to help them recover. Water should be 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit to provide hydration and restore any chilled flowers. 
2. Don’t forget your flower food as well. 
3. Processing your flowers is no different - trim 1-2 inches off the stems and remove any additional areas that might have frozen.
4. Once your flowers are back to the correct temperature, keep them in 30-40 degrees for optimal vase life.

Your Flower Displays 

When displaying your flowers in your shop that are less weather-secured than needed, here are a few notes to keeping your flowers fresh. 

1. Keep flowers displayed in the warmest areas, ideally 35-38°F. Avoid direct contact with cooler fans/vents.
2. Mist flowers regularly with a spray bottle of warm water. This helps prevent petal edges from drying in heated display areas.
3. Monitor water levels diligently to be sure water stays fresh and bacteria-free. Replenish vases with properly warmed water.
4. For events, encourage recipients to display flower arrangements in warmer spots indoors. Advise keeping vases away from drafts and vents.
5. During closing hours, consolidate floral displays into one central, less-cold location if possible. This prevents exposure to freezing.

Making Your Deliveries

For your own delivery needs to your customers, here are some additional ideas to help keep the flowers as safe as possible during the delivery phase. 

1. Have your drivers keep the delivery vehicles running when making deliveries, and remember to start your vehicles 15 - 20 mins before you start to load the deliveries to allow the interior to reach a warmer temp.
2. Remind drivers to limit the opening doors/cargo area of the vehicle. Only open briefly when necessary during loading/unloading stops.
3. Have drivers regularly check flower cargo during long-distance transports to verify flowers are not freezing and to make sure the temperatures of your vehicles are optimal at all times. The last thing you need is to have a malfunctioning heater during a snowstorm.
4. Consider using a satellite/GPS tracking device on flower shipments so you can monitor deliveries and be sure there are no unnecessary delays under freezing conditions.

Ongoing Care

For leftover inventory needing refrigeration, group flower boxes together rather than spreading apart. This reduces cold air reaching all surfaces of the flowers. Make sure you are monitoring inventory closely for signs of chilling like wilting or premature leaf yellowing. Quickly move affected flowers to a warmer area. Lastly, remember, remember, remember to change the hydration solution & recut stems every 2 days for chilling stressed flowers rather than every 3-4 days.

With extra care protection, hydrating, and nurturing, flowers affected by freezing temps can still have decent display life indoors. Handle each shipment a bit differently based on exposure.