You want your flowers to look fresh and beautiful for as long as possible, and your flower cooler is one of the most important florist tools you have to make this happen. But how can you help your cooler do its job and keep your inventory healthy and looking fabulous? Explore our best practices and tips for storage, maintenance, floral presentation, and more.
Set and Maintain the Right Temp
Maintaining your floral cooler's temperature and humidity levels will keep flowers like these looking beautiful.
Setting and maintaining the temperature of your florist cooler should be one of your top priorities. Your flowers need a colder environment than you might expect. Keeping them around 34 to 38 degrees is ideal. Remember, this doesn’t work for all flowers, as tropical blooms like orchids need warmer temperatures to mimic their natural environments. Check the temperature often, as even minor fluctuations will cause your inventory to wither prematurely.
Keep Your Precious Petals Hydrated
Along with a high-humidity environment, your floral cooler bouquets need nutrients like this fresh flower food.
Your precious petals need more than just colder temps. A high-humidity atmosphere (75-85%) is also a must to maintain your flowers' shape, color, and texture. Along with proper moisture, you should have gentle air circulation to avoid drying out your delicate merchandise. Rapid airflow, which you’ll find in typical refrigerators, will shorten the lifespan of your flowers. And don’t forget, your flowers need nutrients! Keep plenty of flower food on hand and prepare your storage containers appropriately.
Enjoy Lasting Arrangements with a Clean Florist Flower Cooler
Just as you wouldn’t want to bathe in dirty water, your flowers also prefer and thrive in a clean environment. Dirty containers can be a breeding ground for bacteria. Avoid reusing containers without properly sanitizing them. You should also sweep the floors and shelves of your florist flower cooler daily to remove detached and decaying petals and leaves. And, of course, keep the glass clean so your customers can see your incredible arrangements!
Create Eye-Catching Displays with Color Blocking
Maintaining your floral cooler's temperature and humidity levels will keep flowers like these looking beautiful.
You know you need a cool and humid environment, but how should you display your inventory for the greatest impact? One preferred method is color blocking. Grouping flowers of a similar color creates a bold, eye-catching display. They don’t have to be all the same type, as an assortment of flowers adds intrigue with different bloom sizes and textures. You can even incorporate complementary or contrasting colors side-by-side for added appeal. And don’t forget about using vases to attract customers’ attention.
If your cooler holds elaborate bouquets, you’ll find floral foam or specialty products like the Holly Chapple Pillow invaluable in keeping stems exactly where you want them.
Additional Tips for Your Florist Cooler
Once you have your florist cooler set at the proper temperature and humidity levels, you’ll be well on your way to maximizing the lifespan of your stock. But you can do a few other things to encourage proper health and beauty. Consider these additional tips:
- Avoid overstuffing flowers in buckets or other containers - give them room to breathe!
- Use sharp tools when cutting flowers and be careful not to compress stems.
- Only remove foliage that will be below the water level.
- Remove flowers showing signs of disease immediately.
- Check your flowers several times daily to ensure all stems have access to nutrients.
- Always handle flowers with care and avoid picking them up by the blooms.