Prevent Botrytis: A Silent Killer for Flowers
Botrytis is deemed as one of the most destructive elements associated with wholesale flowers. What is botrytis and why is it so harmful? It is bacteria that sharply reduces the vase life of many flowers. You might notice dark brown spots appear on petals or the softening of stems. These infections can lead to a loss in business and hard-ache for customers.
How can we help to reduce botrytis from endangering our wholesale flowers? Here at Main Wholesale Florist we want to help educate our customers on this topic. Follow these simple steps to help manage and reduce outbreaks:
Have the ability to identify botrytis
First, you must know the physical characteristics and signs that your flowers might have been infected. You will first see small dots or staining on its petals and leaves. If the stems look limp or the petals lose their vibrancy, your flowers might be affected. Be quick to notice botrytis and respond because once it hits, the illness will spread fast. Take extra care of botrytis-prone flowers such as delphinium and snapdragons
Inspect Flowers and clean work areas
As a retail florist, you will have a trained eye when it comes to selecting great flowers for your shop. Look over each stem carefully before hydrating your flowers and make sure the water is clean. Wash your hands as you can transmit botrytis by touch as well. The bacteria can hide in foliage. Remove any leaves that seem to be compromised. Be sure to keep your work spaces clean and sanitize all buckets thoroughly to minimize transmission.
Remove all plastic and other packaging
The presence of moisture and condensation creates a breeding ground for botrytis. When plastic sleeves are kept on bunches of flowers, air cannot flow and humidity begins to build creating the perfect environment for any bacteria to thrive.
We hope that this helps in the pursuit to provide the freshest and highest quality wholesale flowers to customers as possible. If you have any other helpful tips connect with us on our Facebook page. You can also visit us at our New Jersey and New York locations. Flowers can be delivered directly to your retail location using our Flower Express program.
Recent Comments