The 2nd edition of ‘What Cut Flower is That? The Essential Care and Handling Guide for Cut Flower Professionals’ – available now
This essential learning resource, especially compiled for floristry students, teachers and everyone who handles fresh cut flowers has been fully updated and expanded in this new edition. It is now available for purchase at www.whatcutfloweristhat.com.au.
Most of the book is the A-Z listing of cut flower and foliage profiles. Each profile runs through key features of the product – common and botanical names, seasonal availability, vase life, stem length, typical bunch size, colour range, buying tips, care and handling, which floral preservatives to use, ethylene sensitivity, temperature requirements, design uses in floristry and any special advice. Each profile includes one or more photos to aid identification.
The 2nd edition includes 119 cut flower and 36 foliage profiles, and 13 of these are new. Included are 24 Australian native flowers and 15 foliage products plus eight South African flower and foliage products for which key information has previously been hard to find.
Coloured tabs on the page margins help the reader to locate profiles of Australian natives (blue), South African species (green), orchids (pink) and tropical products (orange).
New photos have been added throughout.
A unique feature of the book is the handy charts which allow readers to quickly find the season of availability and colour range of many, many products. These are:
The Quick Guide to Seasonal Flowers and Foliage lists traditional, South African and Australian Wildflowers, Orchids and Tropical Flowers by their common and botanical names, season and colour range. There are separate Quick Guides to Australian Native Flowers and Native Foliage Products and a chart of ethylene sensitive flowers.
A detailed section on flower care outlines the key information about care and handling fresh cut flowers and how to avoid potential problems. There is extensive information on improving and maximizing flower life. Key practices to maximize quality and customer satisfaction are described including flower maturity, cooling and cool rooms, hydration and vase solutions, and care of ethylene sensitive products. Emerging issues in floristry are outlined. The particular protections applying to Australian native species in the floristry trade are explained. A key section discusses the problem of weeds and common environmental weeds florists should avoid. Special care required by orchids and tropical species is discussed in detail.
The first edition quickly earned a reputation as the essential training, purchasing, and marketing resource, and was recommended by floristry teachers for their students, becoming the ‘go to reference’ for students entering the WildFlowers Australia National Student Floristry Competition. Florists at all levels embraced the information.
In 2022 the authors secured an exclusive license agreement with the publisher of the first edition, trading as Agrifutures Australia, to self-publish, market, advertise and distribute ‘What Cut Flower is That?’.
Key points:
What Cut Flower is That edition 2 is available as a soft cover book and as a downloadable digital copy. In addition, a downloadable bundle of 3 posters, the quick guides that appear in the book and the list of ethylene sensitive flowers, can be purchased – these can be printed and laminated for quick reference, to be kept on the work bench or wall mounted in the classroom, florist shop or farm.
Bettina Gollnow
