Few flowers hold greater delight for the flower arranger than the Christmas rose.
Many are how it can be used in the house — with the smooth green of laurel or hemlock when flowers are newly open and sparkling white, with golden false-cypress when stamens are fat and yellow, with lustrous leucothoe and mahonia as flowers change to rosy tones or with houseplant foliage in mid-winter when sepals are green and seed-pods plump.
Proper Handling Of Cut Flowers
With proper handling, the cut flowers will last 10 or more days. Take a jar of water into the garden and place the stems when cutting the blooms.
Frozen steel can also be cut if handled gently and not bruised. The flowers should then be hardened overnight in deep water in a cold place.
Complete immersion of the blooms for hardening will remove some translucence, and the same can be done with other hellebores.
With Lenten roses, the period should be shorter, while the green Helleborus foetidus and H. Viridis require a longer period. Leaves should never be cut since they need a full season to develop.
Use Deep Containers
Deep containers that allow stems to stand in 2″ or 3″ inches of water are best, and moisture-holding material should be avoided.
When shallow containers are used, the pin holder containing the arrangement should be lifted and placed in deeper water at night.
Any grouping of Christmas roses will last longer if placed where the air is fresh and cool during the night.
When flowers droop indoors, slice a bit off the stem and place them in cold water.
44659 by Mildred Van D. Luedy