LA Retail Florist Exam Content 2024

LA Retail Florist Exam Content 2024 first and foremost basic need of cut flowers -Answer-water second basic need of cut flowers -Answer-food factors affecting quality of cut flowers (7) -Answer-1. production 2. transpiration 3. floral food 4. temperature 5. humidity 6. ethylene 7. microbial activity effect of harvesting flowers too soon/cutting flowers prior to harvest stage -Answer- flowers will have difficulty opening and maturing properly and tight buds will never open effect of harvesting flowers too late/cut past their prime harvest stage -Answer-reduced vase life because flowers are too mature natural loss of water in plants and flowers through stomata -Answer-transpiration energy source for the flower -Answer-commercial floral food; sugar temperature that would accommodate most flowers -Answer-36 - 40 degrees recommended amount of humidity for most flowers stored in the refrigerator -Answer- 90% ways to minimize ethylene damage (6) -Answer-1. STS pre-treatment 2. ethylene block treatment 3. removal of damaged and unhealthy tissue 4. keep refrigerator clean from old flowers and foliage 5. do not store fruits, vegetables, or evergreens in the refrigerator 6. cooler temperatures of 40 degrees F and below How does microbial activity reduce vase life of cut flowers? -Answer-plugging the stem of flowers reducing the water intake capacity ways to prevent and keep microbial activity damage to a minimum (2) -Answer-1. good sanitation: washing buckets after each use with bleach or bucket wash, washing refrigerator floor once per week, removing foliage from lower stem that would be underwater in the storage container 2. proper use of commercial floral food 3 main ingredients of commercial floral food -Answer-1. sugar 2. bio-inhibitor 3. acidifier 2 commonly used bio-inhibitors in commercial floral food -Answer-8-hydroxyquinoline citrate (HQC) and Physan ideal pH of acidic water -Answer-3.5 - 5.0 Why use and invest in commercial floral food? (3) -Answer-1. commercial floral food is scientifically blended to the correct proportions of sugar, bio-inhibitor, and acidifier 2. commercial floral food is 40-80% more effective in extending vase life 3. commercial floral foods are much less expensive, especially when used on a large scale Why use commercial floral food if turnover of flowers is rapid? -Answer-keeping customers satisfied and providing an excellent product procedure used prior to the normal usage of floral food -Answer-pre-treatment procedure used after the flowers are already processed in a floral food solution - Answer-post-treatment What is STS? -Answer-silver thiosulfate environmentally friendly treatment that prevents negative effects of ethylene gas that comes in a powdered form and released as a gas and can treat large quantities of flowers at one time -Answer-MCP (1-methyleopropene); EthylBloc lowers pH of water without creating a toxic environment for the flower -Answer-citric acid What does rapid hydration/water uptake using citric acid pre-treatment accomplish? (2) -Answer-1. flowers will be completely turgid (full of water) in the shortest time possible 2. completely saturated flowers creates a clean, unobstructed pathway for the follow-up procedure using floral food How long does the first type of treatment procedure for citric acid take? -Answer-1 hour What is the procedure for the first type of citric acid treatment? -Answer-Place freshly cut stem in citric acid solution and stand at room temperature for an hour and then place in high quality floral food solution and put in refrigerator. Do not recut stems prior to placing in the floral food solution. What is the procedure for the second type of citric acid treatment (quick dip)? -Answer- Dip freshly cut stems into the quick dip citric acid solution for 1-2 seconds and then transfer to floral food solution without recutting stems. act of preparing flowers and foliages for use in designs -Answer-processing Types of flower and foliage processing procedures (6) -Answer-1. regular processing 2. underwater cutting processing 3. soaking and submerging processing 4. woody stem processing 5. foliage processing 6. forcing processing Regular Processing of Flowers steps (5) -Answer-1. open floral shipping box or wrapping to assess quantity of buckets/containers needed and prepare floral food solution filling about 1/3 fill 2. process flowers needing citric acid hydration first 3. de-bunch and loosen or remove sleeve or wrapping which may not allow flowers to expand 4. conditioning: all flowers remain in tepid water/floral food solution outside the refrigerator for a period of time until they become turgid 5. hardening: place in refrigerator after absorbing maximum amount of water or reached preferred stage of maturity What is underwater cutting processing? -Answer-place stem ends in a bowl or something that is filled with water and slant cut 1 inch of stem off underwater to prevent air from entering the stem when a droplet of water forms over the stem end when transferring to a holding container What is the soaking and submerging process of flowers? -Answer-stem ends are cut underwater and then entire flower is submerged underwater for 15 to 30 minutes Woody stem processing of flowers steps (3) -Answer-1. slant cut stem ends with sharp pruning shears