How to Care for an Orchid Before Making an Arrangement

Unlike with many cut flowers used in floral arrangements, cut orchids cannot simply be placed into water and the typical cold storage to keep them fresh until use. Orchids are tender tropical perennial flowers and are best left on the plant before use. When extended storage is required, warmer than typical refrigeration temperatures are required. Cold sensitivity fluctuates among orchid cultivars, as do optimal storage temperatures.

Orchids
Water
Storage bucket
Adjustable or zonal cold storage refrigerator

Instructions

- 1
  Store orchid flowers on the plant as long as possible and harvest the flowers as close to the time of arrangement assembly as possible. Orchids will remain fresh while on the plant for up to seven weeks.
- 2
  Store Cattleya, Vanda, Dendrobium and Phalaenopsis cut blooms for up to two weeks time in clean water and under refrigeration temperatures between 40 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 3
  Store Cymbidium and Paphiopedilum cut orchids in clean water at cooler refrigerated temperatures for up to three weeks time. Maintain temperatures between 33 and 35 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 4
  Store Oncidium and Archnis culitvars in clean water for up to one week at temperatures between 50 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit and roughly 95 percent humidity.

How to Care for a Ground Orchid

How to Care for a Dying Orchid

Orchids