coloring hydrangea

[Onyka]

Wow! This was a fun thread! I was going to respond with my own recipe of painting for proper blue but it looks like many of you already said it. Alot of times we would just buy multihead plants from the greenhouses. They always worked well for us plus then you get to plant the "stub" in your garden. Bonus!

 

[rewolf]

Am I the only one who uses Quick Dip for everything?

Mocha - I'm a 'dipper' too.
I wouldn't think of processing my flowers without Quick Dip by my side...

 

[Mocha Rose]

They are made by chyrsal for gerberas and are magic.
Dip tulips? their heads?
I soak orchids sometimes if they are wilted.

If the orchids are fresh, I just leave them in the tubes in the box. If they need to be perked up, I soak them in warm water since they drink through the blooms and not the stems.

For tulips, I don't even cut them until they are ready to go out to slow them from blowing open.

 

[Queen of Weddings]

Kinda strange question here" are you all disclosing to your customers that you are spraying flowers? I just wonder about this, I never spray nothing at all, and can't actually, there are so many sources for great affordable products, and I am just wondering about this,,

 

[dottie]

without a doubt, use quick dip. The look is so natural and it's cheap. One bottle will do 60 heads. Just be sure to wear gloves, an apron and use newspaper to let the drip dry onto. One small bucket for the dip, one bucket to rinse the hydrangea and then place on paper. It takes a little time but well worth it! Good luck.

 

[wildflowerschicago]

This thread could not have come at a better time!!!!! I also have a wedding (5/30) with pool blue dresses (think muted dirty tiffany blue). The bride wants pale blue/green antique hydrangeas. My wholesaler, who is a magician, found them, but told me that they would be min. $6.50ea, and the last batch they got were darker than I would want. I warned the bride and told her that I may have to substitute good old South American blue hydrangea if the other ones come in too dark. BUT, if painting them works, she would be SO happy!!!!

So, my question to the spray paint Picassos is...what colors would you use and on what color base hydrangea?

Thanks in advance for your tips!!!!!

 

[Tracy D'Amico]

blue hydrangea
fresh green JFF (DM Prairie Grass is a good flat solid green if you want to start with a little more solid base, just spray very lightly)
hydrangea JFF
accents of purple pansy JFF, or another blue/purple shade to get that shading that antiques are known for. I think using only blue/green would look 'flat'.

Get them in very early, so they have time to open wide. I like to have them in the weekend before, and they only hit the cooler if the florets are mostly open.

light coats, leaving some areas only green & only blue w/the accents of the purple, so it's uneven like natural antiquey. Have JFF Willow Branch or Bridal Veil to lighten it a bit if needed.

good luck - post your "recipe" & pics!

 

[shannonlovesflowers]

All flowers are bacteria sensitive, baby!
I buy 80 gerbs a week also and I swear by
the gerbera tablets. They will easily last 12 to 14 days. I process buy using
a pocono (?) bucket with a bubble chicken wire top. My husband fashioned
and built it for me.
It is about 15 inches high, wood slats all around the
bottom of the chicken wire, that sits perfectly on the ledge of the pocono.

The gerbs rest in the holes of the wire and if the are curved going in, they
are straight and firm within a few hours and no wire or green plastic is
needed. Vary rarely do I need to use a plastic straw for design, the
gerbs are very firm.

We used to use the chicken wire grid too, but I like the staws better, just a preference.

I know all flowers are bacteria sensitive, but gerbs are extra sensitive. We wont put gerbs in foam cause they just wont hold up, no matter what I've tried. Within a day they are limp.

I used to use RVB for gerbs but I found bleach works just as good, if not better, and it's about 100 times cheaper.

Also, we don't leave the straws on for designing

 

[shannonlovesflowers]

without a doubt, use quick dip. The look is so natural and it's cheap. One bottle will do 60 heads. Just be sure to wear gloves, an apron and use newspaper to let the drip dry onto. One small bucket for the dip, one bucket to rinse the hydrangea and then place on paper. It takes a little time but well worth it! Good luck.

Dottie, I think you have "quick dip" and "dip it" dye confused.

Quick dip is a FLORAL HYDRATION SOLUTION. You literally cut your stem and dip the stem in the quick dip and then put it into you water buckets.

DIP IT is a DYE for fresh flowers That the head of the flower is dipped and then rinsed off, and left to dry.

2 totally different things.

Just wanted to clarify that for them peeps who don't know.

 

[shannonlovesflowers]

This thread could not have come at a better time!!!!! I also have a wedding (5/30) with pool blue dresses (think muted dirty tiffany blue). The bride wants pale blue/green antique hydrangeas. My wholesaler, who is a magician, found them, but told me that they would be min. $6.50ea, and the last batch they got were darker than I would want. I warned the bride and told her that I may have to substitute good old South American blue hydrangea if the other ones come in too dark. BUT, if painting them works, she would be SO happy!!!!

So, my question to the spray paint Picassos is...what colors would you use and on what color base hydrangea?

Thanks in advance for your tips!!!!!

I would use the SA blue hydrangeas, to get my pool blue (yuck)
I would use delph followed up by spring green, I think it's called spring green.

that should do it!