container prep

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Biscotti

Biscotti

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Nov 19, 2004
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Question. Do any of you prep containers with dry oasis? At the shop I'm working at now, the owners ( who were instructed by the previous designer) tape or glue dry oasis to the liner then later submerge the liner with oasis to wet it. I just about had a stroke when I saw this and threw my first tantrum in the shop. I was always taught to wet oasis first THEN put it in the container. I will prep the containers this way then add addition water and then store them in the cooler.
On Valentine's day, there were a couple complaints about wilted flowers....One of the arrangements was returned for replacement. I took it apart, and cut the oasis in half and BINGO a big dry spot. This is what happens when dry Oasis is put in the liner. They still don't believe me. *sigh* Comments?
 
Yes. It is perfectly ok to glue your dry oasis into your container and then soak it later, container and all. - The problem with dry spots in the oasis arises because of several factors.

1) The container is too heavy to allow the oasis to float soak - In other words, the weight of the container pulls the dry oasis to the bottom.
2) The designer forced the oasis under water and did not allow it to free soak till saturated.
3) the oasis was handled roughly and there are mashed in areas, those do not always soak through.
4) The water was poured from a jug, spout, or faucet over the oasis and not properly from the side to soak the foam.

Other than that, It is perfectly ok to pre-fill your container with dry oasis.

in fact, if you will look for it, there are instructions that cover this on the sides of the oasis box.
 
we glue our dry oasis into plastic liners. then when we soak them, we make sure the liner is on its' side. That way the weight of the soaking oasis works to submerge itself
 
I have soaked the foam and then taped it into containers and I have also glued the foam in containers and then added water. Either has always worked fine for me.

If you are going to glue them in and then soak, you need to make sure you have added the water at least a day in advance. I'm refering to containers you cannot soak in water like baskets.

For Valentine's Day, I glued the dry oasis in and then added water. The next day I greened them up and used them later with the flowers. I received 0 complaints on my arrangements.

I think it's personal preference but it is nice during the holiday not to have to worry about tape breaking on coming loose.
 
Flowerchatter03 said:
I think it's personal preference but it is nice during the holiday not to have to worry about tape breaking on coming loose.
Click to expand...

What about the glue melting the plastic liner, causing leaking?

I guess it is a matter of personal preference. I also don't like the fact that the oasis isn't really secured in the basket. Tip that sucker over and the whole arrangement falls out of the basket!

I guess I like to wear a belt with my suspenders :>
 
Biscotti:
If you are melting the liner wehn you are glueing in the Oasis, then either & probably the temperature on the glue pot is turned up to high -- or -- you are using way, way too much glue!!

We have been using hot pan melt glue to glue Oasis into containers for over 12+ years. It works great.!!!!

ditto to what WRK said about how to properly soak Oasis when it has been glued.

If you do it right, it will soak up the water.
If you have glued in right, THERE IS NOT WOBBLE, AND YOUR ARRANGMENT WILL NOT TIP!! Honest!!!!!

Best Regards,
Cheryl
 
This is only my take....

I have been to all the design classes that always teach us to tape the oasis in the containers....so, I know how to follow the rules that have been out there for generations. But, I am just not sure I totally agree with some of them.

I have no problem wedging the dry oasis into a container leaving ample space for water and then soaking it at a later date. I do not force it under water, but, let it saturate on its own, slowly.

A problem I do have is taping most of our containers. As a customer that has received some arrangements, it turns me off when I try to clean up (maybe a keepsake) container that has the glue residue around the lip. You don't really ever git rid of it and if you do, it takes a lots of elbow grease. It is just a turnoff to me. Because of that, I started watching what happens when I did not use tape (except in special cases). I see no difference in how they hold together.

You hear that if it turns over, it will not come out. Well, if if turns over on delivery....you have a problem no matter what. You need to do a little extra training of the delivery people if they can't find a way to deliver without turning bouquets over in the van.

I just feel that the tape residue cheapens your product...it is always there as a reminder on a nice basket or glass. If your construction is done properly, and securly, there should be no danger of it coming apart. I would never grid a vase with tape.....correct construction needs no taping.

I do realize that probably everyone of this board will disagree with me, but, just wanted to throw it out there. I have checked thousands of my arrangments of all kinds and sizes and have yet to have a problem with a single one because of a lack or gluing or taping.

I have had customers tell me that they appreciate not having the residue on their nice conatiners. So, I think it is just a little way to look a tiny bit more professional. I realize this is a small things....but, a lot of small things add up to being at the top of your game.

Carol Bice
 
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Rick, Cheryl and others are right on. We glue dry oasis often. We use Ludwig brand, not Oasis, and it soaks up water really well. In fact, it can be resoaked to absorb water a second time. And gluing is a great time saver.
 
Connie brings up a great point - Ludwig is the ONLY foam that can resoak a second time. However, I find Ludwig to have a real crumbly texture. For my personal opinion, Aquafoam by Syndicate Sales is a better foam than Oasis brand.
Also, glue temperature - Your pan melt glue should be between 200 and 220 degrees F. - or the consistency of thick honey
If it is too thick - then it will cool prematurely before the adhesives take hold. If is is too thin, then the adhesives are cooked away and it lacks good holding power.
Melting a plastic liner - This can happen, but if your glue is the right temperature and you use just enough to hold well, and not a huge globby amount, your liner should not melt.

Also, Carol also make a great point. Glueing into liners and then placing into containers eliminates the taping to secure.......especially if the container is your customers, then the tape residue is hard to remove.

One trick I do use quite a bit, especially with WS containers that have too small a liner to hold any lind of water reservoir, I shape the oasis to fit, then I cut out three triangle shapes out of the bottom of the liner along the edge, then fit the oasis, tape it into the liner, and fill the container with water. THe liner hold stable and there is enough water.

Glueing liners into containers.....If your liner with oasis is not stable in the design.....Take a peice of duct tape, cut into three strips, place them adhesive side down onto the container, place three more strips in a criss-cross pattern, and glue the liner to the TAPE. Your client or you can then peel off the entire unit, tape, glue, and all.
 
Just an added note.

I have glued oasis to the liner in the past, don't get me wrong. For party and event work etc. In these few instances I mentioned previously it was just that things were done so haphazardly when I encountered this I kind of lost it! Examples... #1 Dry Oasis jammed into a DL418 urn liner then soaked! I don't think so! #2 - the basket problem I encountered, the people assembling them used liners that were too small for the baskets thus causing sliding around on the inside of the basket.
As for a keepsake container, I would NEVER use glue or tape.

I think part of my problem here is that I've always worked with and for people who were very particular about their work, and have taken that extra step to make sure their mechanics and final product excel. I did not see that when I started here so I am a little disheartened.
Of course that is one of the reasons I was hired, to help resolve certain problems. Hopefully I can help.

Oh well, we shall see what transpires. My education and the saga continues. ;)
 
You need to caution your fellow designers and product buyers to endeavor to buy and use liners appropriate to the size basket. The easiest way to do this is to simply not purchase a basket unless it comes with a liner.
 
When I hada glue pan, I used to glue wet foam into the liner. Just dunk the wet foam into the glue and then into the liner. To help with the liner meltage on the really thin cheapy liners, sit liner in a bigger liner with an inch of water in it and then glue in the foam. This keeps the temp of the liner cool and cools the glue. I alos would glue holiday containers dry and then soak. You just have to be patient and let them soak on their own...
 
I normally don;t advocate glueing wet oasis, primarily because you have to have your glue set a fairly high temperature to prevent it from cooling and hardening when the glue contacts the wet foam. I find at that temperature, the holding power of the glue to be compromised.
 
Carol Bice said:
I have been to all the design classes that always teach us to tape the oasis in the containers....so, I know how to follow the rules that have been out there for generations. But, I am just not sure I totally agree with some of them.

I have no problem wedging the dry oasis into a container leaving ample space for water and then soaking it at a later date. I do not force it under water, but, let it saturate on its own, slowly.

A problem I do have is taping most of our containers. As a customer that has received some arrangements, it turns me off when I try to clean up (maybe a keepsake) container that has the glue residue around the lip. You don't really ever git rid of it and if you do, it takes a lots of elbow grease. It is just a turnoff to me. Because of that, I started watching what happens when I did not use tape (except in special cases). I see no difference in how they hold together.

You hear that if it turns over, it will not come out. Well, if if turns over on delivery....you have a problem no matter what. You need to do a little extra training of the delivery people if they can't find a way to deliver without turning bouquets over in the van.

I just feel that the tape residue cheapens your product...it is always there as a reminder on a nice basket or glass. If your construction is done properly, and securly, there should be no danger of it coming apart. I would never grid a vase with tape.....correct construction needs no taping.

I do realize that probably everyone of this board will disagree with me, but, just wanted to throw it out there. I have checked thousands of my arrangments of all kinds and sizes and have yet to have a problem with a single one because of a lack or gluing or taping.

I have had customers tell me that they appreciate not having the residue on their nice conatiners. So, I think it is just a little way to look a tiny bit more professional. I realize this is a small things....but, a lot of small things add up to being at the top of your game.

Carol Bice
Click to expand...

Isn't Carol smart?!!! Totally agree with her. I think if you use your foam appropriatly (I'm speaking mainly about specialty containers), it's not necessary to tape or even glue the oasis in. If the container is painted, tape will actually remove the finish from it. I don't know about you, but I would be really angry to spend $20 on a container + whatever on flowers, to find a damaged container when the flowers were gone.
 
The major reason I liked glueing foam was the amount of foam saved and the amount of water that could be added to some of the containers that were too small. Too many people tend to fill the entire container full of foam and then there is no way for the customer to top off with water properly without making a giant mess. Some florist fundamental knowledge of mechanics is lacking to say the least and the flowers suffer. With gluing you can use a smaller chunk of oasis and then the tape doesnt pinch the liner thus leaving more room for water....There are many containers that need not be clued or taped especially if ceramic and deep enough. Baskets and some flimsier plastic containers would be all I would glue or tape for that matter. I will sometimes tape a scotch tape grid on low cubes depending on the design, but I am not a big fan of grids....
 
I realized that I should have clarified my above post about glueing wet oasis. I should have said that I did not advocate glueing SOAKED oasis. I will glue dry oasis in a heartbeat and then soak container, oasis, and all.
 
I don't glue or tape Oasis in any container.

I have never been given a good reason why that is advantageous.

I have never had a problem where glue or taping Oasis into the container would have be the problem's salvation.

Carol Bice makes a great point about delivery. If arrangement tips over you have a problem anyway.

Most of my disposable containers have good flat bottoms that offer stability.

Wedding work??? I can see where some party work might warrant some extra strapping.....

Joe
 
Joe Mioux said:
I don't glue or tape Oasis in any container.

I have never been given a good reason why that is advantageous.

I have never had a problem where glue or taping Oasis into the container would have be the problem's salvation.

Carol Bice makes a great point about delivery. If arrangement tips over you have a problem anyway.

Most of my disposable containers have good flat bottoms that offer stability.

Wedding work??? I can see where some party work might warrant some extra strapping.....

Joe
Click to expand...
Joe, we do agree on this though there are exceptions to all rules. I continually watch employees spend so much time and money on labor and product and I can't see the virtue of doing this. At holiday times, it may take a couple of designers several days to glue and tape and for what reason? If a container turns over, that glue will not hold it in....it will pop off and so will tape. It is so easy to shape the oasis to fit tight and also give space for watering.

Carol Bice
 
Hi Biscotti, I also had to get used to glue and tape as the shop I worked at before never used them.All shops do things differently as designers we need to adjust and of course make suggestions.Hang in their cover your mechanics and make them beautiful.
 
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