Refining Postharvest Handling Procedures Increased Cut Rose Vase Life

Abstract

Various postharvest procedures were conducted on several rose (Rosa hybrida) cultivars to determine the effects on vase life, water uptake, change in fresh weight, stage of opening, and vase life termination criteria. Vase life was influenced by cultivar and vase solution. Commercial preservative solutions resulted in a longer vase life, smaller decrease in fresh weight than the controls, and smaller increase in water uptake. Vase life of nine cultivars in distilled water ranged from a low of 7.1 days for Queen 2000 to a high of 15.3 days for Forever Young. Flower termination criteria were also cultivar specific with Black Baccara, Classy, and Charlotte most prone to bent neck and blackening of petal tips. Exogenous ethylene at 0.4 or 4.0 μL·L−1 did not affect vase life but lowered water uptake. Application of the antiethylene agent silver thiosulfate (STS) at 0.2 mm concentration significantly improved vase life in five out of the nine cultivars (Anna, Charlotte, First Red, Freedom, and Konfetti) tested, but 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) at 740 nL·L−1 did not improve vase life over the control. Both vase life and water uptake were reduced when more than one stem was placed in a vase; placing 10 stems in a vase shortened vase life by 1.4 days and impeded water uptake by up to 10.6 mL/stem per day. Increasing the amount of time stems remained dry before placing in a vase reduced vase life, but recutting immediately before placing in a vase minimized the decline. Increasing the amount of stem cut off the base up to 10 cm increased vase life.