What Are The Effects of Under and Overdosing Flower Food?

The composition of cut flower food is like a balanced diet for cut flowers. The universal products are a general diet for all cut flowers and the speciality flower foods are a diet that is fine-tuned according to the needs of a particular flower type. Cut flower research has shown that even within a flower type there can be variations. In practice, though, speciality flower foods are not always available. The ultimate goal is to provide cut flowers with the food and water as if still intact to the mother plant. Over- or underdosing with flower food will cause a less than optimum result.

The greater the deviation, the more disappointing the result will be, sometimes even negative. It is not good for the general condition and lowers the life expectancy. Underdosing is most critical and shortens the vase life the most. Less than 80% of the recommended dosage can lead to the following deviations:

• Stem discoloration
• Delayed flower, leaf, form, color and scent development
• Limp petals
• Limp leaf and leaf discoloration

Overdosing flower food by more than 150% of the recommended amount can lead to stem discoloration and burnt leaves. Our tip is to always to  add the right amount of flower food to the indicated amount of water by following the instructions on the back of the pack.