Hardening Daffodils

Grooming and hardening are companion tasks. In last week's article on Grooming the Daffodil Flowers we discussed the grooming process. This week, we take you a step beyond that.

The final step of grooming before transport to the shows is hardening, that causes the flower and stem to become hard and stiff. Hardening makes flowers hard to groom. It lengthens the life of the flower and helps hold the best form and pose for show or display purposes. Therefore, the grooming step should be completed before the hardening process.

Hardening

The hardening process is accomplished by placing the daffodil stem in about two inches of "luke" warm tap water for a few minutes. Tap water at about 80 degrees "F" will do the trick. Hotter water may cause the stems to be "cooked." The tepid water makes the daffodil "suck-up" and gorge itself on water. The time required for the tepid water treatment is about 10 to 15 minutes.

Prior to placing the daffodils into the hardening water, cut about 1/4 inch off the stem.

The hardening process should continue for 12-24 hours prior to placing in a show. Some schools of thought say that changing the water every two hours and repeating the process for as high as 8 hours may be necessary. However, I find the 10-15 minutes long enough in the tempid water. After that, place the stems in fresh cool water for the remainder of the hardening period.

Cut the stem again and place the daffodils (in cool tap water) in the refrigerator until it is time to take them to the show. If you do not have a refrigerator, a technique used successfully is to place the daffodils in glass containers, or containers with flat bottoms and place them on the garage concrete floor. The coolness of the concrete will be transferred to the daffodils through the water.

Point to remember: Every time the water is changed, cut off about 1/4 inch of the stem. The fresh cut helps the flower draw in additional moisture. Older cut stems form a hard film over the cut, clogging the pores and cuts down on the flower's ability to obtain water. It's a natural healing process that is designed to protect flowers, the same as the healing process on human wounds.

As part of the grooming and the hardening, make a list of all the flowers that were collected. I usually do this as part of the grooming, as I select the flower to keep, I write down it's name and RHS color code. That list is real handy for the next step in the process, reviewing the show program.

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