Hi Folks
I'm attaching a cake I've been requested to do and I would really prefer to use fresh roses, but I'm worried that by the middle of the reception, they'll start to wilt.
Do roses withstand not being in water for about 12 hours? Is there any other solution (other than fake) to keep them fresh???
In order for the roses to withstand being out of water for the amount of time you require do the following:
When you get the roses home emerse the stems in cool water that you've added and stirred flower food into ( those little packets they give you with the flowers).
Once you've got the stems under water, cut them about 1 and 1/2 inches from the bottom ( make sure you don't make your cut by a leaf or thorn juncture) while the stems are under water with ratchet pruning shears. It is important to do the cutting under water as this prevents air pockets from forming on the stem's end. Air pockets will inhibits absorption of water.
Let the stem drink for a bit, then remove the flower to a bucket of cool water with flower food stirred in. The roses should drink at least 12 hours prior to using.
I use cool water for this to help the flowers stay closed. If you can, place the flowers in a cool, dark place away from fruits and vegetables, to help the buds stay closed. If you want them to open up then use warmer, tepid water. Again, keep flowers away from fruits and vegetables as they give off ethene gases which can kill the blossoms.
I just had to do this over Memorial day weekend when my daughter got married. She had ordered 400 roses from Sam's club and they were delievered to our house. We hurried and mixed the solution in the water, clipped the roses and then placed them in a basment room that was dark and they opened up nicely in 2 days time. I clipped over 225 of them to go on her cake.....and that was done at 11AM the morning on the wedding and I placed them on the cake.....and they were still wonderful looking when we were cleaning the hall up at mid-night. I'm attaching a couple pictures of the bundles and then the cake.
Cakery, this is great! I'm ordering the roses from Costco, so I'm hoping they'll be good quality and lasting. I was planning on picking up the roses two days before the wedding. So, you're suggesting that I put them in the dark? They'll open up? I can put them in the basement.
So, if I take the advice I've learned....clip the stems underwater not near a thorn or leaf joint, put them in tepid (eventually room temp)(with flower food) water in the dark two days before the wedding.
I'm probably going to be setting up the cake at the reception in mid afternoon. I'll keep them uncut and in water in my vehicle until I get there.
ok, fingers crossed that this works! Thank you all for your advice and Cakery your cake is STUNNING!
The roses we got were in the more closed up bud form....in bundles of 25, I removed the plastic wrap around them....and basically followed the sheet they had in with the roses, which is very similar to what khoudek said about clipping them under water.....and then they said to keep in a cooler dark area. My daughter wanted them to be more opened up and we just left them in room temp water. We took them in the buckets then to the reception hall (2 days later) and when I got the cake set up we started cutting them off the stems and I placed them on the cake plates. They help up great and I was really pleased with the quality of the ordered roses. My daughter got a bargin too.....400 long stem roses for like $260!!! We used them for the bouquets, etc. And I still had 3 vases full here at home and they lasted most of the week.
Ok this is making me so much less nervous about using real roses.
I had a weddng cake this past weekend and my hydrangeas wilted on the cake TWICE! Thank goodness I was a guest at the wedding and thank goodness the resort it was at had hydrangea bushes that I was able to clip new stems from! Also, I had fruit on the cake, so now I realize that that didn't help the hydrangeas stay fresh due to the methane gas (who knew?!)
So, since then, I was a bit panicked about the roses not standing up to the task (and I'm not a guest at this particular wedding so I can't keep an eye on them! ha!). No fruit on this new cake though either.
Ya, Costco sells 2 dozen for 18 dollars! (in canada anyways). I only need about 70 though, not 400!
I about fell in the floor too when my daughter tells me that 400 roses are being delieverd to our house....LOL! I have to admit...I was impressed with the service, the quality of the roses and how well they held up and did for the wedding. Good luck with your cake this weekend!!!
Cakery ~ I have a question for you. I want to get gerber daisies for a cake I am doing for my friend's baby shower. When you ordered from Sam's club, did you have to wait until right before you wanted them and then order or can you place the order ahead of time and give a delivery date?? The shower isn't until August 4th, so if I order them now I wouldn't need them delivered right away.
Thanks for the help,
Amanda
Yes, on their web site you can put your order in and then just put the date you want them to be delievered on. We had them deliver them on the Thursday morning before the wedding on Saturday. FedX brought them and they even sent a reply about the time they would bring them....and they were there within 15 minutes of the time they said. I had another friend who ordered their roses too and they were the same way. So I was really pleased with their service and how nice the flowers were.
cakeguru, Hydrangea aren't as resilent a flower as roses are. As a floral designer I will encourage brides to use the permanents on their cakeswith some flowers and hydrangea are one of them. If they choose fresh then I make sure I've the little water picks that can be inserted into the cake, to put the stems in or I make an arrangement that sits on the cake, using the floral foam. All flowers need to be treated as I've mentioned above to increase their longevity.
Thank you also for asking this question. You are all so knowledgeable and truly a great resource. I want to try a cake now with fresh flowers.
PS Cakery that cake is GORGEOUS 
. You daughter is very lucky to cake a great mom that can make a cake that beautiful.
Pam
will roses fit in wilton's flower spikes? How big are those?
Here is my thing. A bride fell in love with my Wilton 3 final cake (in gallery if you don't remember what it's like) but she wants fresh roses on it instead of the fondant ones. I was thinking to just do the regular old cake toppers for both levels except that there would have to be a few hanging over the sides, cascading down...how would I do this with real roses?
Such great info! Thanks for posting this!
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