[Mb-hair] A Bouquet, For All...!

[Jim Burns]

"Flower Power, Indeed"

SCIENCE
Edward Willett
 
Science is not all about what happened millions of years ago, insights
into the structure of matter, or new methods of space travel. 
Sometimes, science is about very down-to-earth things...like the effect
of receiving flowers on our emotional well-being--and how to keep those
flowers fresher after we receive them.
 
Flower-giving is a natural topic for me this week because a) as I write
this, it's Valentine's Day and b) I'm married and c) I'd like to stay
that way.
 
We've been giving flowers as gifts and using them for decoration since
at least the days of the ancient Chinese and Romans. Flowers are really
modified leaves, and also, of course, the reproductive organs of the
plants on which they grow. That's probably why we're attracted to them
(and no, I'm not suggesting anything kinky). Flowering plants and their
fruits provide most of the food for us and other animals. Flowering
plants, meanwhile, need animals for pollination and to disperse their
seeds.
 
But that's not very romantic, so how about this: Jeannette
Haviland-Jones, director of the Human Development Lab at Rutgers
University, found in three studies between 2000 and 2005 that giving
flowers makes people happier and more sociable.
 
In one 10-month study, she and her team found that their study
participants (all female) responded with true smiles and reported
positive moods that lasted for days when given flowers.
 
In a second study, women and men who were alone were unexpectedly given
a flower in an elevator by a researcher. Both women and men demonstrated
increased eye contact in conversation, stood in closer proximity to the
researchers, and produced more and truer smiles than people who did not
receive flowers.
 
Finally, a third study showed that senior citizens given flowers had
improved moods and memory.
 
No matter how beautiful the flowers, it soon fades...but not as soon as
it used to, at least not when growers and buyers follow the
recommendations of  Terril Nell, an environmental horticulturist who
been part of the University of Florida's Institute of Food and
Agricultural Sciences post-harvest floral program for more than 20
years.
 
In the past, fresh flowers kept their quality longer because they were
sold in local markets not far from where they were grown. Quality and
longevity began to suffer when the floral industry began shipping
flowers by air to retailers, but Nell's research may have turned that
around.
 
What he's found all boils down (although boiling down your flowers is
not one of the recommendations) to tender loving care. The most
important thing growers can do is to keep flowers cold as they move from
the fields to the florists' shop, Nell says, while consumers can extend
vase life by two or three days simply by using properly mixed commercial
flower foods and clean, sanitized containers.
 
Much of Nell's research has focused on roses, because of their
popularity. One common problem with roses is "bent neck," in which the
stem just below the flower bends and the flower wilts and fails to open
as result. Bent neck usually shows up in the first three days after the
rose is bought.  Improved handling procedures have greatly reduced
this problem over the last few years, Nell says, and his team hopes to
have more recommendations to further reduce bent neck over the next
couple of years.
 
For consumers, Nell's recommendations are that rose buyers should look
for freshly cut stems, then, when they get them home, re-cut the stems,
put the flowers in a fresh vase, and use a commercial flower food. Roses
should be kept in a cool place, away from heat vents and out of direct
sunlight. Doing the same with lilies and alstromeria, Nell says, can
help them keep their leaves green even after they're in the vase. (Those
two species have often been susceptible to leaf-yellowing in the past.)
 
According to at least one florist, Charles Kremp of Kremp Florists in
Philadelphia, Nell's work has enabled florists to offer people flown-in
flowers that are of better quality and last longer than the ones that
used to be grown and sold in the same general location.
 
Revolutionary, paradigm-breaking science? No.
 
But if flowers make us feel happier, think better and smile more, then
maybe making flowers last a few days longer in the vase is just as
important a scientific achievement as some of those that get the big
headlines.
 
Flower power, indeed. 
____
  
Edward Willett is a freelance writer in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
E-mail comments or questions to ewillett at sasktel.net. Ed's website is
www.edwardwillett.com, and his blog is at edwardwillett.blogspot.com.
Ed's latest novel is the exciting science-fiction adventure Lost in
Translation (Five Star, ISBN 1594143056 ); his latest non-fiction
book is Genetics Demystified (McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0071459308).