10 floral tools every florist should have. Whether your are an enthusiastic amateur or a professional, whether you’re just starting out or have been in the industry for years, having the right tool for the right job is a must. In this post I will share with you 10 tools / sundries that you will want to own.
1. The Floral Knife
A floral knife is an essential tool for every floral designer. When working with stems, the goal is to have a tool that is both effective and efficient. Floral knives are best used by holding a flower stem in one hand and the knife in the other while pulling away to cut. It’s important to find the right tool for your hand that you feel comfortable using. There is a technique to using a floral knife and it takes time to perfect. How to use a floral knife.
2. Floral Branch Cutters
In your floral arranging, thicker stems and branches can be a problem without the right tool. Scissors are not recommended as they can become dull, break and cause your hands to hurt. What you need is a pair of Branch cutters or clippers. Branch cutters are a tool that looks similar to garden clippers but can easily cut through those pesky stems. Remember, like scissors, branch cutters come in all different shapes and sizes, choose one that best fits your hand!
3. Flower Thorn Strippers
Florists use flower thorn strippers on a day-to-day basis. This tool is best used to remove thorns and leaves from roses. To use this tool appropriately, you must begin by pulling gently down the stem of the rose, removing thorns only. It is important, to begin with, enough space down from the rose head to prevent it from falling off.
4. Floral Cages
Floral Cages are sturdy cages made out of plastic that can be filled with floral foam. The Floral cages can be easily secured with floral tape or florist wire to easels, candelabras, pillars, and other structures. Floral Cages are an essential tool for florists when designing for sympathy, wedding, parties, and or oversized floral arrangements.
5. Floral Tape
Floral Tape comes in different types and colors and is the best for wrapping stems and lining vases. The green floral tape has a wonderful way of disguising stems by creating a seamless green blend. Clear floral tape or sturdier green tape can be used for lining vases or with your floral mechanics.
6. Floral Foam
Floral foam is a great tool to use when trying to stabilize flowers. Similar to flower frogs, flower foam will keep flowers firmly in place. Flower foam also has the ability to prolong the life of the flowers rather than being in a vase as the foam can absorb water.
7. Florist Wire
Florist wire is an excellent tool to use when trying to keep the heads of flowers facing upwards or in a certain direction. It can also be a great tool for accented items in an arrangement, secure arrangements, and create bows. Keep in mind the gauge of wire when determining the use. A higher gauge of wire will be thinner and flexible while the lower gauge is thicker with less flexibility, but offers more support.
8. Floral frog
Flower frogs keep the stems of flowers secure as you strategically place and arrange the flowers or greenery in a vessel. They act as an anchor for a floral arrangement, allowing you to establish a foundation for your design and build upon that shape.
Flower frogs come in a variety of styles, but the most recognizable is often referred to as a kenzan or a pin frog, a metal circle base with metal pins that stick straight up from the base.
9. Floral Adhesive
Florists often use floral adhesives when making corsages and boutonnieres. The adhesive allows for the flowers to stick directly onto the greens or the base and keep them from moving or falling off with movement.
10. Floral Crowing Glory
Crowning Glory is a “liquid shield” for flowers to keep in moisture and prolong the life of flowers. This solution keeps flowers looking fresh for longer periods of time!
How does it work? The solution keeps arrangements fresher and long-lasting by holding in moisture which in turn reduces water loss, keeping flowers vibrant. It is most often used as the final hydrating step on bouquets, corsages, on arches, and centre pieces. it works best during the hot weather months and arrangements that have little to no water for example when they have not been mounted in floral foam.
