• Business and Finance
• Family
• Computers and Internet
• Auto and Trucks
• Education
• Health
• Hobbies
• Home Improvement
• Legal
• Marketing

• Home
• Arthur's Articles Home
• Browse Categories
• Browse Authors
• Submit an Article
• Search for Articles

Home » Family Articles » Rose Cutting Tips That Maximize Display Life

Rose Cutting Tips That Maximize Display Life

What could smell or look lovelier than a vase full of stunning roses? With just a little care, they can last a very long time in a vase.

5 Tips For Cutting Roses

1. Wait until after 3 p.m. to cut, when their nutrient levels are the highest.

2. Choose buds that have just started to open, only 1/3 to 1/2 of the way through the process. Once a bud has fully opened, it's too late to cut.

3. Always use a sharp, clean pair of shears. Dull shears crush the stem, and dirty shears can transmit diseases.

4. Don't remove all of the leaves -- keep at least 3 to help feed the bloom. Remove only leaves that will be below the water level of the vase.

5. Once you have finished cutting all the roses for the day, bring them inside to begin the water conditioning and hardening process.

9 Tips For Preserving Roses

Now that they are cut, the clock starts ticking.

The first threat to a cut rose's health is the air pocket that entered the stem when you cut the rose outdoors. It will work its way up to the stem, cutting off the nutrient supply and shortening the bloom's life.

1. Replace that air with water. The easiest way is to fill a bowl with hot tap water, as hot as you can stand to put your hands into.

2. Add any floral preservative you use, plus a few drops of bleach.

3. Place all of the rose stems into the bowl without the buds touching the hot water.

4. Use your shears to cut 1/4 inch off the end of each stem.

5. Leave the roses in the bowl until the water cools to room temperature.

6. Fill your vase with warm water, add a drop or 2 of bleach, and some preservative.

7. Finally add your roses.

8. Whenever the water starts to get cloudy, remove the roses, refill the vase with warm water, add another drop or 2 of bleach, and return the roses to the vase at once.

9. When the blooms begin to show signs of wilting, re-cut about an 1/8 of an inch from the stems and place them in hot water for an hour before returning them to the vase.

This little bit of extra work will vastly extend the vase life of your cut roses. Roses can live for an amazingly long time in a vase if you will help them.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Act Information And Its Customer Relationship Management Systems

You've heard other companies talk about their ACT CRMâ€"or customer relationship managementâ€"systems and how their companies have been streamlined by the efficiency and easy-to-use features offered by ACT software. Where do you turn to find more ACT information? The most ACT information is available on act.com. This is the main page run by the company that makes ACT, Sage, and is therefore the most likely to provide you with plenty of ACT information.

Sage's ACT information includes detailed descriptions about the different kinds of ACT products and solutions to common customer relationship management problems. Did you know that you can install ACT software into one self-employed person's home office computer to make an ACT information database or that you can install it into hundreds of computers in one corporation network, even access the ACT information database from Palm handhelds and other PDAs, making a virtually endless ACT information database network?

Look at Sage's Web site for more ACT information. What exactly can an ACT information database do for you? It can not only organizes the names, e-mail addresses, mailing addresses, and phone numbers of all of your clients and business partners, but it also allows you to keep a record of conversations with, observations of, and meetings with your contacts for a complete ACT information database. Organize your ACT information database with keywords, categories, and subcategories to make searching for clientele who match certain goals of a marketing campaign a matter of a few seconds' worth of work.

Run entire marketing campaigns through your ACT information database in mere minutes. Use your ACT information database's features to print out mailing labels and a list of fax machine numbers of your clientele who might be interested in your new serviceâ€"clientele you were able to find in seconds thanks to your ACT information database. Automatically send e-mails to those clients and even use your ACT information database's marketing templates, graphics, and plans to create dynamic material to sell your goods.

Sage's ACT information Web site also claims that their software helps you and your employees keep track of project deadlines, meetings, and other scheduling events with the ACT information database's calendar feature. See your daily, weekly, and monthly project goals and client follows-ups as well as your work week schedule with your ACT information databaseâ€"even send automatic e-mails to customers who need responses by a certain date.

Sage says you can use your ACT information database to forecast sales trends at the click of a button. Using all of your ACT information to put together sales reports will save you time and money otherwise spent to mine that information through manual means. Your ACT information database can be compatible with programs such as Microsoft Word, Outlook, Outlook Express, MapPoint, and Excel; Win Fax; Adobe Acrobat Reader; Eudora; and Lotus Notes. Need any further ACT information? Speak with Sage directly or ask an IT service company in your area.