My entire cooler of peonies went limp during a heat wave last Friday

I had a big wedding order for 30 centerpieces, all needing those perfect pink peonies. I prepped them Thursday night, cut the stems, used flower food, the whole deal. Friday morning, I walked into my shop in Phoenix and the cooler felt off. The temp read 50 degrees, not the 38 I set. Every single bloom was drooping, petals falling like sad confetti. I called my cooler repair guy but he couldn't come for 6 hours. I ended up filling my bathtub with ice water and shuttling all 200 stems to my house to try and shock them back. It was a total panic, but it actually worked for about two thirds of them. I had to call in a favor from another florist for the rest. Has anyone found a really reliable cooler brand that can handle desert summers?

2 comments

2 Comments

elizabethhayes7d ago

Just a heads up, flower food can actually make peonies open faster, which isn't great in a heat crisis.

riley_taylor6d agoMost Upvoted

Oh wow, I heard that too.