STORAGE OF FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND FLORISTS' STOCKS 45 



their arrival at the wholesale house and the day of sale. If holding 

 is necessary, storage at about 50° F. is recommended. Any change of 

 environment, such as improper storage, will increase the apparently 

 inherent tendency of poinsettias to shed their foliage. They should 

 be cut when showing sufficient color to be salable. Searing the cut 

 ends with boiling water is a practice usually followed to prevent undue 

 loss of sap previous to or during storage. 



Cut lilies-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis L.) are kept satisfac- 

 torily at 40° F. and may be held for 1 week at this temperature; if 

 they are kept longer the lower bells often become watery in appearance 

 (91). The proper cutting stage is just after the terminal bell has 

 lost its deep-green color. It should be of a yellow-green appearance, 

 the lower 3 or 4 bells at this time being well opened. They are usually 

 tied with foliage in bunches of 25 and are better wrapped loosely 

 in heavy waxed paper, leaving the tops and bottoms of the bunches 

 open. 



Hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis L.) , tulip (&£), narcissus (daffodil 

 and paperwhite), freesias (Freesia refracta var. alba Baker), squills, 

 snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis L.), and crocuses can usually be held 

 satisfactorily for 1 to 2 weeks at 33° to 36° F. 



Spikes, such as snapdragon, should be cut just after the lower five or 

 six flowers have fully opened ; umbels, such as blue laceflower, should be 

 cut just after they develop to a salable condition; flowers formed in 

 heads usually should be cut after the outermost petals are fully de- 

 veloped and just before stamens appear in the center of typically 

 single heads or after the center has become closed with petals in 

 double sorts; corymbs, such as candytuft, are usually best when cut 

 after three-fourths of the lower flowers are opened; those described 

 as thyrses or corymbose cymes, such as the lilac, should be cut when 

 about two-thirds of the determinate branches are developed ; cymose 

 clusters, such as babysbreath, should be cut after a few of the terminal 

 flowers* have developed. 



Florists' Greens 



Fern asparagus (Asparagus plumosus Baker) and smilax asparagus 

 (A. asparagoides (L.) W. F. Wight) are usually shipped in crates. 

 The turn-over of these greens is rapid and shipments are arranged so 

 that storage for longer than 3 or 4 days is usually unnecessary, but 

 they may be kept in the case for 7 to 10 days at 40° to 45° F. The 

 sprays of A. plumosus are tied in bunches of various sizes. Smilax 

 is packed in the crates in various lengths or "strings." The commercial 

 popularity of A. sprengeri Kegel has declined to a point where it is 

 produced and used chiefly by small retail growers. 



Drooping leucothoe (Leucothoe catesbaei (Walt.) A. Gray), huckle- 

 berry , and mountain-laurel (Kalmia latifolia L.) sprays may be held 

 in good condition at 32° to 40° F. for 3 to 6 weeks. They are usually 

 tied in bunches and kept standing in water. 



Galax (Galax aphylla L.), groundpine (Lycopodium sp.), dagger 

 ferns, common woodferns, and various species including Dryopteris 

 intermedia (Muhl.) A. Gray, packed in crates, may be held at 32° to 

 45° F., depending on the length of time it is desired to keep them. 

 At 32° they may be expected to keep 1 to 4 months, whereas at 45° 

 they may be kept for but 2 to 3 weeks in good condition. They are not 

 put in water, but if stored loose they are kept moist by occasional 



