No Hammer on your Flower Stems- PLEASE!!!

photo courtesy of Martha Stewart- hahahaha!Smashing Flower stems... DON'T Do it!No Flower Benefits from Smashing the Stems... as you might suspect, smashing the stem destroys the vascular system of the flower..It's an old wives tale for sure... we used to think that smashing the stems increased water uptake...In fact for years there were tree stumps in most wholesale florists... where they would smash the ends of the flower stems with a mallet... WOWThank goodness times have changed... and our friends at Chrysal have been able to educate all of us about the benefits of using a sharp knife and flower nutrients!It doesn't matter...even a woody stem WON'T Benefit from smashing the stem... you can see from this picture that the stem is basically mutilated...The other disadvantage is all that soft tissue of the smashed flower stem is in the water creating bacteria FAST!!!So the more smashed stems.. the faster the flowers will die!Again... Smashing the stems collapses the VascularSystem of the Flowers...and prevents it from taking up water properly...And the resulting soft tissue creates bacteria faster...Always cut with a Sharp Knife...I prefer my Swiss Army Locking Blade knife... Always have... Always Will...I love the NEW Decorator Colors of the Swiss Army Knives too... You can pick a color to match your mood or your decor... heheheIf you're uncomfortable using a knife on a big woody stem (some people are)... use by-cutters on Woody Stems... (also known as  PRUNER) Learn More about Flower Arranging at uBloom.com! Flowers 101 is valuableinformation for Beginners and Experts alike... it's the BASICS... from your PrivateFlower Expert: J Schwanke... the Host of FUN with Flowers and J!Flower Thoughts from J is a FREE Opt-in Email Subscription.Delivered Monday-Friday from J Schwanke, the Host of Fun with Flowers and J on uBloom.com! P.S. Remember Hammers are for Nails... Not Flowers!