Cranfield leads the way in mixed bouquet flower study

February 4th, 2010

(PhysOrg.com) -- Research into the interaction between flowers in mixed bouquets is being carried out by Cranfield Health PhD student Niramon Suntipabvivattana under the supervision of Dr Leon Terry.

The three year project entitled “Vase life extension of mixed bouquet flowers” is being funded by a £48,000 grant from the Royal Thai Government with support from flower wholesalers; Flamingo Holdings.

Niramon hopes her research will also find a way of making flowers last longer by pinpointing the exact date and biochemical factors that cause wilting.

She is firstly testing roses, then lilies, followed by mixed bouquets to understand why and when flowers begin to wilt and how they interact with each other.

Niramon from Thailand said: “One of the problems with cut flower research is that there has not been much research into mixed bouquets even though most flowers purchased in shops are mixed.

“If we understand what chemically is changing in the roses it may mean that we can then use intervention studies to extend vase life.”

Provided by Cranfield University