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soft and secure

Unusual Cyclamen blossoms add distinctive beauty to an otherwise traditional bridal bouquet.

Creating dramatic wedding bouquets sometimes requires going beyond using only cut flowers and foliages that are commonly available on the market. Cyclamen blossoms and leaves are one such example, but they are rarely available as cuts, so clippings from the popular potted plants are often the only source for these ruffly flowers and their distinctive leaves. The trick to arranging these delicate blooms and leaves is to reinforce their soft stems with wire and stem wrap before inserting them into the bouquet holder.

(Note: Be sure to condition Cyclamen blossoms in a hydration solution prior to designing with them.)

MATERIALS: ‘Moonlite’™ carnations from Florigene Flowers; German statice from Nature’s Harvest & Co.; ‘Cool Water’ roses, Cyclamen plant and wire from favorite suppliers; Oasis® Silver Metallic Hammered Elegant® Bouquet Holder and Oasis® Floral Adhesive from Oasis® Floral Products; 10 mm Swarovski Crystal Stems from Milton Adler Company; Floratape® stem wrap from Alcan Packaging.

HOW TO 1:
Dab liquid floral adhesive on the stems of the “heavy” flowers (roses and carnations). Apply glue only to the sides of the stems, to allow water uptake in the cut ends. Insert the stems into the bouquet holder. HOW TO 2:
Bend a thin-gauge wire into a hairpin shape, and insert it through the base of a Cyclamen leaf and along the sides of the stem. Twist the wire around the stem to reinforce it. HOW TO 3:
Place a thin-gauge hairpin-shaped wire alongside the stem of a Cyclamen bloom, and tape the wire to the stem.

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