Ms. LacrossAg IIFloral Design Tools

Pruning Shears

- Used to cut woody stems (bushes / tree limbs)- Sharp blade is a must

Floral Knives

- Primary use is for cutting stems.- Two choices: folding knives and paring

knives- Must be kept sharp

Recommended over scissors Cut through plant material with out pinching

the stem Can be used to cut florist wire

Florist Shears

- Have a long sharp blade- Used to cut ribbon, netting and fabric- Never used to cut wire or stems

Ribbon Scissors

- Used for trimming paper, leaves and other materials

Utility Scissors

- Provides support and stability for the stem-Crushes easily and DOES NOT return to form- If you place a stem in the foam incorrectly and need to remove it the foam in that area can not be used again.

Floral Foam

- Holds water for fresh flowers- Available in easy to cut bricks- Can be cut to fit any container- Should be soaked prior to use

Oasis (floral foam)

- Like Styrofoam- Used for dry or silk flowers

- will NOT hold water- Available in brown

Dry Foam

- Comes in widths of ½ and ¼ of an inch-Comes in green, white, and clear -Used to secure floral foam into a container

Water Proof Tape

- Plastic four pronged pin- used to anchor oasis to the bottom of

a container - used to anchor candles or other

materials to the floral foam

Anchor Pin

- Adhesive that can be used to secure floral foam to a container

- Heat packets of pan melt glue in a glue skillet

- Pan heats glue to 275 degrees- When you finished with the glue allow the

pan to cool (we do not remove the glue)

Pan Melt Glue

- 2 pronged pin with an s on top- used to secure moss and other

materials to floral foam

Greening Pin

- Plastic tube with a rubber top- “Hole” in the center is where the stem is pushed

through- Holds water for flowers who will be out of water for

a while

Water tube

- Narrow piece of wood with a wire attached at the top

- used for wreaths and to attach non floral materials to arrangements

- can be used to lengthen stems- how to

Wood Pick

- Used to wrap pots or line baskets- One color on one side and silver on

the other- comes in a variety of colors

Foil

- Sold in 18 inch lengths- Comes on paddles as well

- Is available in different thicknesses (gauges)- Used to wire stems and for corsages

Florist Wire

- Paper coated tape with paraffin or wax- Available in ½ or 1 in widths

- Sticks to its self - “glue” is activated by the heat of your

fingers

Florist tape

- May be satin, cotton, silk or paper- Ribbons are ordered by number, each number

corresponding to a different width- Example:

- #1 = 5/16 inch #3 = 5/8th inch- #16 = 1 7/8 inch # 100 = 3 7/8 inch

Ribbon

- used to attach floral work to clothing- corsage pins are longer than boutonniere pins

Corsage / Boutonniere Pins