Supermarket & Retail
Refrigeration for florist
Cut flowers keep living after harvest. They breathe, lose water and age, and warmth speeds all of it up. In an Indian summer, a rose that would last a week in a cool room can drop its petals in a couple of days on an open counter. A flower cooler slows that down, but only if it is set right: cool enough to slow ageing, humid enough not to dry petals, and free of the fruit that gives off ethylene. Florists also handle tropical flowers that are damaged by cold, and wedding and festival seasons that bring sudden spikes in volume.
What the equipment has to cope with
- Most cut flowers last longest when kept cool, but tropical flowers such as anthuriums and many orchids are damaged by temperatures that suit roses.
- Fan-forced cooling dries petals and leaves unless flowers stand in water and the cabinet stays fairly humid.
- Ethylene from ripening fruit, and from damaged or ageing flowers, speeds up wilting and petal drop.
- Tall buckets and long stems need shelf space and height that a standard food cabinet does not offer out of the box.
- Wedding and festival seasons bring sudden large orders that must be held for a day or two before delivery.
Typical temperatures
| Roses, carnations, gerberas | +2 to +5 °C |
|---|---|
| Lilies, chrysanthemums, gladioli | +2 to +5 °C |
| Finished bouquets awaiting pickup | +4 to +6 °C |
| Anthuriums, many orchids, heliconia | Not below about +10 °C |
Equipment
What to buy, and why.
Most florists use a glass-door cooler in the shop as both display and storage for roses, gerberas, carnations and lilies standing in buckets of clean water, plus a solid-door upright in the back for wedding orders, reserve stock and finished arrangements. Tropical flowers stay outside the cooler in a shaded, cool spot. Remove shelves to make room for buckets, keep the cabinet free of fruit and food, and give the condenser plenty of air because flower shops are often small and warm. Clean buckets and change water regularly so bacteria do not block stems.
- +2 to +10 °CGlass Door Refrigerator / Visi CoolerA visi cooler that displays roses, gerberas, carnations and lilies in buckets of water, keeping them cool for longer vase life while customers browse.Set-up guide
- +2 to +8 °CReach-in RefrigeratorA solid-door upright in the back for wedding and event orders, reserve stock and finished bouquets waiting for pickup or delivery.Set-up guide
Questions
- Can a florist use a beverage cooler for flowers?
- A glass-door cooler can work well for flowers if it is set warmer than for drinks, shelves are removed or adjusted for buckets, and flowers stand in water so they do not dry out. Avoid sharing it with food or fruit, because ripening fruit gives off ethylene that shortens flower life.
- Which flowers should not go in the cooler?
- Tropical flowers such as anthuriums, heliconias, birds of paradise and many orchids are sensitive to cold and can blacken or discolour at the temperatures that suit roses. Keep them in a cool, shaded spot outside the cooler, around +10 °C or warmer.
- How do we hold a large wedding order for two days?
- Condition flowers in clean water first, then hold them in a solid-door cooler at about +2 to +5 °C, away from fruit, with stems in water and space between buckets. Finished arrangements can be held slightly warmer and should be misted or covered if your practice allows, so they do not dry.
Before you buy
All guides- Visi Cooler Buying Guide: Size, Glass, Placement6 min read
- Commercial Refrigerator Buying Guide (India)9 min read
- Types of Commercial Refrigerators Explained6 min read
- Visi Cooler for Kirana & FMCG Shops: What to Know5 min read
- Open Multideck Merchandiser Guide for Supermarkets6 min read
- Air-Curtain Refrigerator Guide for Grab-and-Go6 min read
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