Extending the vase life of cut hydrangea flowers by preservative solutions

Vase life is one of the most important factors determining the marketability of cut flowers and influenced by water balance strongly. In recent years, the consumption of hydrangeas as a cut flower has gradually increased. However, the vase life of cut hydrangea flowers is short depends on wilting. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the effects of different treatments [thymol (100, 150 and 200 mgL⁻¹), 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate (8-HQS) (200 mgL⁻¹)], and their combination with and without 1% sucrose on the vase life, relative fresh weight, daily (solution uptake for 3 days) and total solution uptake of hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Green Shadow’) harvested freshly. Distilled water was used as the control. Compared to the control, thymol 150 mgL⁻¹ treatment with 1% sucrose significantly increased the vase life of hydrangeas flowers in 5.80 days (from 10.7 to 16.5 days). It was also determined that same treatment increased the total solution uptake and delayed relative fresh weight loss. These results indicated that thymol treatments in combination with sucrose can be used to extend the vase life of cut hydrangea.