©JOSHCLAY 2024/2025. YEAR PUBLISHED 2024.
LA Retail Florist Exam Content
Questions with 100% Correct Answers
first and foremost basic need of cut flowers - ✔✔water
second basic need of cut flowers - ✔✔food
factors affecting quality of cut flowers (7) - ✔✔1. production
2. transpiration
3. floral food
4. temperature
5. humidity
6. ethylene
7. microbial activity
effect of harvesting flowers too soon/cutting flowers prior to harvest stage -
✔✔flowers will have difficulty opening and maturing properly and tight buds
will never open
effect of harvesting flowers too late/cut past their prime harvest stage -
✔✔reduced vase life because flowers are too mature
,©JOSHCLAY 2024/2025. YEAR PUBLISHED 2024.
natural loss of water in plants and flowers through stomata -
✔✔transpiration
energy source for the flower - ✔✔commercial floral food; sugar
temperature that would accommodate most flowers - ✔✔36 - 40 degrees
recommended amount of humidity for most flowers stored in the refrigerator
- ✔✔90%
ways to minimize ethylene damage (6) - ✔✔1. STS pre-treatment
2. ethylene block treatment
3. removal of damaged and unhealthy tissue
4. keep refrigerator clean from old flowers and foliage
5. do not store fruits, vegetables, or evergreens in the refrigerator
6. cooler temperatures of 40 degrees F and below
How does microbial activity reduce vase life of cut flowers? - ✔✔plugging
the stem of flowers reducing the water intake capacity
ways to prevent and keep microbial activity damage to a minimum (2) -
✔✔1. good sanitation: washing buckets after each use with bleach or
bucket wash, washing refrigerator floor once per week, removing foliage
from lower stem that would be underwater in the storage container
,©JOSHCLAY 2024/2025. YEAR PUBLISHED 2024.
2. proper use of commercial floral food
3 main ingredients of commercial floral food - ✔✔1. sugar
2. bio-inhibitor
3. acidifier
2 commonly used bio-inhibitors in commercial floral food - ✔✔8-
hydroxyquinoline citrate (HQC) and Physan
ideal pH of acidic water - ✔✔3.5 - 5.0
Why use and invest in commercial floral food? (3) - ✔✔1. commercial floral
food is scientifically blended to the correct proportions of sugar, bio-
inhibitor, and acidifier
2. commercial floral food is 40-80% more effective in extending vase life
3. commercial floral foods are much less expensive, especially when used
on a large scale
Why use commercial floral food if turnover of flowers is rapid? - ✔✔keeping
customers satisfied and providing an excellent product
procedure used prior to the normal usage of floral food - ✔✔pre-treatment
procedure used after the flowers are already processed in a floral food
solution - ✔✔post-treatment
, ©JOSHCLAY 2024/2025. YEAR PUBLISHED 2024.
What is STS? - ✔✔silver thiosulfate
environmentally friendly treatment that prevents negative effects of
ethylene gas that comes in a powdered form and released as a gas and
can treat large quantities of flowers at one time - ✔✔MCP (1-
methyleopropene); EthylBloc
lowers pH of water without creating a toxic environment for the flower -
✔✔citric acid
What does rapid hydration/water uptake using citric acid pre-treatment
accomplish? (2) - ✔✔1. flowers will be completely turgid (full of water) in
the shortest time possible
2. completely saturated flowers creates a clean, unobstructed pathway for
the follow-up procedure using floral food
How long does the first type of treatment procedure for citric acid take? -
✔✔1 hour
What is the procedure for the first type of citric acid treatment? - ✔✔Place
freshly cut stem in citric acid solution and stand at room temperature for an
hour and then place in high quality floral food solution and put in
refrigerator. Do not recut stems prior to placing in the floral food solution.
LA Retail Florist Exam Content
Questions with 100% Correct Answers
first and foremost basic need of cut flowers - ✔✔water
second basic need of cut flowers - ✔✔food
factors affecting quality of cut flowers (7) - ✔✔1. production
2. transpiration
3. floral food
4. temperature
5. humidity
6. ethylene
7. microbial activity
effect of harvesting flowers too soon/cutting flowers prior to harvest stage -
✔✔flowers will have difficulty opening and maturing properly and tight buds
will never open
effect of harvesting flowers too late/cut past their prime harvest stage -
✔✔reduced vase life because flowers are too mature
,©JOSHCLAY 2024/2025. YEAR PUBLISHED 2024.
natural loss of water in plants and flowers through stomata -
✔✔transpiration
energy source for the flower - ✔✔commercial floral food; sugar
temperature that would accommodate most flowers - ✔✔36 - 40 degrees
recommended amount of humidity for most flowers stored in the refrigerator
- ✔✔90%
ways to minimize ethylene damage (6) - ✔✔1. STS pre-treatment
2. ethylene block treatment
3. removal of damaged and unhealthy tissue
4. keep refrigerator clean from old flowers and foliage
5. do not store fruits, vegetables, or evergreens in the refrigerator
6. cooler temperatures of 40 degrees F and below
How does microbial activity reduce vase life of cut flowers? - ✔✔plugging
the stem of flowers reducing the water intake capacity
ways to prevent and keep microbial activity damage to a minimum (2) -
✔✔1. good sanitation: washing buckets after each use with bleach or
bucket wash, washing refrigerator floor once per week, removing foliage
from lower stem that would be underwater in the storage container
,©JOSHCLAY 2024/2025. YEAR PUBLISHED 2024.
2. proper use of commercial floral food
3 main ingredients of commercial floral food - ✔✔1. sugar
2. bio-inhibitor
3. acidifier
2 commonly used bio-inhibitors in commercial floral food - ✔✔8-
hydroxyquinoline citrate (HQC) and Physan
ideal pH of acidic water - ✔✔3.5 - 5.0
Why use and invest in commercial floral food? (3) - ✔✔1. commercial floral
food is scientifically blended to the correct proportions of sugar, bio-
inhibitor, and acidifier
2. commercial floral food is 40-80% more effective in extending vase life
3. commercial floral foods are much less expensive, especially when used
on a large scale
Why use commercial floral food if turnover of flowers is rapid? - ✔✔keeping
customers satisfied and providing an excellent product
procedure used prior to the normal usage of floral food - ✔✔pre-treatment
procedure used after the flowers are already processed in a floral food
solution - ✔✔post-treatment
, ©JOSHCLAY 2024/2025. YEAR PUBLISHED 2024.
What is STS? - ✔✔silver thiosulfate
environmentally friendly treatment that prevents negative effects of
ethylene gas that comes in a powdered form and released as a gas and
can treat large quantities of flowers at one time - ✔✔MCP (1-
methyleopropene); EthylBloc
lowers pH of water without creating a toxic environment for the flower -
✔✔citric acid
What does rapid hydration/water uptake using citric acid pre-treatment
accomplish? (2) - ✔✔1. flowers will be completely turgid (full of water) in
the shortest time possible
2. completely saturated flowers creates a clean, unobstructed pathway for
the follow-up procedure using floral food
How long does the first type of treatment procedure for citric acid take? -
✔✔1 hour
What is the procedure for the first type of citric acid treatment? - ✔✔Place
freshly cut stem in citric acid solution and stand at room temperature for an
hour and then place in high quality floral food solution and put in
refrigerator. Do not recut stems prior to placing in the floral food solution.
