LA Retail Florist Exam Content Q&A
100% Guaranteed Pass | Graded A+
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
natural loss of water in plants and flowers through stomata - ✔✔transpiration
energy source for the flower - ✔✔commercial floral food; sugar
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©NINJANERD 2025/2026. YEAR PUBLISHED 2025.
,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
2. proper use of commercial floral food
3 main ingredients of commercial floral food - ✔✔1. sugar
2. bio-inhibitor
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©NINJANERD 2025/2026. YEAR PUBLISHED 2025.
,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
What is STS? - ✔✔silver thiosulfate
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©NINJANERD 2025/2026. YEAR PUBLISHED 2025.
, 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.
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©NINJANERD 2025/2026. YEAR PUBLISHED 2025.
100% Guaranteed Pass | Graded A+
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
natural loss of water in plants and flowers through stomata - ✔✔transpiration
energy source for the flower - ✔✔commercial floral food; sugar
1|Page
©NINJANERD 2025/2026. YEAR PUBLISHED 2025.
,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
2. proper use of commercial floral food
3 main ingredients of commercial floral food - ✔✔1. sugar
2. bio-inhibitor
2|Page
©NINJANERD 2025/2026. YEAR PUBLISHED 2025.
,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
What is STS? - ✔✔silver thiosulfate
3|Page
©NINJANERD 2025/2026. YEAR PUBLISHED 2025.
, 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.
4|Page
©NINJANERD 2025/2026. YEAR PUBLISHED 2025.
