Transcript Wiring Flowers & Foliage

Wiring Flowers & Foliage
Instructional Materials Service
Texas A&M University
- 8949B -
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Wiring Flowers & Foliage
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Florist Wire
Wiring Fresh-Cut Flowers
Wire Gauges & Types
Wiring Techniques
Floral Tape
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Florist Wire is a mechanical aid
used by florists in constructing
many types of floral designs
including:
Corsages & Boutonnieres
Bud Vase Arrangements
Wedding Floral Pieces
Sympathy Designs
Designs with decorative
botanicals.
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Florist Wire
• Florist wire is used
by florists in
constructing many
types of floral
arrangements,
including corsages
and boutonnieres.
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Florist Wire
• Florist wire is used
to support the
flower and to
maintain the shape
of the design.
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Florist Wire
• Floral designers use a variety of florist
wire and wiring techniques to support
the materials used in their designs.
• Practice and experience help the
designer determine which wiring
technique and gauge of wire will work
best in constructing various types of
floral designs.
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Wiring Fresh-Cut Flowers
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Wiring: Advantages
Florist wire may be used to:
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Protect brittle stems in transport.
Keep flower stems straight.
Support heavy flower heads.
Straighten slightly crooked stems.
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Wiring: Advantages
• Wiring is essential in the construction of
body flowers. It allows the designer to
create stems for individual florets. It also
serves to replace natural stems that would
otherwise be too bulky and heavy.
• Wiring provides support and keeps flowers
in place while they are worn.
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Wiring: Advantages
• Wiring is also functional in designs with
decorative botanicals.
• Most decorative botanicals consist of plastic
coated wire stems.
• Floral designers use additional wire to bunch
small clusters of flowers together, lengthen or
create new stems, and attach accessories to
the design.
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Wiring: Disadvantages
• Wiring fresh-cut floral materials increases
labor and design time, which may increase
the cost of an arrangement.
• In vase arrangements, the wire beneath
the water level may rust, leaving mineral
deposits on the inside of the vase. With
clear vases, this may detract from the
appearance of the design.
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Wiring: Disadvantages
• Fresh-cut floral materials sustain injury
and dehydration when pierced by wire.
• They become susceptible to bacterial
invasion, which may decrease the
longevity of the plant material.
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Wire Gauges & Types
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Wire Gauge
• Florist wire varies in weight and
thickness, ranging from heavy and thick
to light and thin.
• Wire gauge is the measurement or
industry standard used to indicate wire
thickness.
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Wire Gauge
• Florist wire gauges range from 16 to 32.
• The higher the number, the thinner and
lighter the wire.
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Wire Gauge
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Wire Gauge
Considerations used when selecting
wire gauge:
• Size and weight of the flower stem.
• Purpose the wire is being used.
• Where in the design the flower will
be placed.
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Wire Gauge
• An important consideration in corsage
work is to use the finest wire gauge
possible to support the plant material and
to reduce the overall weight of the design.
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Wire Types
• Green wire has an enamel coating that
prevents rusting and blends with the
natural color of flower and foliage stems.
• Silver wire (bright wire) is used
primarily in corsage work where it is
concealed with corsage tape.
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Florist Wire
• Florist wire is available in boxes of 12-inch
or 18-inch lengths.
• Florist wire is also available in continuous
lengths on spools or as paddle wire.
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Wiring Techniques
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Wiring Techniques
• Select the lightest gauge wire necessary to
properly support the plant materials in the
design.
• Blend the wire into the design so it is invisible
or less noticeable.
• Avoid twisting the wire multiple times down
the stem. This reduces excess bulk and
weight.
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Wiring Techniques
• In corsage work,
wire laid parallel to
the stem creates
less bulk and
reduces design
time.
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Wiring Techniques
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Bracing
• Bracing is a wiring technique in which the
floral designer places a floral-taped wire
loop underneath a large delicate blossom
or foliage for support.
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Bracing
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Extension Wiring
• Extension wiring is a technique used for
securing clusters of delicate flower stems.
• This technique is especially successful with
small, individual dried flowers inserted into floral
foam as a group.
• Extension wiring is practical for grouping small
clusters of tiny mass flowers in corsage work.
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Extension Wiring
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Feathering
• Feathering, or frenching, involves dividing
or separating a flower into small
components and reassembling them to
resemble smaller versions of the original
flower.
• This wiring technique is used with
carnations, Gerbera daisies, and bird of
paradise flowers.
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Feathering a Carnation
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Hairpin Technique
• The hairpin technique is a method for
wiring foliage that has multiple leaflets,
such as leatherleaf fern.
• A thin wire is bent at its midpoint to create
a hairpin shape.
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Hairpin Technique
• The hairpin shape is
passed through the
lower section
leaflets of the
foliage. This
technique allows
the wire to lay
parallel to the stem.
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Hairpin Technique
• The hairpin wiring technique is also
effective for supporting delicate tubeshaped flowers.
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Hairpin Technique
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Hairpin Technique
• Before inserting a
hairpin wire into a
tube-shaped flower,
a small piece of
moistened cotton is
placed into the
crook of the hairpin
wire.
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Hairpin Technique
• The wire is then
inserted carefully
into the tube of the
flower and allowed
to exit the base of
the flower stem.
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Hairpin Technique
• The wire is pulled
gently until the
small piece of
cotton becomes
firmly held in place
against the inside
of the flower.
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Hook Wiring
• The hook wiring technique is used to secure
and support daisy type flowers in corsage
work.
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Hook Wiring
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Hook Wiring
Wire Hook
• Bend the tip of
a wire to create
a small hook.
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Hook Wiring
• Insert the long end
of wire into the
center of the
flower and pull
gently down until
the wire is
practically hidden.
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Hook Wiring
• Care must be
taken to not pull
the wire too
hard, which will
break the flower
head.
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Insertion Wiring
• Insertion wiring is used to support and
reinforce flowers such as carnations and
roses that have solid stems.
• This technique is also used to support
bulb flowers with hollow stems such as
tulips, irises, daffodils, and hyacinths.
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Insertion Wiring
Solid Stem
Hollow Stem
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Insertion Wiring: Solid Stem
• Wire is inserted
into the calyx of the
flower.
• Wire is wrapped
around the stem to
secure it in place.
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Insertion Wiring: Hollow Stem
• Wire is inserted into the
bottom of the stem and
upward to the base of
the flower head.
• Gently, the wire is
pushed against the calyx
until firmly in place
• Excess wire is removed.
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Piercing
• The piercing technique is used for flowers
such as carnations and roses that have
large, thickened calyxes.
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Piercing
• A single wire is
inserted through
the calyx, midway
from the base of
the calyx to the
petals.
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Piercing
• After centering the
flower head onto
the wire, the wire is
bent downward and
parallel to the
natural stem end.
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Cross Piercing
• Cross piercing is a technique used to
support heavy blossoms. It is also used
for wiring roses and orchids for
corsages and boutonnieres.
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Cross Piercing
• Two wires are
inserted
perpendicularly
through the
flower calyx.
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Cross Piercing
• The wire is bent
downward and
parallel to the
stem.
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Stitching
• Stitching is the technique for wiring
foliages used in body flowers.
Designers use this technique for
controlling large specimen foliages in
floral arrangements.
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Stitching
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Stitching
• From the
backside of a
leaf, a stitch is
made under the
midrib.
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Stitching
• The wire is bent
downward and
parallel to the
stem.
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Stitching
• After taping the
wire to the stem,
the designer can
curve the leaf if
desired. The wire
functions to hold
the leaf in position.
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Floral Tape
• After floral stems are wired,
designers use floral tape to conceal
the wire from view.
• Floral tape also helps preserve
moisture within the plant material.
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Floral Tape
• Floral tape consists of wax-coated paper
that becomes self-adhering when
stretched.
• Floral tape is available in numerous colors;
however, the most often used color is
green because of its blending qualities.
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Floral Tape
• To tape a wired
floral stem, twist
the floral stem
with the left
hand and pull
and stretch the
tape with the
right hand.
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Acknowledgements
Jane Gloyd, TMF, AAF, Horticultural Professor (retired),
Richland College, Dallas, Texas organized and developed
the information used in this PowerPoint Presentation.
Christine Stetter, Artist, Instructional Materials Service,
developed and illustrated this PowerPoint Presentation.
Keith Zamzow, Curriculum Specialist, Instructional Materials
Service, edited and reviewed this PowerPoint Presentation.
Vickie Marriott, Office Software Associate, Instructional
Materials Service, edited this PowerPoint Presentation.
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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Reproduction or redistribution of all, or part, of
this presentation without written permission
is prohibited.
Instructional Materials Service
Texas A&M University
2588 TAMUS
College Station, Texas 77843-2588
http://www-ims.tamu.edu
2006
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