Christmas Table Centerpieces
Oasis florist foam comes in different sizes, but the standard "brick" is used for most tabletop centerpieces. Larger "blocks" are needed when filling in huge centerpieces like an urn for a church altar spray.
I've seen one time "comparisons" online where a DIY blog claims that her experiment showed that other, cheaper florist foams outperformed Oasis. I'm not as convinced, because long time working in a professional shop always had us returning to the Oasis brand.
Be careful of "bargain florist foam" found in online auctions and dollar discount stores. These are often closeouts that have been stored for a long time and bought very cheaply. Foam does age over time and doesn't become as water absorbent. Buying from a larger professional outlet that deals in florist supplies on a big scale is a way to get stock that is turned over more quickly.
One sad bride called me right before her wedding and was dismayed because her "bargain" bouquet holders bought on E-bay wouldn't take up water! She paid dearly for that mistake by having to pay overnight charges for us to rush her fresh stock that she needed quickly to create her bridal bouquets.
I was once asked to lend a hand when visiting my daughter for a wedding for a young woman she knew. We picked up some supplies (including florist tape) at a local dollar store. I was so frustrated because that tape was so old it was gummy and working with it was a mess! This surprised me, because quality tape usually lasts for years. Again - sad and frustrating lesson that bargain floral supplies is not always the best.
I usually recommend that florist foam be soaked in water treated with professional flower food. Skip this step for Christmas arrangements, however, because too much flower food can sometimes cause evergreens to yellow prematurely.
Do, however, process your flowers correctly and use flower food in the buckets that they rest while rehydrating from a dry pack state. Taking care with your fresh flowers will always guarantee longest life possible.
Allow your florist foam to "float soak" - which means you do not try to hurry the process by forcing the brick under water. Fresh oasis takes up water quickly and it is only a short time for total absorption.
Forcing it underwater can create dry pockets in the foam and that can mean death to any flower stem when the cut end is encased in dry foam.
A completely saturated brick of Oasis can absorb up to two quarts of water! The more flowers you place to use means needing a good sized piece of foam to support the flowers and keep them alive. Fresh flowers drink an amazing amount of water each day and the arrangement needs to be watered faithfully if you want the arrangement to last a long time.
