Statice, German statice

Infobox on Statice, German statice
Example of Statice, German statice
Facts
Origin	-
Stowage factor (in m3/t)	-
Humidity / moisture	-
Ventilation	-
Risk factors	See text

Statice, German statice

Description / Shipment / Storage / Risk factors

Scientific Name and Introduction

Limonium spp., Goniolimon. A traditional filler flower, the standard statice (Limonium sinuatum) comes in a range of pastel colours, and is widely used both fresh and dried. Other species of Limonium are sold in the trade as german, latifolia, sea foam and caspia statice. Hybrid Limonium cultivars, grown from tissue culture, have become very popular in recent years. Their vase-life is greatly improved by pretreatments to prevent the effects of ethylene and to improve bud opening.

Quality Characteristics and Criteria

Standard statice is harvested fully open, but before the true flowers (small white flowers within the brightly coloured bracts) senesce. Hybrid statice cultivars should be harvested when the first flower on each spike is open. Avoid bunches where flowers have yellowing stems and leaves, and bunches with obvious fungal growth or wilted flowers. Remove from shipping boxes and re-cool flowers immediately. Also remove stem ties and separate stems to improve air circulation and reduce the likelihood of Botrytis infection.

Grading and Bunching

Quality statice is of the correct maturity, and is free of defects and disease. Standard statice is normally bunched in groups of 25; other cultivars are bunched by bunch size. Sleeves help to prevent tangling of the delicate branchlets.

Ethylene Sensitivity

Statice flowers are sensitive to ethylene, which causes accelerated wilting. In standard statice, this effect is not apparent since the “flowers” are papery bracts surrounding the true flowers. In hybrid statice cultivars, effective treatments to inhibit action of ethylene improve flower quality and vase-life.

Pretreatments

Hybrid statice benefits enormously from pretreatment with STS or 1-MCP, and pulse pre-treatment with a sugar solution containing 10% sugar and 200 ppm Physan-20 for 12 hours. Sucrose present in the preservative extends the life of individual florets, and promotes flower opening, resulting in up to 3-fold increases in longevity of inflorescences.

Storage Conditions

Store all statice at 0°C to 1ºC; when flowers are infected with Botrytis, even short-term storage can greatly reduce life.

Packing

Statice is normally packed in horizontal fibreboard boxes.

Special Considerations

Many statice species can be dried and used for years in permanent flower arrangements. Yet, when used as a fresh flower, they may last only a few days before leaf yellowing (on statice only, not German statice) or Botrytis infestation occurs. Storing statice under lights can retard leaf yellowing, but this may be hard to do in commercial practice.


Sources used
BMT De Beer’s Consolidated Manual on (Dutch) Flower Bulbs, cut flowers/greens and potted plants