Lauren E. Baskin¹ , Coleman L. Etheredge¹ , James DelPrince² , Tongyin Li¹ , Myles Landers³

1 Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Mississippi State University, 75 B. S. Hood Rd., Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA
2 Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center, Mississippi State University, 1815 Popp's Ferry Rd., Biloxi, MS 39532, USA
3 College of Business, Mississippi State University, 75 B. S. Hood Rd., Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Horticulture, 2026, Vol. 16, No. 3   doi: 10.5376/ijh.2026.16.0013
Received: 15 Apr., 2026    Accepted: 18 May, 2026    Published: 05 Jun., 2026

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Baskin L.E., Etheredge C.L., DelPrince J., Li T.Y., and Landers M., 2026, The effect of stem recutting and floral food on vase life of Zinnia elegans, International Journal of Horticulture, 16(3): 141-148 (doi: 10.5376/ijh.2026.16.0013)

Locally grown specialty cut flowers require species-specific postharvest handling recommendations to maintain flower quality and extend vase life. Knowing the best care for flowers once removed from the mother plant is crucial information for farmers, florists, and the common consumer, as this will affect the longevity of the product and happiness of the consumer. This research examined zinnias variation in vase life between the following test groups: zinnias with untrimmed stems in tap water, zinnias with trimmed stems in tap water, zinnias with untrimmed stems in floral food solution, and zinnias with trimmed stems in floral food solution Across both harvests, recut stems held in floral food had the longest average vase life (16.46 d), followed by non-recut stems in floral food (14.70 d), non-recut stems in tap water (12.80 d), and recut stems in tap water (11.70 d). If adding a floral solution to the water is not an option, then the stems should be left untrimmed. Overall, the stems in tap water that were trimmed had the shortest vase life, and the stems in floral food solution that were trimmed lived the longest out of any of the groups.

Floral preservatives; Flower food; Locally grown; Specialty cut flowers; Vase life; Zinnia elegans