Instructions : Absorbable Flower Dye 

Introduction.

Dyeing flowers is not as easy as it seems and this manual explains the basics of the dyeing process. For specific questions you are more than welcome to contact us directly. There are many companies in the world that supply dye for flowers, but we are one of the few that are specialized in this field. There are some points in which we are unique when it comes to the flower dye.

Centimo absorbable flower dyes are the only one, which contain 2 to 3% salt. Every other color pigment (flower dye) contains 30 to 40% salt (and this high level of salt will damage the flower and the leaves of the cut flowers.

Centimo absorbable flower dye contains a plant hormone, which will open the skin (stoma) of the flowers. When the skin is open the dye will evaporate easier and this has a positive effect on the dyeing time and the final results.

Cultivation of Flowers

When you start with the dyeing process it is important not to use flowers, which have stood on water, because that will obstruct the absorption of water (explanation: a thirsty flower will drink and a flower full with water does not want to drink, just like people). For this reason it is also important not to water the flowers just before you want to harvest them.

Also the variety you use, plays a very important role. Centimo works very closely with several breeders You can never have beautiful dyed flowers without the right varieties.

Preparing the absorbable flower dye.

When water has a higher temperature it will improve the absorption of the dyed water and besides that the powder mixes easier with the water. We recommend a temperature of maximum 40 degrees Celsius and not to exceed this.  Mix approximately 15 grams color pigment in 1 liter clear water. Less grams will lead to a lighter color and more to a darker color. This is something that the customer must adjust. It is very important not to work with water, which is too hot, because this will harm the living cells in the flowers. This will influence the quality and has a negative effect on the vase life. Also it is important not to use too much powder, because the dye solution will be to thick in order to absorb.

The best situation would be to make the exact quantity of dyed water you need, because in this way you do not need to store the dye. Also it is not necessary to prepare a bucket with 10 cm of dye because normally 2 or 3 centimeters is sufficient. This is also easier when you need to clean the stems and it is more cost effective.

Centimo has developed a plant hormone, which opens the skin of the flowers (stoma) and because of this the flowers will evaporate more and faster. This also means that the flowers will discolor faster. We sell this product separate from the dye's

The unique thing of Centimo’s absorbable flower dye besides the hormone is the very low concentration of salt. In comparison with most other dyes it contains twelve times less salt. Because of this the quality of the foliage will be much better and the vase life will be longer.  The salts have been replaced by sugars and this makes Centimo absorbable flower dye much better for cut flowers.

When you want to dye flowers it very important to use of clean buckets and clean water. When there are many bacteria’s in the water, dyeing flowers is impossible. It does not matter if the bacteria’s are dead or alive, because both will stop the absorption of the flower dye. When there are problems with the dyeing process most of the times it is a problem with the bacteria’s.  Absorbable flower dye can be used again, but it is important to take the following matters in account:

You need to mix together with the absorbable flower dye solution a little bit RVB from Pokon Chrysal . In fact this is something that we recommend to all our customers. This conditioner has a positive effect on the durability and also stops the bacteria growth in the water. This is important because we use a lot of sugars in our paint. RVB from Pokon Chrysal also contains water softener and this improves the absorption and automatically also the dyeing process..

Because of the hormones, which we add, the quality of the flower dye and the RVB of Pokon Chrysal it is not really necessary to heat the dyed water. Of course when you heat the dyed water it will accelerate the dying process. When it comes to improving the quality we recommend not to heat the water.

Climate condition

The climate conditions are very important when you start to dye flowers.  Flowers must be able to evaporate and therefore it is important that the space where the flowers are painted is not too cold and the humidity of the air is not too high.  When the room temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius the flowers will not absorb the dyed water. A temperature from 10 up to 15 degrees gives moderate dye absorption and a temperature of 15 up to 25 degrees gives maximum dye absorption. A higher temperature will increase the absorption, but it is important that the process does not go to fast, because this will also influence the quality in a negative way.

Try to lower the humidity in the room and try working with a relative humidity below the 70%. Flowers will take dyed water better if they stand in light (use clear light above). Light is something very important, so try to install lights above the flowers. There are many growers that dehydrate the flowers too much and this will damage the leaves a lot. After that they put the flowers on the dye the color changes very fast, but the quality of the leaves is very bad. It is sufficient to keep the flowers after harvesting some hours dry and than put them on the dye.

The dyeing process

Cut approximately 2 up to 4 cm of the dry stems and put these in the dyed water. It is very important that you cut all the stems and when they are very dry is has to be approximately 4 cm.

When you want flowers with a light tint it is important that the flowers do not stand too long on the dyed water. When the flowers are taken out of the dyed water the stems are still full with dye. This dye will be pushed further up the stem by the clean water and will discolor the flower further.

When flowers have reached the desired color you can put them out of the colored water. Then clean the lower part of the stems in chlorine water (just a few seconds, so do not put the flowers on chlorine water). Now put them on clear water with flower food. Make sure there is no bleach in the flower food or conditioner, because this will bleach the color away.

After reading this manual we hope that you will reach better results. Of course there are others things that play a role, but together with our assistance we are sure you will reach the prefect result.  For questions you can always contact our company and we would more than happy answering your questions.