How do florists add flowers to arrangements with little space? How do they manage to attach flowers together with their stems? This is mainly being achieved with the help of wiring and taping skills. In today’s article, I will explain how to wire flowers like a florist.
Hand wiring the stem of each flower gives you almost perfect control over stem placement and makes your arrangement lighter. This technique is commonly used for flower crown creation and in flower garlands.
You will need:
1.Florist Wire
2.Floral Tape
3.Scissors
4.Flowers
Floristry wires come in various thicknesses. When wiring flowers, the diameter of wire must be considered carefully. If you pick a wire that is too thin your flowers will not get enough support, and if your wire is too thick it can damage your flowers. There is no rule on determining the right thickness of wire, it is a matter of experience. But if you pick a medium thickness it will work for most flowers.
Floral tape is essential as it covers the wire and helps to prevent moisture loss. Any paper based floral tape will do. Just pick a color that matches your stem.
Note that wiring technique is different for different flowers. Roses have sturdy stems, while ranunculus’s stems are very fragile. But once you get a grip of those basic techniques you will be able to manipulate almost any flower.
Wiring roses
Cut most of the stem. Leave around 3cm.
Pierce wire inside the stem up until wire reaches the flower head. Or you can pierce through the flower create a hook on top and pull the wire back, so the hook will be hidden in the flower head. If you are not planning to hang your roses upside down you don’t need a hook.
Now it is time to get started with the tape. Stretch your wire a bit, this will make it sticky. Then, wind the floral tape over the wire and flower stem tightly.
Technique for wiring ranunculus
For ranunculus, I used a variation of the pierce method. Cut the stem. Pierce the wire through the stem close to the flower head and thread through so that one side is approximately 1/2 of the other.
Now seal wire and the stem with floral tape.
Those are the basic techniques for wiring flowers. Now you should be able to wire any bloom you want.
While the fully wired arrangement may look a bit dated a limited application of wiring technique can help you achieve a unique look. The technique is also essential for flower crown making and flower garlands. Now that you know how to wire flowers it is time to get creative.
