I was anti-foam for years but a cheap green foam block changed my mind on arching stems

I always thought floral foam was garbage (you know, environmental stuff and all that). But last month I had to do a big centerpiece order for a wedding in Austin and I was running out of time. My usual chicken wire and tape method was taking forever on these tall arching stems that kept flopping over. A lady at the supply house handed me a block of Oasis and said just try it. I soaked it for like 30 seconds, stabbed the stems in, and they stayed perfectly angled. No more fighting. I still feel guilty about the non-biodegradable aspect though. Anyone else cave and start using foam for certain jobs?

2 comments

2 Comments

sethc121mo ago

Chicken wire is great until you need something to hold a 45 degree angle on a heavy stem without looking like a bird nest. I started using foam for the first row of stems in tall urns and then covering the block with moss or greenery so nobody sees it. Just make sure you soak it long enough or you get dry spots that suck the water right out of your flowers.

holly_gonzalez611mo ago

That green block saved me on a big sympathy piece last spring when I had to get those long willow branches to arch just right. Soaked it for a minute and they held perfectly without any tape or wire fighting me the whole time. I still try to limit it to those tricky jobs, but man, the time saved is hard to pass up.