Weddingbee PRO

For many years now, floral designers have been doing submerged flowers. Sometimes submerging is very easy, while other times they seem so intricate and require wiring, rocks, or weights.

The key to submerging flowers in a vase is to begin with a great vase. I prefer cylinder (24 to 30 inches tall) and unusual tapered vases. Of course, it's important to put your own spin on it, so try different variations until you get it right. For this arrangement that I did, I choose a tapered vase.

The other key element is selecting a flower that would look great submerged. I have to be honest; orchids tend to be my favorite.

Believe it or not, some flowers don't really work submerged. And others just look plain silly like hydrangea or carnations (trust me, I've tried them). There are many techniques for submerging. This one is one of my favorites…

For this project you will need:

• 1 27 inch tapered or pilsner vase
• 3 Stems of white phaleanopsis orchids (available in several colors)
• Water
• Water crystals (optional)
• Shears
• Windex (or other glass cleaner)
• Towel

1) Make sure your vase is super clean. Remove any stickers and rinse out the inside of the glass. This really makes a difference.

2) Remove one or two blooms from each orchid stem so that you have a total of 5 blooms. Note, don't remove them all from one stem.

3) Pour 3 inches of water into the tapered vase.

4) Line the 5 white orchid florets from small to large. Take the smallest orchid bloom and place delicately into the vase that has 3 inches of water.

5) Take the shortest stem of orchid. If they are about the same size, then just take any one stem. Remove and cut off excess stem. Place this stem into the vase. Fill with water so that it covers the entire stem.

6) Add in loose white florets to fill spaces when necessary. Add another stem of orchid. Continue to fill the vase with water. Make sure to leave 2 to 3 inches at the top.

Wow, you've got a stunning submerged arrangement!

Designer tip: Make sure that orchids face both sides of the container. Also, make sure when you insert the orchid stems that you put the bottom side in first. Don't dunk the head of the flowers into the vase.