Postharvest quality and extending vase life of Helleborus orientalis flowers by sucrose pulsing

Helleborus orientalis Lam. (Ranunculaceae) flowers have long stems bearing many greenish-white florets and nice leathery leaves. There is no published postharvest study of these beautiful native flowers. We investigated the postharvest physiology and the possibility of extending the vase life of H. orientalis cut flowers naturally grown in the Black Sea region of Turkey. Flowers were harvested in March from a native forest located in the campus of Ondokuz Mayis University in Samsun. Changes in water uptake (WU) and relative fresh weight (RFW) were determined daily in a standard vase life evaluation room maintained at 20±2°C. The vase life was defined as the time to wilting of 50% of the florets in each stem. Pulsing the flower stems overnight with 20% sucrose delayed their wilting by increasing their WU and maintaining their RFW at high values. Consequently, the flowers in the vases reached a longevity of more than two weeks. These results suggest that Helleborus orientalis Lam. flowers have a commercial potential and a high market value as cut flowers.