however, floriculture expert cary gates says those fresh-cut bouquets in florist shops and other retailers are safe. often, these ornamental beauties are fragile and grown with minimal intervention.
“you don’t want to spray anything on a flower because you could damage the flower,” he says. “typically, you wouldn’t even spray water on them because they’re fragile, they’re delicate, and you wouldn’t want to risk harming them in any way.”
gates is pest management director of flowers canada growers, the national trade association for the floral industry. its members are greenhouse growers, distributors, and importers and exporters of ornamentals, including the cut flowers and greens you’ll find in popular bouquets.
he studied plant science at the university of guelph and worked in a plant bio-physiology lab, looking at plant breeding and pest and disease management before joining the association in 2006.
part of his job is talking to growers and visiting farms to learn about their operations and promote best practices like
biological control strategy.
this practice uses organisms like predatory mites or parasitic wasps that are released in a greenhouse to eliminate pests without the need of other interventions like pesticides. there are also what are casually termed as bio-pesticides, such as beneficial bacteria or fungi that are applied to target a problematic insect or disease on a crop.
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