All About Oasis and Strass Floral Foam

It makes arranging flowers easier and prolongs the life of fresh cut flowers while maintaining the structural integrity of the floral arrangement. OASIS ® Floral Foam performs both functions to a satisfactory level required by floral designers.

You will be able to increase the life of your flowers by using floral foam. Floral foam holds water and allows it to easily flow up the flower stem. There is a delicate balance between foam cell structure, foam formula and water uptake maximises the life of fresh flowers arranged in foam. Add flower preservative to your water to extend plant life even more.

Lie the floral foam brick on top of your water source and allow it to sink on its own without force. Fresh quality floral foam should sink and soak in about 50 to 60 seconds.

A brick of wet floral foam will absorb between 1.8L-2.0L of water and weigh up to just over 2.0kg.

Avoid letting your floral foam dry out before using it. Leave foam soaking for up to 24 hours.

Flowers re-hydrate best in acidic water with a pH level of 3.5 to 4.0. A lower pH helps prevent microbial growth. Floral foam has a pH level of 3.5. The pH of floral foam will increase in hard water and OASIS® and Strass foam is designed to maintain acidity in hard water.

Direct sunlight, wind, and heat will dry out flowers and the floral foam they have been arranged in.

Adding water to your floral arrangements constantly is important. Oasis ® floral foam does not make water. Add water every day for greater enjoyment of their flower arrangement. To prolong the life of your arrangement add Oasis ® Floral Preservative to the water.

Cut the stem of your flowers or foliage at a 45-degree angle to make a sharp point. Insert your flower stems at different angles ensuring you have enough floral foam to create your intended design.
How important is hygiene and cleanliness to floral foam and fresh flowers?
Bacterial growth on flower and foliage stems prevents the uptake of water rapidly increasing the decomposition process. Never use floral foam more than once. Soak foam in a non-chlorine based floral preservative solution such as Oasis ® Floral Preservative. Change soak water daily and wash tub with a good detergent. Disinfect knives, tools, and buckets daily. Remember ethylene gas given off by most vegetables is detrimental to flower life.

If you are making a hanging floral installation using fresh flowers and foliage, we would recommend using wet floral foam bricks in plastic cages. The cage structure will help hold flowers and foliage more efficiently. In some cases, you may need to wire large stemmed items to the cages. You will then need to calculate the weight of the arrangement (including the bricks) and pay special attention to how you secure this to your ceiling or structure. Some florist often use cable ties.
Depending on the weight, you might need to ask the help of professional install engineers who are used to secure such installations for weddings and events.

Floral foam contains formaldehyde, barium sulphates and carbon black. These elements contained in the base materials used to manufacture floral foam are considered carcinogenic. The toxicity of these elements is almost negligible once the product has been produced. In saying this, prolonged exposure may cause side effects.

Being continuously exposed to floral foam may cause skin, respiratory tract and eye irritation. By the time floral foam is delivered to you from the manufacturer/wholesaler, there are unlikely to be any harmful fumes. On the other hand, the dust from the floral foam (like any dust) should not be in hailed as it may cause respiratory issues. Frequently skin exposure to formaldehyde may possibly cause skin hypersensitivity or even dermatitis.

It is important to ensure you are not in hailing dust from floral foam, so wearing a mask would be beneficial especially if you are using foam on a regular basis. Furthermore, to prevent eye irritation from dust, safety glasses would be a recommendation. With regards to regular skin contact, wear gloves or wash thoroughly after contact of floral foam or water that has been used with floral foam. 

Floral foam is a plastic based product and is not biodegradable. At best it will degrade to dust. You may wish to consider recycling your floral foam as you would your plastics. Burning floral foam creates harmful chemical gasses and it should be avoided in all situations. 

You could BUT green wet floral foam is best saturated in water prior to use with fresh flowers where as dry floral foam can be used without water making it the best choice for artificial flower arranging. Green foam over time will become brown and can become crumbly.

No, fresh flowers require a water source which is only offered by green wet floral foam. Dry floral foam bricks work in the same way as wet floral foam except do not soak up water, are firmer and are the best foam to use for making artificial flower arrangements.

You should use dry floral foam if you are able to push the stems through the foam without damaging the dried flowers and preserved flowers. If you are struggling to insert the flower stems into the dry floral foam, alternatively you could use wet floral foam without soaking it. Wet floral foam, before being soaked, is a softer product than dry floral foam.

Floral foam wet or dry is available in many shapes or sizes. The most universal shape of floral foam is the brick. If it does not fit directly into the container of your choice, it can be cut into any size to suit. 

We recommend a long blunt blade or knife, similar to our foam cutting knife, for an even and safe cut. You can also use a number of other knives to cut your way through the soft material. No one will see the cut floral foam as it will be covered by your arrangement, so it does not need to be an engineering project.

Place the brick over the top of your container. Cut the brick to be a little larger than the container because you need to push the foam in so it wedges itself in the container and does not move. If your container is round, you may want to shave some of the foam. Similarly, if your container is conical with a smaller base than top, you may have to shave some foam. Don’t throw away your offcuts as you can use these to wedge into any gaps and keep the foam in tight.