Make a Flower Tree for the Holidays

Flowers and evergreen trees are decorating traditions for the holiday season. Here's a way to combine flowers and a tree shape. It's a small decorative tree made completely of fresh cut flowers. Created with standard carnations, chrysanthemums or gerbera daisies, a flower tree can last up to two weeks. It is a unique and festive way to accessorize any room of the house.

Flower Tree

Materials and Tools:

brick of floral foam
flower food/preservative
flowers*
knife for shaping floral foam
small decorative 4" pot or urn
floral clippers

*A standard carnation tree requires approximately 25 stems of red, white or novelty variety carnations. For a chrysanthemum tree, you'll need approximately 75 white or green stems. To make the red gerbera daisy tree, you'll need about 20 or 25 stems.

Steps:

1. For approximately 30 minutes, soak the floral foam in warm water that has been treated with flower food/preservative. (Warm water enables the floral foam to soak up water quickly.)

2. Using a knife, round the corners off one end of the floral foam so that it will fit snuggly into the container. Insert the shaved end of the foam into the container. Make sure the foam is secure in the vessel.

3. Again with the knife, begin making a cone (a tree shape) out of the floral foam by shaving off the sides and top.

4. With the floral clippers, cut several flower stems about 3 inches in length.

5. Insert the flower stems about an inch deep into the cone-shaped floral foam. Place each flower as close together as possible. Continue this process until the entire foam cone is covered with flowers.