But since the compound contains a heavy metal that has already been banned in flower-loving Amsterdam, Picchioni said the domestic greenhouse industry probably won't be able to rely on it in the future. So, he and Valenzuela are working to find an alternative. The researchers are having good luck with an environmentally safe calcium salt that's worked well for a variety of edible crops like apples, carrots, peaches, peppers and tomatoes, but hasn't been well-tested with floral crops, Picchioni said. In preliminary research, the calcium prolonged the bluebonnet's vase life by about three to five days. In other types of crops, the calcium works to refute Mother Nature's tendency to produce a ripening hormone called ethylene.
Ethylene causes flowers to dry up quickly and go to seed to make more plants.
Kathy Vasquez found that bluebonnets are very sensitive to ethylene. For calcium to be a viable option for the greenhouse industry, its application needs to be practical on a large scale. The researchers are looking at dipping, spraying and introducing the calcium through an irrigation system. The research has gotten a little easier this spring. Last year, Valenzuela had to irrigate 250 bluebonnet plants by hand with exactly 3.2 liters of water for each.