Fibre Floral Design Media Q & A

 What is Fiber Floral Design? It is a Natural based product based on volcanic basalt rock engineered for Floral Design

Is Fibre Floral Design Media like Agra Wool? No, Agra wool was originally designed for growing plants, and it was suggested to use a flower arranging material but Agra Wool was not originally designed for Flower Arranging. Fibre Floral Design Media has been specifically engineered to suit for Commercial Florist to use in professional Floral design. They have considered how it holds water, how it soaks water, the optimal PH range for most flower types, its capacity to grip flowers, its colour so its easy to hide in arranging, the longevity of flowers inserted into it and how it can also be used for dry or faux flowers

Is Fibre Floral Design Media floral Foam? No, it is not Floral Foam, and we never refer to it as floral foam or call it oasis.   It is made up of basalt rock and goes under the name Fibre Floral design media. Unlike Agra Wool it is specifically designed for Floral design not just growing plants.  But its density, saturation and capacity to grip flower stems has made it a perfect alternative to use instead of floral foam

Does Fibre Floral Design Media soak up water? Yes, it’s fast soaking only takes 15 seconds. But you do need to keep it topped up and it holds water longer if placed in a container that has a reservoir to hold water

Can you cut it in to different shapes/sizes? Yes, you can cut the blocks into what ever size you wish. When I demonstrate to my students how to cut Floral Foam, I always recommend the Oasis Floral Knife but with Fibre Floral Design Media I recommend a large, serrated kitchen knife gets a cleaner cut. I also avoid trimming the corners and edges like I show you to do on floral foam as I found that was inclined to slightly weaken the block. But as Fibre Floral has a more natural colour, I found it easier to camouflage and hide unlike the green floral foam

How does it grip flowers for flower arranging? Unlike Agra Wool which was originally designed for planting in and as a by product they realised you could also use for Flower Arranging. Fibre Floral Design Media was designed specifically for Flower Arranging using the same expertise used when creating Floral Foam so its capacity to grip flowers is much stronger than Agra Wool but still not quiet as good as Floral Foam. But this is a new product and I have seen personally over the years how much Floral Foam has improved from when it was first designed.

Is Fibre Floral Design Media natural product? Yes, it is a created from volcanic basalt rock

Is Fibre Floral Design Media biodegradable? It’s made of Rock so it’s not biodegradable. It is degradable as it breaks down into a salt like texture eventually.

Can you remove and reposition the stems? No like Floral Foam once you made a hole or inserted a stem you made a permanent hole. With Fibre Floral Design Media, the same thing applies. Once you make a hole or insert or take out a flower, the hole is permanent and will not vanish.  Repeated repositioning of flowers in Fibre Floral design Media will weaken its structure and will result in collapse of the block

How does flowers and foliage last in Fibre Floral design Media? IF comparing it to Typical Oasis Floral Foam arrangements, I found fibre Floral Design media kept the flowers as fresh for the same period.

How does it hold water? It only takes 15 seconds to soak and if secured into a base/container topped up with water and if used in the horizontal position, it held onto water quiet well. If used vertical the water drainage was quiet high. I personally did not find it suitable for hanging or suspended fresh displays.

Can it be reused? For Floral design no it can not be reused. Like Floral Foam once you make a hole by inserting a flower it is a permanent hole. But old or used blocks you could use for planting, seeds or plants or lining your hanging backets to help hold onto water

How is it for leaking? As in suspended or hanging arrangements? If placed vertical I found it leaked quiet a lot of water. Personally, I found it better to secure into a container than I could keep top up with water. For dried/faux handing arrangements it was perfect. For fresh suspended arrangements, the water leakage was high, so I do not recommend using in these designs.

Is it biodegradable? Smithers Oasis are not claiming it to be biodegradable but as it is made from a natural product its obviously better for the environment in comparison to Floral foam

Is it harmful? It is a natural product made of basalt which is a volcanic rock spun into fibres, no will not cause any damage to the environment.

How good is the flower life of flowers when used in Fibre Floral Design Mediain comparison to Floral Foam? If you keep the display topped up with water regular and add flower food when soaking the Fibre floral, we found the flowers lasted if if placed in Oasis Foam

How quick does it soak up water? It takes less than 15 seconds to fully soak a block of fibre floral design media. I recommend topping up regular to prolong the life of your fresh flowers

Does it break down? It will fall apart if you keep sticking flowers in and out making permanent holes ? It eventually breaks down into a type of basalt salt. Old broken pieces of Fibre Floral can be used for planting seeds and plants in

Is there a right and wrong side to the fibre Floral Design media? Its better to sue the block on the horizontal angle as it holds the water longer in this position. We found when placed vertical there was a lot of water drainage and the flowers did not last as long.

Is there any other shapes available? At the moment they have the Blocks, they call them bricks, the also have rings, hearts and Florette, these are the bricks in a recyclable plastic cage with a handle . ideal for hanging or suspended arrangements or door swags at Christmas or funeral sprays.

How should be store it? I recommend storing in dark dry conditions. Not cold or damp conditions. I found personally keep it in the box rather than displaying on shelves in flower shops

Is it dusty? Like most products yet it creates dust so you could use a face mask to prevent inhaling any dust

How can we secure it into containers? If using dry you can glue it into the base of the container or secure with a prong/frog’s leg or for security, you can use anchor tape /wire or string to secure into containers

Can you use Fibre Floral Design Media for dry and silk arrangements? Yes, it its suitable for both fresh and dried/faux flowers. Soak the Fibre Floral in water for fresh designs and leave dry for Faux/silk or dried flower designs. #it is also possible to glue into the Fibre Floral when its left dry.

Can you use or add Floral Food to Fibre Floral Design Media? Yes, you can add your own personal flower good to the Fibre Floral Design Media to help prolong your flowers longevity

If you wish to purchase Fibre Floral Design Media contact - Oasis Floral Products - contactuk@oasisfloral.co.uk Our Fabulous Rep is Jess - jdellapina@smithersoasis.com