So I bought the flower spikes/picks at the florist, and they're pretty big; I don't know how you're supposed to stick these into a cake w/o ruining it.

What am I supposed to do? Should I chop some of it off?

at least that explains why they cost so much

How high are your layers? I have used these without difficulty. If you have "excess" flower spike can you cover it with leaves without messing up your design?

Beth in KY

Daggone, those are big. How many do you have to put in one tier?

I think if your flowers are heavy (I can't remember what kind you are using, was it tulips?) you might need the length to keep them anchored. But if you need to put a lot of them in a tier, you would have a very holey cake, esp if it's a small tier!

It looks like the last 1 1/2" approx. is solid and that you could cut off about 1 1/4", that should be fine with a 4" cake. Tulips droop pretty easy. I agree with the others about wiring them and would trim to have mostly the head of the flower showing.

What about making tulips out of gumpaste?

...whatta ya use these for???

Wow, those are huge. I've never used the ones from the florist. I have used the ones that Wilton makes (they are little white ones). They are at least half the size. I'm not sure how you are going to make those work unless you put them all the way into the cake (has to be a big cake) Good Luck, sorry I'm not much help.

cutting it would run the risk of small shards of material. if you cut them, I'd recommend sanding with fine grit paper

I should've gone with the bakery ones!!! Learned my lesson.

They changed it to ROSES, and I was supposed to make them go all the way around the cake for the 10" and on the 6".

I want to just smash half of it off with a hammer!

You really do not need to spike in my opinion. The flowers will be just fine if you place them. I have placed flowers five to six hours and they were still fine. As far as pesticides you can go organic but I have used themand everyone is still alive! For floers on the sides I used toothpicks to hold them in.

I was thinking cutting off the part where it's cylindrical-shaped, not the pointy end, is that what you guys are talking about too? I don't think the pointy end will give me a problem; the length is fine IMO.

I'm using roses by the way. . .

Okay, let's think about this. These roses are going to be on top of the cakes? around the edges? If you don't want to cut off the spikes...get extra rose petals and leaves and "paste" them to the spikes using some buttercream or maybe corn syrup. See where I'm going with this? It will also give you a fuller look for your design. Whadda ya think?

Just an idea...it's getting late and I've been up since 5:30 AM!! I'm OLDER....MUCH MUCH OLDER than you! This is all I got at 8:36 PM! LOLL

Beth in KY

Man those puppies look like something you would collect samples in!!!!! HA!HA!

Oh, I see. Well Bethola, this is how I'm planning to place the roses (if it changes any of your opinions on how I should go about doing this).

Pic didn't come through. I get a 404 error. Picture no longer available!

Beth

That's odd. I see it through my computer. I'll try again.

Okay, the pic came through. This is what I was thinking. Here is another idea. Angle those puppies and you'll be able to go a little farther into the cake. I think you should be able to cover the excess (if there is any) with leaves and or petals.

One more suggestion. I'm paranoid about things "touching" my cakes, so, when I use flowers of any kind I put a strip of saran behind the bud to keep it from coming in direct contact with the cake. You could do the same with these (wrap in saran all the way up to the rose itself) then if you can push them a little farther into the cake they are still safe. Just a suggestion!

I STILL want to see the cake!

Beth

Ok I have used these type of florist tubes on several occasions and with success....I just snapped off the long end and inserted it at a angle. They are larger than Wiltons lil white ones but with larger stemmed flowers the extra room and support for the bloom comes in quite handy.... on a side note, you can also buy these in the floral arranging sections at stores like Michael's and Walmart...just be careful with these, because the "spike end" is hollow and well if you snip it off, out flows the water, aye yi yi...


best of luck

i never use these for roses. i just stick them in the cake, rose petals are edible and they won't wilt in the short amount of time they sit in the cake

Those water tubes are unnecessary for roses. They will still be too big around and will make a mess of your cake. I think you will be very sorry if you try to use these for as many flowers as you need. One or two, maybe but a whole ring, forget it.

If you want to extra careful, you can tape the stems before you stick them in the cake.

I wouldn't use those picks, either. I would just cut the stem off and prop the rose where the two cakes meet or leave a little bit of the stem and wrap the stem with clear tape and insert it directly into the case.

I wanna' see a picture when you're done.
Since they changed to roses, it wouldn't be that big of a deal would it since they are so much more sturdy?

I think the picks are too big as well. What if you took a small amount of damp paper towel wrap that around the stem of the rose and then wrap it in saran wrap like bethola mentioned. The damp paper towel will keep the stem moist and hopefully keep the rose "fresh" for the length of the event.

Just an idea......

Tammy