By applying nutrients to cut-flowers (sumer varieties such as Helianthus, Matthiola, Delphinium and Godetia) from the time they go into cold store can add between 3 and 15 days onto the normal vase life. Vase-life can also be enhanced by applying higher rates of Nitrogen and Potassium based fertilizer, by reduced irrigation, by applying liquid fertilizers (fertigation) and by harvesting in the afternoon. The correct nutrient levels has by far the biggest effect on flower quality at harvest and post-harvest and these levels vary for each genera/species. Flower production in some plants is enhanced by higher Nitrogen levels while in many varieties it stimulates vegetative growth. The application of Nitrogen at 250kg/ha produced longer stems in all varieties tested except Godetia and heavier stems in all varieties except Larkspur (although these effects were quite small). Horticultural Research Institute, Kirton. "Commercial Greenhouse Grower" green@actpub.co.uk www.hri.ac.uk