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Reference · Terminology

Preserved flower terminology, in plain English

VivaPetal defines the terms that appear on a preserved-flower quotation — reference, Grade A or B, stock palette, sheet-mounted, chargeable weight, EXW, FOB and DAP — in the sense this trade uses them. Each entry is short by design — where a term deserves a longer answer, the entry links to the page that gives it.

The process, and what it does to colour

Preserved / stabilised A preserved flower is a real flower whose sap has been replaced with a preservation solution, so it keeps its softness, its shape and most of its colour instead of drying out. Stabilised means the same process; the trade uses both words and some markets prefer one. It is not dried and it is not artificial, and the difference in behaviour is set out in preserved flowers versus dried flowers.
Tinted A tinted reference has had colour added to a defined shade, as opposed to a natural reference, which is the material's own colour after stabilising. Tinted references repeat more closely between production runs, which is why a palette that has to survive several seasons is usually built from them.
Stock palette, tinted, custom The stock palette is the set of colours held as standard: 36+ rose shades, 30+ hydrangea shades and 16+ moss colours (as of October 2026). Tinted means a shade that has been dyed and is held as a repeatable target. Custom means a colour developed against your reference, with a sample you approve before production. Most orders start in the stock palette — hydrangea is a good example of how wide a stock range runs.

Grades: A and B

Grade A Uniform, intact petals and a clean silhouette: the head reads well from every angle, including the edge. Grade A is what you specify where the petal edge will be seen — an open display, a clear box, a piece photographed close. Which references are available in Grade A is confirmed on the enquiry rather than published as a fixed list.
Grade B Sound material that is less uniform — a petal out of line, a slightly uneven silhouette. It is the grade for volume work where pieces are partly hidden or massed, and it is not a euphemism for seconds. Grades are confirmed per order, and the practical difference between them is set out in the guide to choosing preserved flower grades for wholesale.

The unit of specification

Reference One line of a specification: material, size, colour, grade and packing, each fixed. When a buyer and a supplier say "the reference", they mean that line, and it is the smallest unit you can order or compare. Two suppliers quoting "roses" are not quoting the same thing until the references match — the point is argued at length in sourcing preserved flowers from Kunming.
Head diameter The measurement across the widest point of a finished head, quoted in centimetres. It is taken on the open head rather than the bud, which is why a sample matters: a reference quoted at a diameter and one that arrives at it can differ. Sizes for the line are listed on the rose heads page.
Wired A fine wire run into the stem or the head so the piece can be bent and will hold the angle it is set at. It is what makes a stem usable in a bouquet that has to travel, or a head usable on a panel. Wired is specified on request rather than assumed; the stem references and how they are bunched are described under rose stems.
Filler and accent The small material that breaks up mass and lets light through a set — gypsophila, small heads, seed material. It is bought by the bunch or the box rather than the piece, and it is the line most often left off a first order and most often needed by the second. The wider group sits under fillers and accent flowers.

Moss, and how it is mounted

Reindeer moss What the trade calls reindeer moss is, strictly speaking, a lichen of the Cladonia group rather than a true moss, and we confirm the species against the reference we supply. The distinction has a practical consequence: a lichen has no roots or vascular system, so it takes up moisture across its whole surface and responds to whatever room it is stored in. That is why damp affects it more than it would a plant, and why the moss line is packed with an inner bag.
Sheet-mounted Moss fixed to a backing in 30 × 30 cm panels, so it can be installed in sequence instead of being teased out and glued by hand. Sheet-mounted moves the labour to the supplier and the colour choice narrows; loose moss by weight is the reverse. Both are the same material — the trade-off is set out in specifying a preserved moss wall, and the format is common in retail and window displays.

Freight and delivery terms

Chargeable weight What a carrier actually bills: the greater of actual weight and volumetric weight, where volumetric weight is length × width × height in centimetres divided by the carrier's divisor, usually 5000 or 6000. Preserved material is light for its size, so most cartons bill on volume rather than on the kilos. The carton plan is therefore a cost decision, and the trade handling of it is covered in storing and shipping preserved flowers.
EXW / FOB / DAP The three delivery terms we quote. EXW (Kunming) is the default: you collect from our partners' warehouse and arrange freight and clearance. FOB applies where you have a forwarder at the port. DAP is the last option, used where the goods need to reach a named place and we handle carriage. Which term works for your destination is confirmed on the enquiry — the mechanics are in the shipping terms guide.

Common questions

Questions about the words themselves

No. A preserved flower is a real flower that has been stabilised; it has petals, a stem and a natural variation that no manufactured copy reproduces. Artificial flowers are made. The material that preserved is most often confused with is dried, which is a different process with a different result.

One fully specified line: material, size, colour, grade and packing. If two quotes name the same material but not the same reference, they are not comparable — the size band, the grade or the packing count may differ, and any of those changes the price. Ask for the reference in writing before you compare.

Usually because they came from two production runs. Colour is dyed into a natural material, so two runs of the same recipe read slightly different side by side, and storage conditions can move a carton further. A set that has to match should be ordered as one run and kept together in the warehouse.

We supply trade buyers, and minimums are confirmed per reference with the quote rather than published as a single figure. For a first order the practical route is a sample box: it lets you judge grade and colour before committing to a carton of any one line.

Next step

If a word on the quotation is unclear, ask before you order

Tell us the term and the reference it appeared on. We will say what it means in your order specifically, rather than what it means in general — the two can differ.

Ask about a term Order a sample box