Agra Wool International™ is a company that produces and supplies natural substrates and related items to the agricultural sector worldwide.

Since 2017, we have started producing floral foam blocks for the florist industry. Where the current floral foam blocks are oil-based (petrochemical) and therefore not fully degradable, the 100% Natural Floral Foam™ products produced by Agra Wool International™, made from Basalt and a type of sucrose (cane or beet sugar) are degradable. All ingredients are all-natural substances and completely biodegradable until Basalt flour remains.

The cutting blocks are available in two sizes: 23 x 10 x 7.5 cm and large sheets of 59.5 x 40 X 6 cm from which shapes can be cut. The blocks absorb water quickly (submerge or pour with water) and hold it well.

It is best to use the 100% Natural Floral Foam™ blocks with the ribbed side up. This side is the firmest and this way the water stays best in the material. If you are working with very small and delicate stems, you might consider using the block on its side. Then you insert the flowers between the ‘layers’. Heavy flowers will sink in between this. We prefer to insert the delicate stems into the ribbed side as well and pre-pierce the blocks if necessary.

The blocks are slightly more spongy than the usual floral foam blocks. Poking ‘wrong’ once is not so bad because of this, you can then stick the flower in the same hole again.

Adding water later to suit the flowers is also possible, the material continues to absorb water. The 100% Natural Floral Foam™ can be used for dry, silk and fresh flowers.

Not only is the material sustainable, but the blocks are also sustainable in use. The ‘leftovers’ of the blocks do not have to be thrown away. These pieces can very well be used as a replacement for (potting) soil in beautiful plant arrangements. Also the used blocks, which have contained flowers, can be cut small or torn and reused in this way. The rockwool is a lightweight material, so much less heavy than potting soil. And because of the nutritious composition of Basalt meal and sucrose, all plants grow very well on it.

For example, we make auction boxes filled with the remnants of, among other things, the pitch blocks for growing vegetables and fruit. Ideal for the terrace or balcony. Another option is to wrap the used material with chicken wire and use it again. The water absorption remains sufficient.

Should the material no longer be (re)used, it can be deposited in small pieces in the compost bin.

The blocks can also be used for funeral arrangements. The blocks can be shredded together with the flowers and then deposited on the compost heap (in Scandinavia this already happens in cemeteries). Basalt meal is a very good soil improver, any garden will be happy with it. The shredded parts will decompose into basaltic flour under conditions such as heat, cold, moisture, drought and other weather conditions. This is similar to fine sand.