An experiment was carried out in an attempt to reduce stem bending by decreasing the rate of transpiration. The stems (not the flower heads) were placed in thin sleeves of flexible polypropylene plastic. The plastic sleeve had only a slightly larger diameter than the Gerbera stems. Covering the stems with the plastic sleeves resulted in a threefold decrease in the rate of transpiration and in a considerable delay of stem bending (Table 2). In a preliminary experiment it was established that the sleeve did not mechanically impede stem bending. Flowers were left dry on the laboratory bench for 2 d and were then placed in water. The dehydration treatment resulted in a high rate of stem bending, the same in 10 sleeved stems as in 10 non-sleeved ones.