Hydrophilic floral display foam blocks are prepared from frothed urea-formaldehyde, and wherein the urea-formaldehyde contains an alkyl-aryl sulfonate, and wherein the alkyl-aryl sulfonate has been exposed to an aqueous solution of a quaternary ammonium salt in an amount sufficient to provide at least equal molar concentrations of the quaternary ammonium salt to the alkyl-aryl sulfonate present in the foam. The urea-formaldehyde foam may also contain quantities of sodium molybdate to enhance the stability and lifetime of cut flowers retained in the foam material. Also, the urea-formaldehyde foam may contain starch to help suppress the free formaldehyde odor and help increase the biodegradability of the cured foam. The resulting foam is hydrophilic in nature, and hence is readily wetted, with the hydrophilic characteristic not adversely affecting the life of cut flowers retained therein.
