So, you’ve been given a beautiful bouquet of flowers, how do you keep them looking fresh for longer? In this short blog post I’ll give you some tips to lengthen the life of your cut flowers. This works for all bouquets, not just ones from us.
So the first step is to remove all packaging. We always deliver the flowers in water but this is just for transportation and there won’t be enough to keep your flowers hydrated for more than 24 hours. Remove from the presentation bag, take off the paper and cellophane if there is any.
If your bouquet is tied together keep it that way for now. With a clean, sharp pair of secateurs or snips cut the stems of your flowers to fit the vase they are going to be displayed in. If you are able to, cut them at an angle, this will increase the surface area enabling the flowers to draw up more water.
Add water to your vase and add in flower food if you have it. There are lots of myths about adding aspirin or sugar to the water to extend the life but we wouldn’t recommend doing this. Sugar especially, will encourage bacteria to grow in the water, the aim is to keep the water as clean as possible.
Now it’s time to remove the string or twine binding your bouquet together and place in the water. Check that there are no leaves below the water line, if there are then remove these as they will quickly rot. Change the water often, daily if possible. Keeping it fresh will help to keep your blooms looking perky for longer.
Lastly, place your vase somewhere where you can see it often but away from direct heat or light and definitely keep it away from the fruit bowl, ripening fruit produces ethylene which can quickly degrade flowers.
With these tips you should be able to keep your beautiful blooms looking fresh for longer.
We’ve recently updated the bouquet section in our shop, making it easier to see what you get for each size and price. At the moment we offer a florist’s choice hand tied bouquet but we are always open to custom orders.
Juliet xo