Cut flowers can instantly brighten a room and bring a touch of nature into your home. Unfortunately, as we all know, these benefits don’t last very long. Within a week or two, your previously lush bouquet will likely be a sad and wilting mess, leading to another trip into the garden to cut more blooms.
However, there are ways to make your fresh-cut blooms last far longer than you may expect (beyond completely drying them). They won’t make them last forever, but they can give you several more days to enjoy your display.
Follow these 11 pro tips to make your cut flowers last as long as possible.
Pick At The Right Time
In a cut flower garden, timing is crucial for a long-lasting bouquet.
One of the major benefits of a cut flower garden is the ability to trim blooms whenever you need them. But just because you can cut at any time, it doesn’t mean you should cut at any time – especially if you want the flowers to last as long as possible.
Cutting at the right time is the first step to a long-lasting bouquet. If you cut too early, you risk your blooms not opening at all. The blooms will likely fall apart within a day or two if you cut too late. The timing window will depend on which plants you are growing. It’s vital to understand the perfect time to cut for each plant.
For example, if you’re growing peonies in your cut flower garden, they must be cut before the petals have opened, but only once the buds change from firm and tight to soft and squishy (known as the marshmallow stage). Missing this window will either mean wilting blooms within a couple of days or a rigid bud that never opens at all.
Along with correctly timing for your specific plant, the time of day also has an impact. It’s best to cut from the garden early in the morning and when the roots and stems are hydrated. Cutting in the middle of the day when there is less moisture will cause your cut blooms to wilt quickly.
Keep In A Bucket Of Warm Water
Using a bucket of lukewarm water extends the bouquet’s lifespan by preventing immediate moisture loss from the stems.
When heading out in the early morning to trim your flowers, you may assume a sharp pair of pruning shears is all you really need. However, adding a bucket of lukewarm water to your list of essentials will extend the life of your bouquets.
As soon as you cut into the flower stem, you remove the flower’s access to moisture. This abrupt change doesn’t have immediate visual impacts (in other words, they won’t wilt instantly), but dried-out stems affect the look over time.
When cutting and bringing indoors immediately, the impacts on flower longevity are probably minimal. But if you’re taking time to cut several stems, the mere hour it takes to get them into water will lead to dehydration that can take several days off the cut flower lifespan.
As soon as you cut your flowers, pop them into a bucket of lukewarm water to avoid removing their access to moisture completely. The temperature is important as slightly warmed water will be absorbed better than ice-cold water, which can shock the cells.
Trim Diagonally
Make diagonal cuts with sharp shears for increased surface area, preventing the stems from sitting flush with the vase bottom.
Once you’ve brought your bucket of flowers indoors, it’s time to prepare them for display. While you can cut the stems in any way suitable for the plants outdoors, it’s best to cut them again indoors for perfect vase placement.
This step is usually needed to size the stems correctly for the container you’re planting in. Cutting the stems a little longer than you may assume you need is also a good idea, giving you more room to work with.
But there is more to trimming than visual balance. Cutting the stems diagonally at a 45° angle also improves moisture absorption in the stems. A diagonal cut increases surface area and stops the stems from sitting flush with the bottom of the vase, preventing moisture uptake.
Always use sharp shears rather than blunt or dirty tools to make your cuts. I made the mistake of trimming my cut flowers with kitchen scissors that weren’t quite up to the task, which only mangled the bottoms of the stems and impacted their ability to absorb moisture. The cleaner the cut, the longer your bouquets will last.
Use A Clean Vase
Ensure the vase is clean to prevent dirt and bacteria from muddying the water.
Although the flowers themselves are designed to be the highlight of your bouquet, the vase you use also influences how they appear. No matter what shape, texture, or style of vase you choose, it’s vital to ensure it is completely clean before you put any plants in it.
Dirty vases, usually muddied by the previous bouquet, spread dirt and bacteria to the clean water around your new bouquet. This won’t have an impact at first, but it does influence how quickly the water clouds over time.
A dirty environment will cause the bouquet to decay faster. That’s also not the only concern. Vases filled with dirty water and wilting flowers also don’t look very good, detracting from the beauty of what would otherwise be a long-lasting display.
Glass vases are easiest to keep clean, allowing you to watch for any dirt that may accumulate. If you’re using a solid vase you can’t easily see inside, remember that you’ll need to check when it needs to be cleaned frequently.
Strip Foliage Below the Water Line
Remove leaves below the water line during preparation to ensure they remain dry and don’t impact the water quality.
Leaves don’t always need to be removed. In fact, they can frame blooms well and add great ornamental value. Unfortunately, they don’t add any value when submerged in vase water and can shorten the lifespan of your cut flowers.
Leaves submerged in water will quickly rot and turn mushy. They develop a slimy texture that spreads to the previously clean water as the leaf breaks down. This negatively impacts water quality, limiting the ability of the stems to draw up moisture and support the blooms.
While preparing the stems and deciding on your arrangement, remove any leaves that will end up below the water line. Strip them off with your fingers, or snip off any excess leaves with your pruning shears. Keep those higher up on the stems that will stay safely dry and away from moisture.
Let Them Breathe
Refrain from overcrowding your vase, as it impacts the longevity of the bouquet.
Packing a vase with all your favorite flowers is tempting when designing your bouquet. The ‘more is more’ approach may work in some maximalist design, but it’s not a great principle in a vase for both visual appeal and longevity.
The area around your vase will naturally become a little more humid than the rest of your home, thanks to the moisture evaporating from the water. If this extra moisture dissipates into the air, you won’t have any problems. However, if your vase is so packed to the brim that moist air becomes trapped, you’ll notice some unsightly issues.
Lack of airflow can create mold growth and rot issues that are almost impossible to solve once they set in. Mold will usually start to develop on lower stems first, potentially traveling up to the blooms themselves and ruining the look of your display.
To limit this problem, keep a little breathing room between stems and flowers rather than packing them too tightly. If your home is naturally humid, you’ll need to be extra careful, potentially choosing a drier room if problems persist.
Avoid Direct Sunlight
Avoid placing cut bouquets in direct sunlight, as it leads to heat stress and premature wilting.
One of the quickest ways to prematurely wilt your cut flowers is to place them in the path of direct sun. They may appreciate full sun positions outdoors but prefer as little sun as possible once cut to prevent heat stress and wilting.
A bright position may be best for display, but it will shorten the bouquet’s lifespan by a few days. Dimmer areas are far better for fresh petals. Complete darkness would probably be first prize, but if you can’t see them, what would be the point of cutting arrangements to bring indoors at all?
Temperature also influences lifespan. Cooler areas are better than warm ones, which will deplete moisture from flowers quicker than they can absorb. Place the vase in the coolest spot you can find, away from windows, and watch out for any warm drafts that may cause the petals to drop.
Recut Stems
To extend the bouquet’s lifespan, it’s essential to recut the stems to maintain moisture uptake periodically.
The previous tips all involve cutting and the initial placement in the vase. Maintenance should extend beyond this point to make your cut bouquets last longer, starting with recutting the stems.
After initially cutting, the stems will draw up plenty of moisture from the water (especially if it is the right temperature). But after a few days, these cuts will begin to seal over as part of the plant’s natural healing processes. This means the stems will slowly draw up less and less water over time.
To counteract these natural processes, remove the stems from the vase every few days and cut them back by about half an inch at a 45° angle. Fresh cuts will quickly increase moisture uptake, ensuring your blooms are never deprived of what they need to look their best.
Change The Water
Change the water and clean the vase if it becomes dirty.
While you’re removing the stems to cut them back, also consider changing the water if it looks a little dirty. Bacteria-filled water is one of the main causes of early cut flower decay and one of the easiest problems to avoid if you stay on top of it.
Whenever you notice the water looking cloudy or dirt collecting on the sides of the vase, remove the flowers and change the water. Also, clean the vase simultaneously to keep the water cleaner for longer. If the water doesn’t need to be changed completely but looks a little low, simply top it up with fresh water to stop the stems from drying out completely.
Florist Hacks
Florist flower food contains ingredients to keep water clean, enhancing moisture absorption.
Along with the basic foundations of cut flower care, there are a few handy hacks to give your blooms a few extra days of life. Many involve things you probably already have around your home, making them easily accessible.
Florist flower food often comes with purchased bouquets. These products contain a few ingredients to keep the water fresh and clean by limiting bacterial growth. They also have an acidic pH, which boosts moisture absorption in the stems.
You can purchase these products online, but it’s far easier to make your own when cutting flowers fresh from your garden.
These are a few of the tried-and-tested at-home hacks you can use, depending on what you have available:
Adding soda with high amounts of sugar feeds flowers while lowering pH and improving water absorption in the stems.
A drop or two of bleach keeps the water clean and prevents bacterial growth, but it needs to be used in very small amounts to avoid affecting the water’s pH. It also shouldn’t be used in conjunction with other hacks, especially those involving acids.
Acidic lemon juice slows bacterial growth and lowers pH.
Similar results to lemon juice.
Can be combined with lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to feed the blooms.
Refrigerate
Refrigeration is the best way to extend the life of cut arrangements, as it slows the aging process, preventing wilting and drying.
Although it is one of the most inconvenient methods, refrigeration is the best way to make your arrangements last longer. This is why you’ll always see flowers stored in refrigerators at your local florist or why floral delivery companies use refrigerated trucks for transportation.
Refrigeration slows the aging process, keeping bouquets fresher for longer than if you had to leave them out at room temperature. The cool air limits the potential wilting and drying of the petals, allowing the entire bouquet to look as good as new several days after cutting.
Finding enough space in your refrigerator for an entire vase filled with flowers can be tough, but I promise it will be well worth the effort. Don’t store the vase next to any ripe fruits, as the ethylene produced can make the blooms wilt faster.
Final Thoughts
For those who harvest flowers from the garden often, these cut-flower care tips will ensure you enjoy the beauty of your blooms for as long as possible indoors.
