Fresh Flower Care
How to Care for Fresh Flowers
Simple steps from our Cambridge florists to keep your blooms looking beautiful for longer
Your flowers have arrived. With a little care over the first few days, most bouquets will last a week or more, and some varieties considerably longer. Here is what actually makes the difference.
1. Start with a clean vase and fresh water
Bacteria is the main enemy of cut flowers. It multiplies in vase water, blocks the stems, and stops your flowers drinking. A vase that looks clean often isn’t, so wash it in hot soapy water before use.
Fill with fresh water at room temperature or slightly warm, around 38 to 43°C. Most flowers take up warm water more efficiently than cold. The exception is bulb flowers such as tulips, daffodils and hyacinths, which prefer cool water.
A note on your water supply
- Softened water contains added sodium, which damages roses and carnations. If your household has a water softener, use filtered or bottled water for flowers instead.
- Fluoride, added to some municipal supplies, shortens the life of gerberas, gladioli and freesias.
- Hard water carries high mineral levels that can block stems and limit hydration.
2. Always use flower food
While a flower is on the plant it receives food and water through its roots. Once cut, that supply is gone. Commercial flower food replaces it, and it does more than feed the flower.
A good sachet contains three things working together:
- Sugar provides energy the leaves can no longer produce, letting buds open properly and the bloom develop fully.
- An acidifier lowers the water’s pH closer to that of the flower’s own sap. Slightly acidic water travels up the stem far more readily than neutral or alkaline water, and it helps hold petal colour.
- A biocide slows the bacteria that would otherwise block the stems. Bacteria feed on the same sugar the flowers do, so the two ingredients have to be balanced against each other.
Follow the sachet directions and measure properly. More is not better. Too much sugar pushes the flower through its life cycle faster, and too much of anything else can scorch the stems.
Please skip the home remedies. Aspirin, lemonade, bleach and copper coins are folklore, and none of them do what a properly formulated sachet does. If you have run out, we sell flower food in store.
3. Trim the stems and strip the lower leaves
Re-cut every stem before it goes in the vase, taking at least 2cm off at a 45 degree angle.
Use a sharp knife or florist’s snips rather than household scissors. Scissors crush the stem and damage the vascular tissue the flower drinks through. The angled cut exposes more surface area and stops the stem sealing itself flat against the base of the vase.
Remove any leaves that will sit below the waterline. Submerged foliage rots quickly and becomes a breeding ground for bacteria. Do not strip the stem bare, though. The remaining leaves are part of how the flower moves water, and it needs them. Work gently: every nick in the stem surface is an entry point for bacteria. A thick glove makes stripping rose thorns much easier.
4. Top up daily, refresh often
Check the water level every day and top it up with fresh solution, correctly mixed with flower food, not plain water.
If the water turns cloudy, change it completely. Cloudiness means bacteria has taken hold.
For roses, a full water change and a fresh stem trim on day one, day three and day five will noticeably extend vase life. It is the single most effective thing you can do for them.
5. Choose the right spot
Where you put your flowers matters as much as what is in the vase.
Keep them out of direct sunlight and away from heat pumps, fireplaces, radiators and sunny windowsills. Heat accelerates everything, including wilting.
Keep them well away from the fruit bowl. Ripening fruit releases ethylene gas, which triggers ageing in cut flowers and can cause petals to drop within a day. Cigarette smoke does the same.
A cooler room, or moving the vase somewhere cool overnight, will add days to the display.
Fresh Flower Care: Do’s and Don’ts
Do
- Wash your vase properly before use
- Use flower food and follow the measurements
- Re-cut stems at a 45 degree angle with a sharp blade
- Strip leaves below the waterline
- Check and top up the water daily
- Remove individual blooms as they fade, so the rest stay looking fresh
Don’t
- Use home substitutes for flower food
- Strip all the foliage from the stem
- Sit flowers near fruit or in cigarette smoke
- Place them in direct sun or near a heat source
- Use flower food in crystal or metal containers, as the acid reacts with metal and with the lead in crystal
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should fresh flowers last?
Most mixed bouquets last five to seven days with good care. Chrysanthemums, carnations and alstroemeria often go two weeks or more. Delicate blooms like poppies and sweet peas are shorter lived by nature, not by fault.
Why are my flowers drooping after two days?
Usually an air block in the stem preventing hydration. Re-cut the stems at an angle under running water and place them straight into fresh warm water with flower food. Most stems recover within a few hours.
Should I keep flowers in the fridge?
A cool room overnight helps. A domestic fridge does not, because it is too cold for most blooms and usually contains fruit.
Can I use tap water?
In most of Waikato, yes. If your home has a water softener, use filtered water instead.
Questions About Your Flowers?
Our florists are always happy to talk you through caring for a particular bouquet. Call us on 07 823 0119 or get in touch.
Browse our fresh flowers, including bouquets, roses and seasonal blooms, with delivery across Cambridge, Hamilton and Te Awamutu.