Caring for your Cut Flowers

Quick Guide    (Be sure to read the full guide below)

Cut Flowers

Unwrap, re-cut, remove low foliage, place in deep water, use flower food

Roses

Treat as above, if flop use the under-water treatment. (see below)

Tied Bouquets

Do not un-tie, treat as above

Aquapacks

Top up with water daily or empty water over sink, treat as above

Flower Arrangements

Top up with water daily, dead-head

General

Keep away from sources of heat, draughts or direct sunlight.

Caution

Keep away from children as can be toxic
May cause allergic reactions - wash hands directly after handling
Keep away from electrical items
Do not place on unprotected surfaces
Lily pollen can stain, remove from blooms as they open.
Do not eat decorative items such as fruit or nuts that may be part of your arrangement.
Candles are provided for decoration only and must not be lit.

Maintenance

Keep the container topped up with water
Dead head to keep looking fresh
Change water daily if warm
Trim stem ends every other day
Remove all foliage from below the water
Use flower food

Cut Flowers

Unwrap your flowers whether they have been gift wrapped or just provided in shop paper or wrap.

You must then re-cut the stem ends at an angle of about 45° with a sharp knife or scissors, taking off approximately one inch. This opens up the vascular system and enables the stem to take in water. The cells at the base of the stem will have died as the stem end dries up, this only takes a matter of minutes. Cutting the stem at an angle helps the cells take in water as it increases the surface area of each cell.

Do not hammer, crush or otherwise damage your stem ends as this only destroys cell structure and reduces the possibility of water intake.

Place them in deep water prior to arranging in a clean container, having removed any foliage which will be below the water level. Rotting foliage in the water will cause bacterial growth that will reduce the vase life of your flowers. The deeper the stems can be under water the easier it will be for the stem to draw water up to the flower head.

Use fresh cut flower food provided by your florist. This should be dissolved in the water in the stated strength. It provides the nutrients your flowers need (potassium, phospherous and nitrogen) for longevity and also contains anit-bacterial properties to help keep the water clean.

Do not be tempted to use the flower food in higher concentration. This will be detrimental to the flowers as it will begin the process of reverse-osmosis, causing all nutrients to be drawn out of the stem and into the water.

Roses

Treat as for cut flowers above.
Ensure they are in deep water.

If the roses flop at the neck after only a day or two they are likely not bad or dead. They are almost certainly having trouble drinking the water due to an airlock within the stem, (a common problem with woody stemmed flowers especially roses.) They can and most often DO recover if treated quickly.

We do not advocate the 'boiling water' treatment for roses as this can promote rot within the flower head once exposed to steam.

The under water treatment does mean getting your hands wet, but it is by far the most effective way of resurrecting flopped roses. You must fill a bucket deep with water, as full as possible without causing spillage. Place the flopped roses into the bucket allowing the stem ends to reach the bottom. Using sharp scissors and with your hands under the water you must re-cut stems at an angle in the deep water, taking off a good two inches. You may see bubbles rise. Do not remove your roses from the bucket, leave them in the deep water for an hour or so until the heads recover. You may actually SEE the flower heads rise as they recover.

This works because it is the water pressure deep at the bottom of the bucket that draws the airlock out of the stem, and the depth of the water allows the stem to draw water up to the head more effectively.

We use the 'under water' treatment for roses in our shop and have never failed to achieve success, even with roses that customers have brought back to us.   :o)

Tied Arrangements

Your bouquet has been expertly constructed in a design that is already arranged for you. Therefore do not un-tie your flowers, as this will defeat the object of the florists labour. You must re-cut the stem ends, taking off no more than an inch from every stem. Treat as for flowers above, ensuring that ALL the stems are under the water level.

However if delivered in water as an aquapack either keep the water bag topped with water daily or remove bag over a sink and then treat as above.

Flower Arrangements

Your flowers have been arranged either in floral foam, vases or other
containers. Ensure the water level is topped up daily.

General

General rule - flowers last longer in cool stable environments.

Avoid putting flowers in direct sunlight, draughts or hot locations. These all increase the transpiration rate and respiration rate of the flowers, meaning that they loose water faster. This may cause them to go limp when they cannot draw water up quick enough to replace the lost moisture in their cells. Alternatively they may drink water too fast and empty the container and therefore run dry.

Always use any flower preservative provided in the correct dosage.

Caution

Some flowers and foliage may be toxic or cause skin irritations. Keep out of reach of children. Always wash your hands after handling flowers and plants.

Never place flowers or plants on or near electrical equipment, and always use a protective mat or layer between the container and the surface on which it sits.

Lily pollen from stamens is known to stain permanently - avoid contact with all surfaces (you may prefer to remove stamens from the blooms as they open).

Some arrangements may contain candles, fresh fruit or other decorative items. These are intended purely for display - fruit should not be eaten (in case it contains potentially harmful fixatives) and candles should not be lit (in case they fall over, or are placed near inflammable material).

Constant care / maintenance

Remove blooms as they fade. Dead heading will keep your vase of flowers looking fresh, and in certain varieties may encourage buds to open.

Keep your vase topped up with fresh water.

During very hot months or if your room is particularly warm at any time the water in your vase may get too warm for the stems, causing faster stem rot and bacterial growth. You must then change the water in your vase every day, cleaning your vase before filling with fresh cold water.

Tips

Certain varieties of flowers are cut immature and may be delivered to you in tight bud. This is to ensure vase life, using flower food will promote bloom development.

Woody stem flowers have greater difficulty drawing up water, are more likely to flop and need deeper water and greater attention.

Some varieties continue to grow whilst in the vase, Tulips and gerbera for example. Tulips are also phototropic, and therfore turn toward the sunlight. Therefore if using these in an arrangement make allowance for the growth and even use it to your advantage.

Average vase life for cut flowers is 7 to 10 days. Although every different flower is individual and therefore some varieties may only have a vase life of 5-7 days while others may have 10-14.

Ethylene Gas - this is a gas produced by fruit and vegetables as they mature and rot. Fresh flowers are highly sensitive to it, and exposeure to ethylene gas will cause most flowers to die prematurely. Keep flowers away from Fruit and veg!

All Narcissi, including Daffodils, have a toxic resin in their stems. This can kill other flowers quickly if they are mixed together without first conditioning the Narcissi. To do this simply cut the stems ends of the Daffs or other Narcissi and keep them in their own separate water for 12 hours. This allows the resin to seep out into the water. Use fresh water to mix your Daffs and other flowers together.

Problems

If you have a problem with your flowers, you must contact your florist straight away. If you leave it too long after the problem has arisen, it may be too late for anything to be done.

Also you must keep the flowers to show your florist, they may want to see the flowers. It may be possible for the florist to ascertain why the problem has arisen, and then address the situation accordingly.