Let's Talk... Flower Care
Sending flowers is the universal way to say “I care about you.” Whether you are giving or receiving, knowing how to care for your flowers will bring you the joy of watching the flowers bloom to their absolute best.
Shopping at local floral shops is a good indicator that fresh blooms are being hand-picked and delivered to your doorstep. We say that flowers can last anywhere from 4-7 days on average, but there are ways to keep your flowers happy even longer than that.
Some of the Basics
- Always keep your flowers out of direct sun and heat.
- Add fresh water daily (if arrangement is designed in oasis) and refresh water (room temperature) when it gets cloudy and murky.
-
Give flowers a fresh cut if they have been out of water (ie. brought home or delivered as a wrapped bouquet, or while refreshing water).
All Flowers are Unique
More delicate and distinctive blooms, like garden roses and peonies, do not last as long as some of our other favorite blooms such as tulips, snapdragons and even standard roses.
The beauty of intricate garden varieties is that their beauty is fleeting,
but as they open up more and more, their presence cannot be ignored.
As these flowers start to droop, remove them from the vase. This prevents bacteria from the dying flowers from affecting the fresh, happy stems. Spreading bacteria is usually the main culprit of dying flowers.
Speaking of Bacteria...
Most of the time your flower arrangements come in a glass vase - which makes it very easy to detect murky water.
Some stems decompose faster than others (usually the varieties of flowers that have soft stems or even fuzzy stems). When the stems break down, bacteria enters the water and will then cause the other flowers to die faster! This is why as soon as that water turns green and icky, you should refresh it. Also, as mentioned earlier, throw out the stems that are going bad to keep your other blooms’ lives extended.
How, you ask? Give your stems a fresh cut (on a 45 degree angle) and place them back into room temperature water.
“But what if it was made in that weird green foamy block???”
Sometimes arrangements are made in Oasis floral foam (aka that “green foam stuff”) when the container chosen is not glass or the designer is trying to achieve a certain style. If this is the case, it’s best to check the water level DAILY. Not only should the foam be wet, you should be able to feel water on the sides of the container.
It’s best not to remove and re-insert the flowers after they have been put into the oasis by your designer. So if you notice the flowers are starting to wilt, even if the water level is high, just toss those out and let the other flowers continue to bloom.
Okay, Let’s Talk Wrapped Bouquets.
For those times when you might have just stopped by the store and had one of your favorite designers make you a bunch, or grabbed a pre-made bouquet on your way home.
- Fill up your favorite vase with fresh, room temperature water.
- Cut your stems to the length you desire (even if they are the perfect length, snip off a quarter inch).
- Make sure NO leaves are in the vase when you place them. As we talked about keeping that water fresh and bacteria-free… leaves in the water will create A LOT of bacteria. Remove anything that sits below the water line. We always make sure to strip most of our stems of excess greens, but of course when you get home and put them in your own vase, stems move or we may have missed one.
We’re Done, We Promise.
We want you to experience flowers at their fullest potential so you can see them at their most beautiful. Taking care of your cut flowers can also teach you so much about your flowers and can be extremely satisfying. Five minutes of extra attention to your florals could mean they’ll return the love by giving you more time to appreciate their loveliness.
So when you send or receive your next vase of beauties, use these tips to love them as long as you can.