Fresh as a Daisy: Bouquet Care Tips that Actually Work

Nothing breathes life into your home quite like a fresh flower bouquet. Whether your spouse surprised you with roses or you hand-picked a dozen lilies, you’ll want to enjoy those flowers for as long as possible. Here are a few simple guidelines to maximize the lifespan of your flowers.

Choose a Strategic Vase

While you may be tempted to reach for the prettiest vase on the shelf, there’s more to consider when selecting a new home for your flowers.

It’s important to select a vase that is the right size and height for the bouquet. For a perfect fit, the stems should be supported evenly by the vase and the vase height should match the stem length.

Lighter, more fragile flowers thrive in a taller vase with their stems left long. Heavier flowers should be cut short to avoid a top-heavy arrangement and are better suited to a low vase with extra room to spread out.

Avoid cramming too many flowers into a small-necked vase or leaving delicate flowers flopping around in a wide-mouthed vase.

Before arranging your flowers, ensure the vase is clean by washing it with warm water and dish soap to remove any residue.

Remove Leaves Below the Water Line

When arranging your flowers, remove any leaves positioned below the water line. Submerged leaves accelerate bacterial growth that clogs stems, preventing them from absorbing water.

To prune leaves, simply take a leaf between your thumb and index finger and pull the leaf away from the stem in a downward motion. Be gentle with leaf removal as minor gashes or breaks in the stems accelerate the aging process.

After your initial pruning, check your flowers regularly for any additional leaves or petals that may have fallen into the water.

Add a Packet of Flower Food

Most florists will send a packet of flower food alongside a bouquet. These pre-packaged mixtures contain all the essential nutrients and preservatives that help flowers last.

With a blend of sugars to feed the flowers, acidifiers to control pH levels, and chemicals to reduce harmful bacteria, these balanced packets do the hard work for you. Give the packet instructions a glance to ensure you have the correct water-to-food ratio.

While these packets are flower-friendly for most varieties, some flowers may react poorly, such as zinnias and sunflowers. Check with your florist or do a quick Google search before using the packet.

Cut Stems at a Diagonal

A common mistake in prepping flowers is not cutting the stems. While on display in stores, the ends of flower stems can dry out, making water absorption difficult.

Simply use a sharp knife to trim an inch off the stems before placing them in water. This removes dead cells and exposes fresh tissue, increasing water absorption.

Always cut at a 45-degree angle to increase the surface area for better water absorption and to prevent the stems from sitting flat on the bottom of the vase.

Some flowers, such as roses, can get air bubbles stuck in their stems when trimmed. This can easily be avoided by cutting the stems underwater.

Be careful not to crush or damage the stems as this will restrict water uptake.

Place Away from Direct Sunlight, Heat, and Fruit

When choosing a location for your flowers, stay clear of direct sunlight, heat sources, and fruit.

While it’s understandable to think of placing your flower arrangement in a sunny location, cut flowers are easily dehydrated and should not be placed in direct sunlight.

Similar to sunlight, avoid placing flowers near vents, ceiling fans, or appliances that generate heat (such as radiators) as these dehydrate flowers and decrease their lifespan.

While you might not think twice about setting flowers next to a fruit bowl, you’ll soon be dealing with a limp bouquet. Ripening produce emits trace amounts of an odorless gas called ethylene that causes flowers to age more rapidly, resulting in wilted petals and reduced longevity.

Placing your bouquet away from these sources will prevent an accelerated aging process, ensuring that your flowers stick around for longer.

Keep the Water Fresh

Flowers can absorb a lot of water - it’s not uncommon for a flower arrangement to drink a vase's worth of water within the first day or two. You’ll want to watch the water level and replenish it as needed to ensure the flowers don’t dry out and wilt.

Flowers are sensitive to bacteria that may accumulate in the water. Besides monitoring the water level, check to see if the water looks cloudy. If it does, remove the flowers and pour out the old water. Clean the vase to remove any bacterial residue and refill it two-thirds of the way with fresh water and flower food. Rinse and recut the stems before returning the flowers to the vase.

If the water level is low but the water isn’t cloudy, you may still want to change the water instead of just topping it off to avoid potential bacterial growth.

Continue to clean the vase and re-cut the stems each time you change the water to keep your flowers healthy and fresh-smelling.

While some varieties of flowers last longer than others, following these flower care guidelines ensures that you’ll enjoy your bouquet for as long as possible.