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

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.