Clean your vase thoroughly. Any lingering bacteria will make your flowers wilt faster.
Choose a vase that’s half the height of the flowers. If the bouquet is bottom-heavy, use a narrower vase, if the top is overpowering, use a wider one. Make sure that your vase is clean before use. Leave the vase to dry naturally, as using a towel can reintroduce bacteria which may cause your flowers to deteriorate quicker.
Add the packet of Flower Food that accompanies your flowers from us.
Remove any foliage that will sit below the waterline to avoid build-up of debris. If your flowers include roses, you may notice some discoloured outer petals. These are guard petals, which protect the inner petals. Gently remove 2-3 guard petals to reveal these.
While it may seem counterintuitive to remove leaves from your bouquet it’s worthwhile — both aesthetically and for the health and longevity of your bouquet.
When trimming your stems, don’t do so horizontally. Cut at a 45° angle. This increases the surface area through which the stems absorb the water and prevents stems from sitting flush with the bottom of the vase – which can make it difficult for your flowers to get a drink of water.
We recommend varying the stem length to give your arrangement a height range.
Top up the water every other day and change it immediately if you notice the water has turned cloudy. Even with flower food, bacteria eventually builds up in the vase and can clog up the stems, preventing flowers from drinking. Remove any dead or wilting stems from the arrangement, clean the vase with warm, soapy water and rinse thoroughly before refilling.
To keep your flowers blooming beautifully, make sure you trim the stems and refresh their water every few days. This will help extend their vase life.
Add Some Bleach
While the idea of adding bleach to flower water might sound counterintuitive, a couple of drops added to the vase can help keep your floral displays alive for longer.
The bleach helps kill off any bacteria in the water, the flower stems or your vase, and also prevents the water from turning cloudy (a bonus when you’re using a glass vase).
You only need a small amount – just a few drops, or 1/4 teaspoon of bleach for in 1 litre of water.
Another way to keep your fresh flowers looking their best for days or weeks on end? Removing stems that have lost their vitality.
If you notice that any of the flowers have hit their point of no return, remove them from the vase, especially with a mixed bouquet, some varieties will begin to die sooner than others and, once they begin to wilt, will cause an excess build-up of bacteria in the vase water. Spare your other stems by removing these early.
Treat yourself or a friend to a beautiful bouquet of from:
Call: 0141 649 9955
1073 Cathcart Road, Cathcart,
Glasgow.
G42 9AF
Monday – Friday
9am – 5:30pm
Saturday 9am to 4:pm Sunday Closed
To order flower arrangements, book a wedding appointment or order funeral flowers, call us on 0141 649 9955