6 EASY STEPS FOR LONGER LASTING FLOWER ARRANGEMENTS
Photo by Milly Sime
Do you find your flower arrangements droop after only a few days? Or struggle with vases filled with murky, smelly or slimy water?
Just by knowing a few beginners floristry techniques you can have nicer looking arrangements and extend the shelf life of your flowers for maximum joy and value for money.
These simple tips and tricks, from looking after your vases to preparing and caring for your flowers, really don’t take any time at all but will make the world of difference.
always use a clean vase
It might sound obvious, but always use a clean vase for your arrangements, so there is no nasty bacteria lurking which can hurt your flowers. Here are some tips for cleaning your vases:
Use a home made salt and vinegar paste, scrubbed on with a toothbrush or sponge and then rinsed off.
Or you can fill the vase with water and add a teaspoon of baking soda and small amount of distilled vinegar. After the fizzing has died down scrub with a toothbrush or sponge and rinse.
You can also use good old-fashioned washing up liquid.
If you have a really tall vase and/or one that has a narrow neck, and therefore is hard to clean, you can buy reusable stainless steel balls to swill around in the water/cleaning solution which work like a charm.
For extra sparkle polish your vase after cleaning it, with a microfibre cloth and glass cleaner.
Always put your vases away clean. This way they are always ready to go, plus they look and smell nicer.
HELP your flowers TO DRINK
Whenever your flowers have been out of water, make sure to cut the ends of the stems before putting them back into clean water. This is because as the stem dries out, it stops being able to drink, (picture a blocked drinking straw).
Cutting one or two cms / half and inch cut from the end of your stem is usually fine, but if your flowers are drooping after a couple of hours, you may want to try cutting a little more off.
It’s not essential, but cutting your stems at a 45 degree angle increases the surface area of the freshly cut stem encouraging it to drink even more.
Alway STRIP the stems
Make sure you strip off any leaves on your stems that will sit under the waterline of your vase. Even if you have an opaque vase and can’t see them, this is really important.
Many leaves left under the waterline will turn the water slimy and smelly caused by bacteria and will shorten the lifespan of your precious flowers.
the best place for your blooms
Where you put your vase can have a big impact on how happy your flowers are.
Keep your vase away from prolonged exposure to direct sunlight and heat sources (for example working fireplaces, radiators or ovens).
Keeping your flowers nice and cool will extend the life of most flowers, but the opposite is true of tropical flowers who want to stay warm.
Keep flowers away from cold draughts.
change the water
Every few days remove the flowers from the vase, change the water (give it a quick clean if need be) and give any drooping stems a fresh trim to encourage drinking.
Cut any slimy stems back until there is only healthy looking stem left.
It’s often possible to revive droopy flowers this way, especially roses, lisianthus and hydrangeas.
change or DOWNSIZE your vase
If you have a mixed bunch, some types of flowers will naturally last longer than others. Please don’t think that this means you have to live with a half dead bouquet, or throw the whole thing away prematurely.
Instead, simply remove dead flowers to keep the display looking good as long as possible, and if necessary transfer the flowers to a smaller or slimmer vase to keep enjoying your flowers as long as possible.
I often keep downsizing my vases until I have one or two stems left in bud vases, enjoying my blooms for as long as possible.
Shop the flower edit
If you’re a budding florist I’ve curated a selection of my favourite tools and books to get you started, over on my ShopMy page.
Please note, some are affiliate links.
