A Comprehensive Flower Care Guide

Who doesn’t love a beautiful vase of fresh flowers? Well, everyone does. A vase of fresh, vibrant flowers can add cheerfulness and happiness to the surroundings. But, unfortunately, the gorgeous cut flowers that are a symbol of joy do not last long. Imagine, you wake up on a sunny Sunday morning just to notice the pretty roses in your bedroom drooping. Sounds upsetting, right? Don’t worry, we have the secrets to keep your cut flowers lasting as long as possible and extending their lives. Keep reading to find out more about flower care and how to make cut flowers last longer.

First things first – Which are the 8 cut flowers that last the longest?

Before we begin with the tips to extend flower life, let’s look at the list of 8 cut flowers that last the longest:

• Roses
• Orchids
• Tulips
• Sunflowers
• Amaryllis
• Hyacinth
• Alstroemeria
• Protea

Now, we’ll move to the next section where we’ll talk about how to extend the life of each of these flowers in detail.

Tips for extending flower life – Everything you need to know

Flower care is a captivating experience. If you are head over heels for beautiful cut flowers, make the most of these useful tips to extend the life of your much-loved  flowers.

ROSES

Vase life – 7 to 10 days

Whether you want to store cut yellow roses or cut red roses, follow these tips to keep them fresh and blossoming throughout the month:

• Trim the stem daily.
• While water is enough to sustain them, you can add an aspirin tablet to enhance their life.
• If you notice the cut rose drying out, remove a few dry outer petals and allow the remaining flower head to blossom again.
• Remove extra leaves on the stem.
• Form a tight bunch of the cut rose flowers and allow the individual flowers to lean against the walls of the vase.
• Change the water every two days.

ORCHIDS 

White orchids in The Samantha vase arrangement

Vase life – 14 to 21 days

If you want to keep your orchids fresh and beautiful, follow these useful tips:

• Trim the stems of the orchids regularly.
• Place them in fresh water and change the water regularly. You can change the water every second day for best results.
• Remove all the dead orchid flowers from the stalk.
• You can also place individual cut orchid flowers in a bowl of water and they'll float prettily. 

TULIPS

Vase life – 3 to 7 days

If you want your pretty tulip flowers to live a long life, follow these useful tips:

• Cut ¼ inch from the base of the stem using a clipper.
• If you find any extra leaves at the bottom of the stem, remove them.
• Place the tulips in cold water.
• Instead of placing them diagonally over each other, place them vertically without leaving much space between the flowers.
• Make sure the vase is never out of fresh water.
• Keep the tulips away from sunlight.

SUNFLOWERS

Vase life – 6 to 12 days

With adequate care, sunflowers can live a long life. Here’s how you can extend the life of your cut sunflowers:

• Cut the stems at a 45-degree angle.
• Remove excess leaves on the stem.
• Place the cut flowers immediately in the water.
• Since the head of a sunflower is heavy and big, you can add a wire underneath to support the flower.
• Change the water every day.

AMARYLLIS 

Vase life – 7 to 14 days

Amaryllis is usually used in traditional flower arrangements and decorations. To improve the vase life of your cut Amaryllis flowers, here’s what you can do:

• Since the stem of the Amaryllis flower is hollow, make sure you provide the stem with adequate support while you’re cutting it.
• Place the flowers in water at room temperature and then place the vase in a cool area overnight.
• To extend the flowering time, remove the long pollen-bearing stamens inside the flower with tweezers.
• Once the flowers become dead, remove the flower stalk with a sharp knife and allow a new bud to grow.

HYACINTH

Vase life – 4 to 7 days

Follow these steps to extend the life of your cut Hyacinth flowers:

• Cut the stem with a sharp knife.
• Once you cut the stem, wash the sticky substance thoroughly before you place the flowers in water.
• Change the water regularly.

ALSTROMERIA

Vase life – 5 to 7 days

Follow these steps to provide your Alstroemeria flowers with a long life:

• Remove any extra leaves on the stem, especially at the bottom to extend the life of the flower.
• Cut approximately 1 to 1.5 inch from the base under running water.
• If the buds are very tightly packed, submerge them in water.
• Immediately after you trim the stem, place the cut Alstroemeria flowers in water at room temperature.
• Make sure you keep the cut flowers away from sunlight.
• Change the water daily.
• Add flower preservative if required.

PROTEA

Red Protea Custom Arrangement

Vase life – 14 to 20 days

Protea is a tropical flower and the survival time of the cut flowers is much longer than all the flower listed in the article. However, if you want to extend the life of the flowers beyond 2 weeks, follow these useful steps:

• Trim approximately ¼ inch from the base of the stem.
• Remove any extra leaves on the stem, especially at the base of the stem or the past that will be submerged under water.
• Don’t place the cut Protea flowers in very cold water.
• Make sure you don’t fill the entire vase with water. Filling around 3/4 of the vase with fresh water at room temperature would be a good idea.
• Keep the cut Protea flowers away from sunlight.

The bottom-line

Now that you’ve gone through the tips and tricks to extend the life of your beautiful, cut flowers, you can make the most of this information to keep your flowers fresh and alive for extended periods. If you love cut flowers, you’ve got to treat them like your own babies. Cut flowers require a lot of attention and care to survive indoors. Remember, flower care isn't rocket science, by simply following the steps mentioned in this article, you can decorate your home with fresh cut flowers on every occasion. If you have more tips to share or any other questions that you would want us to answer, please drop us a note. We’ll be more than happy to help you. We hope you enjoyed reading our article.