The most common question we get after a delivery is some version of: why did my last bunch die so fast? The answer is almost always one of three things. The water, the temperature, or the moment the stems were cut. None of it is complicated, but it does require a small amount of attention on the first day.
Start with a clean vessel ¶
Bacteria is what kills cut flowers, and bacteria lives in dirty vases. Before you put anything in, wash the vessel with hot soapy water and rinse it thoroughly. This sounds obvious but most people rinse quickly and call it done. A vase that smells faintly of old water is not clean enough. If you are reusing a vessel that held flowers last week, give it a proper scrub.
Cut the stems again before they go in ¶
When a stem is cut and then sits in air, even for a few minutes, the cut end begins to seal over. Water cannot travel up a sealed stem. Cut at least a centimetre off the bottom of each stem at a 45-degree angle, using a sharp knife rather than scissors. Scissors crush the stem tissue. Do this under running water or with the stem submerged if you can manage it.
Temperature matters more than most people think ¶
Flowers last longer in cool rooms. A kitchen near a warm oven or a windowsill in direct afternoon sun will shorten the life of an arrangement by two or three days. If you can, put the arrangement somewhere cool overnight. We keep our studio at around 8 degrees Celsius. You do not need to go that far, but a hallway or a north-facing room is better than a warm kitchen.
Change the water every two days ¶
Fresh water every two days, with a fresh cut on the stems each time. This is the single habit that makes the biggest difference. Flower food sachets help slightly, but clean water changed regularly does more. If you cannot change the water, at least top it up. Stems sitting in shallow water dry out faster than stems in a full vessel.
Remove leaves below the waterline ¶
Any leaf sitting in water will rot, and rotting leaves accelerate bacterial growth in the water. Before you arrange the stems, strip any foliage that would sit below the waterline. This takes thirty seconds and it makes a real difference to how long the water stays clean.
None of this is difficult. The flowers we send out are cut the morning they leave the studio, which gives them the best possible start. What happens after that is mostly about water and temperature. Get those two things right and most summer arrangements will last seven to ten days.