In the heat of the summer, a freshly-cut flower bouquet is at risk of drying out and not lasting as long as it could.  Read on for my top tips to keep your bouquet refreshed and looking as beautiful as possible for as long as possible!

Day 1:  You’ve just brought your fresh garden or market bouquet into the house – what can be done to get it off to a good start? 

First, if it’s made up of local flowers, it’s likely that the stems are very fresh and well hydrated; they were likely cut within the last 2 days.  If you’re not sure how recently the flowers were cut, step one is to cut  ¼” to 1” off the bottom of the stems and place your bouquet in a clean vase with cool fresh water.  Find a nice spot for them to be on display out of direct sunlight.

Cut off bottom of stems

Day 2-3:  It’s hot outside! Your flowers are in a clear vase and you notice the water is almost all gone!

Fresh flowers can drink a lot and in the summer heat, water also evaporates more quickly so it is very important to top up the water in the first couple of days.  If your vase is ceramic or not transparent, leave yourself a reminder to check the water level and top it up if needed.

Day 4-5:  The flowers are well hydrated, but now the water is starting to look a little murky - yuck!

Most cut-flowers have their leaves removed from the portion of stem that will be in the water.  Murkiness is especially likely if there are any leaves or flower bits that have fallen into the vase and if the water has warmed due to the summer heat.  This is a good time to completely dump the water, give your vase a little swoosh, and refill with fresh cool water.

Low-murky water needs to be replaced

Day 6-7:  Check for any blooms that are starting to brown, wilt or drop their petals.

Some flowers last longer in a vase than others - this is normal. 

This flower still looks good!

This one looks bad!

To keep your lovely mixed flower bouquet looking its best as long as possible, here are two things you can do:

1)  Remove complete stems where all the flowers are no-longer looking their best.

Completely remove spent stems

2)  For a stem with multiple flower heads, where some still look good (or have not yet opened), and some look bad, simply snip off the blooms that are done and leave the rest.  This is a good idea if you have a large bouquet that still looks good overall and you don’t want disturb its structure.

Cut off spent flowers on a stem

Day 7+:  Repeat from the beginning, including re-cutting the bottom of the stems. 

Sometimes the capillaries in the stems can become blocked, re-cutting the bottom can encourage fresh water to flow up and give your bouquet an even longer vase-life.  

Lastly, if you have taken out several spent stems, think about moving your refreshed bouquet into a smaller vase that better matches the proportions of the smaller revived bouquet!The first vase is too big now

A smaller vase fits the refreshed bouquet better

Many freshly-cut local blooms can last 10-14 days in a vase!  See how long you can get your bouquet to go!

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Kinglet Consulting offers residential landscape design in Nanaimo, BC.  We love to help people connect with the outdoors in their own backyards through gardening and garden design.  Get in touch if you have any questions about how to care for your own landscape or are interested in a garden design consultation. 

You can also find fresh garden-bouquets at the Stirling Ave Flower Stand most weekends in the spring and summer!

Stirling Ave Flower Stand bouquet