You’ll be happily surprised at how much longer your flowers last following these steps:
2. Flowers should be carefully packed when they are taken home, as this prevents damage to flowers or stems.
3. Make sure the vase is clean.
4. The flowers will last longer if you use cut flower food. Make sure you use the correct amount. If you are not sure, then ask your florist.
5. Before arranging the flowers in a vase, cut off approximately an inch from each stem at an angle. If you have roses, cut them with the stems underwater.
7. Remove all leaves on the lower portion of the stems. Leaves should never be covered with water as this will decrease the longevity of the flowers.
8. Regularly top up the vase with clean water.
9. Keep out of direct sunlight, keep away from heat and breezes. Keep away from fruit.
10. At night, flowers prefer to be kept cool and benefit from a lower thermostat setting.
11. Daffodils can be deadly to other flowers because they secrete a poison in the water. After trimming, leave them on their own for a whole day and do not cut again before combining them with other flowers. However, a special cut flower food is available for daffodils and this enables them to be mixed with other cut flowers immediately (ask your florist for this).
12. If your flowers start to droop, cut off at least an inch underwater, to prolong their life. Remember, flowers are thirsty!
So I took a floral design class in High School a couple of years ago and my instructor said to never cut roses with scissors because it will damage the stem tissue. In class we used like a special blade to cut them. What do you prefer to use when cutting the stem? I’m wondering because sometimes I do cut them with scissors and other times I will use a knife. I plan on going to the store sometime soon but I want to make sure I get the right thing for cutting the stem. Does it really matter what I use?