Queen of all flowers, her majesty the rose is very demanding. To avoid air bubbles going up to the bud and prevent "bent-neck", you need to follow some simple recommendations that our expert florists are happy to share with you. Roses are the nation’s favourite flowers and each year millions of stems are bought and sold. Either for yourself or for the person you would like to make happy with a rose delivery, with these useful tips, you can enjoy their beauty longer.
When you bring your roses back to your home, or after the delivery, your flowers need water. Remove the wrapping paper carefully by opening it entirely, do not try to pull the stems at the bottom. Leave them for 5 minutes so they have a transition period to adapt to the room temperature.
In the meantime
- Select a vase with a suitable size to the roses, make sure this vase is clean. It is very important to avoid germs or bacteria that may kill your flowers. Soapy water and a good rinse is perfect!
- Fill in the vase with tap water at room temperature and add your flower food. This is a very important step as this small bag full of nutriments will help your roses to better absorb water and remain beautiful much longer. The flower food will also ensure the water is as clean as possible, with no bacteria.
- Remove the leaves from the stems, especially the leaves that may be under the water line, thus avoiding the water becoming murky with rotting leaves. Check the petals that surround the blooms and don’t hesitate to remove those that don’t seem fresh as well as any broken heads. Dirty water will block the stem and no water or nutriments will go up to the bud.
- Recut at least 2cm of the stem using a clean sharp knife or a secateurs. Never use scissors as they will simply crush the fibres and water will not be able to reach the top of the flower. Always cut a large surface (2 to 3cm) in a 45° angle because a large surface takes up a lot more water and nutriments than a small surface. Put into water immediately to prevent “bent-neck” caused by air bubbles that may enter the stems. After a few days you can take the bouquet out of the vase and recut the stems, 1 cm is enough to make sure that bottom of the stems don’t clog up with bacteria and all kind of dirty things in the water.
- Check water every day and refill if needed. If you used the right quantity of flower food you just need to adjust the water quantity. But if you see that the water is murky or dirty, don’t hesitate to change it entirely. Empty the vase, clean it carefully, recut the stems and fill in the vase with tap water and flower food.
- Store your flowers in a cold room during the night
- Avoid direct sun, draughts and keep them away from ripening fruits which produce ethylene
Enjoy!
