Vase Life and FAQs

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The flowers I grow are grown and conditioned without chemicals, which means it's unlikely they'll last as long as commercial chemically treated flowers. 

I see this as positive as they are natural living products without nasties, but with all the scent. 

Some people swear by a 2 pence piece in the bottom of the vase...I'm not so sure.

If you look after your flowers, they will last longer. 

They prefer to be out of direct sunlight, somewhere not too warm and have clean water that is regularly changed - ideally cleaning or changing the vase too. If you can do this daily then all the better!

When you change the water, give the stems a cut on the angle, remove any spent blooms and make sure no foliage or flowers are under the water as this will encourage bacteria.

1. If a flower goes over before the rest (common with garden roses), remove or cut that bloom out and enjoy the rest of the arrangement.
2. If a flower starts to droop, take the stem out, give it an angle cut, dip it in boiling water for 10 seconds then into cold and see if it perks up.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it's too late.
3. Tulips continue to grow after being cut and will twist and turn to the light.If they start to get unruly and you're not keen on the new gnarly look, then give them a quick trim and put back in your vase arrangement.
4. My sunflowers are droopy. They can get a bit top heavy and if you've not keen on their position then you can use a wooden skewer and insert it under the flower head in the stem and then secure further down the stem to give it a bit of support to keep it up.
5. If you want to dry your flowers (some work better than others) then you can leave them in the vase with an inch of water and once it has gone, tie them and hang them upside down somewhere cool, dark and dry.