Let’s talk about the best practices for keeping your cut flower arrangement alive. As a full time florist who has been in the industry for ten years, you can take my word, and these tips!, to heart.

So the first thing to think about is where you place your flowers matters. You don't want to throw your flowers just anywhere. And what I mean by that is you want be aware of the environment you’re putting your flowers in. Cut flowers don't have roots anymore. They don't need sunlight anymore. Sunlight will actually damage your flowers and make them die faster. We don't want the heat from it, and we also don't want the sun rays from it. The heat and rays can actually bleach and dry out your flowers. So don't put your flower arrangement in the sun. Do not set it outside and do not set them in front of a sunny window.

You also wanna be aware of wind, or air flow. So again, the whole drying out thing. If air constantly blowing on your flower arrangement, it is going dry the leaves and the petals out. So don't put them under a ceiling fan and make sure that there are no fans blowing on them directly. Also be aware of vents. Hot or cold air, the flowers won’t appreciate either.

Your flowers are going drink up a lot of water and probably more than you expect them to. I I see flowers drink all the time, and I'm am constantly reminded of how quickly and how much they drink. Especially in the summer time when it’s warmer out. Your flowers are going to chug water. So just be mindful of the fill level adn check it every day. If your flowers are in a non clear vase, dip your fingers into the vase and see how far you need to reach in until you feel water. Make it a habit to fill the vase all the way to the top. Especially with some designs these days, you can’t expect the stems to be resting at the bottom of the vase. Some stems will be placed at an angle and will be higher up in the vase and could potentially be out of the fill line if you let the water drop. That’s why it’s a good rule of thumb to fill them to the top.

Not all the flowers in your arrangement will die at the same time, as each flower variety has it’s own lifespan. Some will stay fresh for 10 days, others 3. As a flower dies in the arrangement, pick it out and throw it away. You don’t want the decomposing process of one bloom influence another bloom that’s still healthy. Bacteria will start as the flower dies and it can spread to the others. As you notice browning and shriveling, pick the dead ones out and toss them in the trash. Plus, your arrangement will look better overall if you get rid of the dead ones.

As flowers die, they leave bacteria in the water. So what you want to do is you replace the water in the vase every couple of days. This isn’t just topping the vase off, this is replacing the water entirely with fresh water. The easiest way to do this is to place the arrangement in your sink and let the water run into the vase to overflow it. As the water overflows, new water will replace the old water. Use only cool water and try not to soak any of the flower heads. That can invite mold and bacteria growth. Once you let the water run for a few minutes, your vase is now filled with fresh, clean water.

You want to feed your flowers as well as keep them hydrated. Hopefully your arrangement came with a flower food packet. You’ll want to feed your flowers after you give them a fresh vase of water. When you first recieve your flowers, the vase will already be filled with a food solution that your florist put in there when they designed your arrangement for you. After having your arrangement for 3 days and it’s time to refresh the water, sprinkle a third of the packet into the vase to feed the flowers. You don’t want to use all the food so that you have more to use for future water refreshes. If you don’t have a flower food packet, a table spoon of sugar will do.

And then the last thing you can do, especially if you live in a dry climate like I do in Utah, you can spritz your flowers with water. You can fill a clean bottle with cool water and spritz water over the arrangement 1-2 times to give the petals and leaves a little hydration. I would do this every other day. Or maybe align this task with on water refresh day, every 3 days. Hydrangea especially loves this. But don’t overdue it and don’t do this every day. Too much petal moisture is a bad thing.