Cutting Tools and Techniques

Always use clean, sharp utensils when cutting flowers. Knives, clippers, or shears can be employed. Never use ordinary household scissors. The gauge on scissors is set for paper or fabric, not for flower stems, which are bulkier. Using scissors will crush their vascular systems and prevent proper water uptake.

Flower and foliage stems that have been left out of water, even for a short period of time, seal up and inhibit the absorption of water. Air bubbles sometimes enter the stem and prevent a steady flow of water. In order to prevent this from happening, some people cut their flowers under water before transferring from bucket to vase. However, I have found this to be awkward. Cutting the flower stem in open air and immediately placing it in the vase of water is usually fine.

Cut all flowers and foliage about one inch from the bottom of a main stem. Make the slice at an angle of about 45 degrees. Cutting at an angle provides a larger exposed area for the uptake of water. It also enables the stem to stand on a point, allowing water to be in contact with the cut surface. Remove all the lower foliage that would be submerged in water. This will retard bacterial growth, which shortens the vase life of flowers and makes the water smell foul.

Water Temperature

Professional florists and commercial growers always use lukewarm water for their cut flowers. The water temperature should be 100°F to 110°F. (An exception is when you are using bulb flowers, such as hyacinths and tulips, which need cold water.) Warm water molecules move faster than cold water molecules and so can be absorbed by flowers with greater ease. The objective is to get water and nutrients as quickly as possible to the head of the flower.

Preservatives

Using a preservative definitely increases the longevity of cut flowers. To survive, flowers need three ingredients: carbohydrates, biocides, and acidifiers. Carbohydrates are necessary for cell metabolism; biocides combat bacteria and are necessary for maintaining plant health; acidifiers adjust the pH of water to facilitate and increase water uptake.

Under normal circumstances, flowers get what they need from the plant. When severed from the plant, however, flowers are deprived of these essential substances. But they are present in ready-made commercial preservatives, like Floral Life. Such solutions contain sugar for nutrition, antibiotic to keep the water clear of bacteria, and citric acid to gently acidify the water. When using commercial brands, be sure to follow recommended measurements for different container sizes. You can also make your own preservative (see "Homemade Flower Preservative," below)

Homemade Flower Preservative

Home mixes can be as effective as commercial preservatives. This easy-to-make recipe is very effective.

    1 teaspoon sugar
    1 teaspoon household bleach
    2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
    1 quart lukewarm water

Preparing the Stems

Flowers require some additional preparation after cutting. The type of preparation depends on the type of flower stem: hearty, hollow, soft, woody, or milky.

Hearty Stems: Flowers with hearty (or solid) stems such as orchids, coxcomb and alium need only the diagonal cut to absorb maximum water.

Hollow Stems: The stems of hollow-stemmed flowers, such as amaryllis, bells-of-Ireland, dahlias, delphiniums, and hollyhocks, can benefit from being filled with water. Simply turn the flower upside down and pour water into the open cavity of the stalk. To keep the liquid in, you can plug the stem with a small piece of cotton and then place it in the vase. Alternatively, place your thumb over the opening at the bottom of the stem and then put it in the water. The water trapped inside will keep the stem strong and straight.

Soft Stems: Bulb flowers such as hyacinths, iris, and tulips have soft stems and should be cut where the green on the stem starts - just above the white bulb. Place the flowers in cold water. Since most bulbs bloom when the air and ground are still at low temperatures, they do better in a vase of cold water.

Woody Stems: For woody plants such as lilac, dogwood, mock orange, hydrangea, and heather, be sure to split the stems at the ends or gently smash them. This will create more surface area to absorb water.

Milky Stems: Flowers such as euphorbia, lobelia, poppies, and snow-on-the-mountain secrete latex sap that oozes into the water and clogs the vascular system of other flowers in the container, preventing them from absorbing water. For this reason, the ends of the stems need to be seared before the flowers are placed in the arrangement. There are two ways to accomplish this: Either dip the cut end of the flower in boiling water for 30 seconds or apply a flame from a match or candle to the precut flower stem for about 30 seconds.

Care of Cut Flowers in an Arrangement

Here are some general rules that will help you make your cut-flower arrangements last:

  • Don't overcrowd the flowers in the container.
  • Check the water level in the vase and replenish it frequently.
  • Flowers that go limp are not drinking well and need to be recut.
  • Always discard wilted blooms and adjust remaining flowers to fill voids.
  • Keep flowers away from drafts, direct sunlight, and ripening fruits, which emit ethylene gas - a substance that causes buds to remain closed, petals to have poor color, and flowers to have a shortened vase life.
  • If your flowers arrive in wet Oasis foam, keep the floral foam soaked with water by adding a small amount of water every day or so, being aware where the lip of the container is to avoid spillage.