How to Keep Your Fresh Flower Bouquet Last Longer

You got a fresh flower bouquet! You lose yourself admiring it until you realize that in just a few days the flowers will have wilted and you’ll have to throw your precious fresh flower bouquet away. If you’re not afraid of a little bit of maintenance work in order to keep your flowers looking fresh longer, we have some tips for you!

We have a simple step-by-step for the always on the go-not a green thumb kind of person. Check it out below:

Simple step-by-step to make fresh flowers last longer

- Remove the bouquet from the packaging (here you can break it down into several flower arrangements if you want!),

- Remove any excess leaves that will fall below the water to prevent bacterial growth,  

- Cut the stems diagonally under running water

- Prepare a solution with the attached preservative packet to put in the vase to keep the flowers fresh longer,

- Place flowers away from direct sunlight and avoid placing them near appliances that can generate high and low temperatures like stoves, air conditioner, computer or TV.

Now let’s explore a little bit of the process

When assembling a bouquet, to make it even more beautiful (and stable), elements such as ribbons, special wrapping paper and ornaments are used. Although they manage to perform their beautifying function with mastery, these props make it a little bit harder for the plant to breathe.

Therefore, the first thing to do to make the bouquet last longer is to remove everything that’s around or intertwined with the flowers. You should also remove any spoiled petals and leaves to slow down the flower degradation processes.

Use a clean and disinfected pruning knife or pruning shears to cut the flower stems - this will prevent contamination from residue on the tool.

After this, place the stems in running water and make a diagonal cut of approximately two centimetres at the base. This cut will be useful as it allows the plants to absorb more water.

The freshly cut stems must be placed in a vase with the preservative pack included asap – this will be crucial for the longevity of the flowers. The prevervative packs contain ingredients like carbohydrates, cleansing agents, and acidifiers to prevents the proliferation of fungi and bacteria.

When choosing a container, glass is better than plastic or other materials. It is very important to pay attention to the size of the container, as it needs to accommodate the flowers comfortably, not too tight.

As for the amount of water, you should fill the container with about 80% of fresh water. In addition, if you notice that some leaves have been submerged when placing the flowers in the vase, remove them immediately, so as not to proliferate bacteria to the other flowers. 

Finally, please note that prolonged direct sunlight exposure throughout the day, wind and especially air conditioning can greatly decrease the lifespan of fresh-cut flowers. Therefore, if you want to make your bouquet last longer, try to leave it in a well-ventilated place, where it’ll be in half shade.

If you’re thinking there must be some flowers that are longer-lasting than others, you’re right! The longer-lasting cut flowers are roses, alstromerias, orchids, lilies and, of course, the "evergreens", which can be of several varieties of flowering plants that manage to maintain their vibrant colours long after being cut and even after dried, with luck and good care, up to 15 days.

Flower Plus has been designing special fresh flower bouquets since 1985, and we promise to do our very best to honour yourself or the person you want to celebrate with one of our unique and beautifully designed bouquets that are sure to cheer them up!