5 Tips for Fresh Cut Flowers that Last Longer

I have all things garden, floral and spring on my mind over this week. From planning the cottage courtyard patio area to planting roses in the cutting garden to ordering some special fresh cut garden roses & flowers from the SF flower market. And today- as I was getting ready to send over my order for various greens & fresh flowers – I thought about some of those tips that I have learned over the years that help keep those beautiful fresh cut flowers from wilting- & keep them lasting and lasting.

Like keeping hydrangeas and lilacs from wilting, getting peonies to open up and even getting ranunculus to stand tall. And I thought I would share a few with you for this first post in a brand new series- all about being Wild For Flowers.

Fresh Cut Flowers that last

It seems no matter what your favorite type of flower to have in the house is- there is probably some tip or trick to get them to last longer. I have shared several over the years- and those posts are always some of my top one. Which tells me- that you love fresh cut flowers as much as I do. And you probably would love for them to last much longer than they usually do too.

Wild About Flowers

Wild about Flowers is about just that. Being Wild about Flowers all year long. From inspirations for arrangements and flowers to add to your garden, to bespoke floral arrangements, to tips and tricks and tutorials and more. I am super excited about formally kicking off this series and hope that you will be too.

Stay tuned for some exciting announcements – AND for our first fun project in March. Today- let’s talk about a few tips.

Fresh Cut Roses

Last week & into this week is one of the best times of the year to buy roses. Stop by your grocery store flowers area- and see what they have leftover from Valentines Day. Bring all the dozens of those 1/2 priced or even less roses home with you and enjoy them. Sure they won’t last as long as they might had you bought them last week- but often -they will last longer than you think. A tip is to pass on the roses that have ‘smooshy’ blooms- or slippery looking stems. They are already not soaking up that water as they should be and won’t look good for too much longer.

Tip: A tip with roses is to trim off that extra foliage- you want the roses to soak up as much water as possible- pretty leaves are great but I will take pretty rose blooms over them any day.

Fresh Hydrangeas

Those beautiful full hydrangeas that look amazing at the grocery store- but not so amazing after you bring them home. Yeah. We have all been there. And after being burned by wilted hydrangeas one too many times- I found out a few florists secrets.

I do one of two things first with hydrangeas. Often times- I don’t cut the stems at all after bringing them home. Hydrangeas are usually cut fairly short and will fit in a vase- and then I don’t have to worry about them wilting.

But if I do decide to cut them- I use a spice called Alum. Just cut the stem and dip it right into the alum before placing it in the water. It will help to keep it open and let that water reach the blooms.

More Tips for Keeping Hydrangeas from Wilting Here

Cut Lilacs

I am ordering Lilacs for a special project – and I am BEYOND excited to have them in the house again. Lilacs are some of my favorites- right up there with peonies, ranunculus and garden roses (all of which are on the order too- it is going to be a week full of floral inspiration)

Lilacs are another flower that will oftentimes wilt after you cut them. So when I have lilacs in the house- I make sure to have a hammer nearby. When you cut the lilac- take your stem and smash it with a hammer. It helps keep it open to allow water to soak up.

More Tips for Keeping Lilacs from Wilting Here

Florist tip for Ranunculus

If you have ever brought ranunculus home- you know the struggle with some of those delicate blooms and stems. They are often broken just under the head -and add that to the ranunculus issue of getting a tad ‘slimy’ for lack of a better word.

I have several florist secrets for ranunculus that I will be spilling soon with a video- but todays tip is one that is easy to do And it works. Simply cut those stems every couple of days- at a 45 degree angle. You don’t have to cut a ton off- just a bit will do to revive the flowers. And when you re-cut the stems- change the water that the ranunculus is in at the same time. It makes a world of difference in keeping them lasting.

Fresh Peonies

Peonies are notorious for not wanting to open sometimes. Maybe it is just a batch of them here or there- but sometimes they are really just not going to open. I have heard that those pesky ants that you can find on them often are needed to help them open- but not sure if that is just a rumor. Regardless though- when you get a big beautiful bunch of peonies that stall out and instead of opening fully – start to turn brown- it is super frustrating. I have found a couple things that help encourage them.

1. Place them in warm water. Not hot. Not too much- but just a bit warmer than you normally would.

2. Place the vase of them in a sunny window. Again- I think it is the warmth that encourages them.

3. Trim their stems after a day or two to encourage them.

Wrap up

The wrap up here- is that with those beautiful spring blooms on my mind- and those beautiful blooms in the house this week- I am going to be playing with flowers, sharing snippets here and there and will be working on some fun things that are coming your way in the next few weeks- stay tuned for more info on how to join in.

AND- stay tuned for more of this simple floral arrangement and all about how to create it as well.

I hope this helps give you some ideas for making those spring blooms last a bit longer. If anyone has any other tips they would like to add- would love for you to leave them in the comments.

You can also pick up a copy of my book Inspired Gatherings for more florals and ideas for them- (and if you already have my book and enjoyed it- don’t forget to leave a review at Amazon to let others know what you thought of it. ) (affiliate)

Also- I have heard from so many of you trying to get a copy of my first book- French Country Cottage. It is currently pretty much Completely Sold Out everywhere- and unfortunately-the latest restock order of the books is delayed due to damage in transit. It looks like it will be back in stock at the end of March- but if you would like to be on email list to get notified when I know it is coming- I am happy to send an update with early purchase info if I am able to get any in earlier. You can request to be on the list Here.

Happy Monday all.