The most common question I get after delivering an arrangement is how to keep it alive. Cut flowers are never going to last forever, but the difference between careless handling and a bit of attention is often a week rather than a couple of days.
Start with a Clean Vase
This is the step almost everyone skips, and it matters more than anything else on this list. Bacteria in the water is what blocks the stems and stops them drinking. A vase that looks clean can still carry enough residue to shorten the life of an arrangement noticeably. Wash it properly with hot soapy water before you use it.
Cut the Stems on an Angle
Trim two to three centimetres off the bottom of each stem before the flowers go in water, and cut on a diagonal rather than straight across. The angle stops the stem sitting flat on the base of the vase and sealing itself off. Use sharp scissors or secateurs, not kitchen scissors that crush rather than cut, since a crushed stem struggles to draw water.
Recut every few days when you change the water. Stems seal over time, and a fresh cut reopens them.
Strip Anything Below the Waterline
Any leaves sitting in the water will rot, and rotting foliage is the fastest route to cloudy, bacterial water. Strip the lower portion of each stem before arranging. It also makes the arrangement look cleaner.
Change the Water Properly
Every two days is a reasonable rhythm. Topping up is not the same as changing it, because the bacteria stays in the vase. Tip it out entirely, rinse the vase, and refill with fresh water.
Flower food genuinely helps if you have it. It contains a sugar for energy, an acidifier to help water uptake, and a small amount of biocide to slow bacterial growth. The homemade versions involving lemonade or bleach are hit and miss, and mostly work by accident when they work at all.
Placement Matters More Than People Think
Keep flowers out of direct sunlight, away from heaters, and away from draughts. All three speed up water loss and wilting.
The one most people do not know about is fruit. Ripening fruit gives off ethylene gas, which triggers ageing in cut flowers. A vase sitting next to the fruit bowl will fade noticeably faster than the same arrangement across the room.
Some Flowers Simply Last Longer
It is worth being realistic about this. Chrysanthemums, carnations, and many natives like banksia and grevillea will outlast almost anything else in a vase. Dahlias, poppies, and sweet peas are gorgeous but short lived by nature, no matter how well you treat them.
If longevity matters more to you than a specific look, say so when you order and I can build around varieties that hold up.
When It Is Time to Let Go
Most mixed arrangements will have a few stems fade before the rest. Pulling those out as they go, rather than waiting for the whole thing to look tired, keeps the arrangement looking considered for longer and stops the dying stems fouling the water for the others.
If you'd rather skip the vase maintenance altogether, that's exactly what made-to-order flowers are for, fresh, and delivered when you want them.
