Care 9 Sep 2026 3 min read

How to make cut flowers actually last

Every bouquet that leaves our studio should give you a week minimum — often two. The difference is about ninety seconds of care on day one and a couple of habits after.

The first hour decides the week

Stems seal up in transit — the cut end dries and scabs. Before the bouquet touches water, recut every stem at a sharp angle, 2–3 cm off. Scissors crush; a knife or proper secateurs doesn't.

Strip any leaf that would sit below the waterline. Leaves underwater rot within a day, and the bacteria they feed is what actually kills flowers early — not 'old flowers'.

Hands trimming stems at an angle over a sink

the angled recut — non-negotiable

The weekly routine

After day one it's mostly about water hygiene and placement. Same routine we use on the studio's own display vases:

Every 2–3 days

Dump the water, rinse the vase, refill fresh and cool.
Recut the ends — a centimetre is enough.
Pull anything gone slimy or fully spent — it accelerates the rest.
Flower food if you have it; a tiny drop of bleach if you don't.
Rotate the vase — light bends stems toward it.

A bouquet doesn't die of old age. It dies of dirty water and a sunny windowsill.

Priya Nair, stylist

Bouquet on a shaded kitchen bench away from the window

Where not to put it

Direct sun is the classic killer — beautiful for the photo, brutal for the flowers. Same for the fruit bowl proximity: ripening fruit exhales ethylene gas, which tells flowers to finish up faster.

Aircon vents and heaters dry blooms out overnight. The cool, shaded spot wins every time — our preserved arrangements exist for the windowsills where nothing survives.

Take-home