5 Tips for Maintaining Your Bouquet of Flowers

Sending flowers is an excellent gift idea and is sure to brighten up someone’s day. But the thing about bouquets is that as beautiful as they are when we receive them, they often don’t last as long as we’d like. But fret not, there are tons of helpful and simple tips you can use to keep your fresh flower arrangement looking as lovely as the moment you got it!

1. Handling Your Bouquet

If you have just bought a bouquet or have been lucky enough to receive a bouquet as a gift, the first thing you’d usually want to do is take it out its packaging and put it in a vase. But wait!

If you order a flower arrangement from a professional florist, the stem will have been cut at the right angle to make them look neater and more uniform but it’s also to prevent them from drinking too much water.

Before you put the flowers in vase cut the stems at a 45 angle with an extremely sharp knife – and never use scissors because it could damage the stem! Next, remove the lower leaves which may come into contact with the water. This will help to prevent a build-up of bacteria which can cause your bouquet to wilt.

2. All About that Vase

The first thing we look at when we pick our vase is usually its design, but you’d be surprised–that’s not the most important thing to consider when storing your flower bouquet. The material that your vase is made of; plays a huge role in determining how long your flowers will last. For instance, you should always go with a glass vase over a metal one if you’re intending to keep your bouquet alive for as long as possible.

Another tip to remember is to really clean your vase–and we’re not talking about a quick rinse with water! To make sure you get your vase amply prepped, wash it with bleach or hot water and soap. This kills any extra bacteria that may be lurking in there but just make sure that you rinse it thoroughly to avoid leaving behind any harsh chemicals.

This would probably by the most obvious of our tips, but where you put your vase will definitely affect your bouquet’s lifespan! To be fair, different flowers and plants react to the environment different, but a general rule is that it should be in a cool shaded place away from direct sunlight. Another lesser-known tip is to also avoid putting it near any fruit because they release a gas that will cause premature wilting!

3. Water Temperature

Many of us just fill up our pots or vases with water straight from the tap, but that might actually be harming your plants! All plants tend to prefer lukewarm water rather than cold. However, if your bouquet has many buds, you may want to place the bouquet in warm water for a minute and then transfer them to cold water for 20 minutes before returning them to lukewarm water again to encourage them to flower.

Many of us think that they can place their bouquet in a vase and forget about it, but you should try to keep your water as clean and clear as possible on a regular basis. We suggest changing the water every couple of days to slow the wilting process.

4. Flower Preserving Hack

Most flower deliveries in Singapore will come with a bag of “flower food”. This provides your flowers with the necessary nutrients to keep them looking fresh for longer, but you may want to try some other techniques.

For example, you could add a teaspoon of sugar with four drops of bleach or a copper coin to the water. The bleach or coin will stop any build-up of bacteria while the sugar will act as additional food.

When you receive the flowers, if you don’t want to or can’t display them straight away, you should put them in the fridge. It is a technique that florists use, and it will keep them looking pristine just that little bit longer!

5. Dry and preserve the flowers

Before your flowers start to wilt too much, you could always consider drying them instead to create an interesting new floral arrangement. There are a few techniques that you could use, including:

• Using a microwave: this involves placing the flowers in coffee filters and then between two plates with a heavy book on top. On a low heat dry the flowers for approximately five minutes, continually checking their state
• Try silica gel: place the bouquet in a sealed container and add several sachets of silica gel. After around a week, the moisture should have been absorbed, leaving you with a nicely dried out bouquet.
• Pressing: place your flowers in kitchen roll and the put them between the pages of a large, heavy book. Place weights on top and leave for ten days. Once removed, you can frame these pressed flowers and hang them in your home!
• Air drying: this is the most natural method to dry your flowers, but it takes the longest. We recommend using this method with bulbous flowers so you can keep all their petals intact!

Send Flowers in Singapore

So there you have it! These are some helpful tips and tricks you can use to preserve your bouquet the next time you get a flower delivery! And if you’ve been searching for a sweet little gift to give your special someone, send them some flowers today!