Freshly cut flowers can brighten up any room and provide you with a sweet-smelling natural aroma. However, if not cared for properly, they will die and decay before reaching their full potential.
‘Cut flowers look beautiful in the home, they’re great for adding extra colour and character into any room. They’re also known to relieve anxiety and stress,’ says Chris Bonnett, founder of Gardening Express, ‘A lot of people aren’t aware of how to care for their flowers properly which means they don’t get to enjoy them for long enough.’
The way we cut the flowers, the type of vase we choose, and the temperature of the room that we keep them in all makes such a huge difference to the longevity of your flowers.
So with that in mind, the gardening experts at Gardening Express have shared some steps to follow to make your cut flowers last longer.
1. Choose the right vase
The right vase can determine how long your flowers stay fresh for and choosing the right vase depends on the type of flowers you have. Heavier flower arrangements should be kept in a short vase and should have short stems. This gives the flowers more room as they bloom. A lighter selection of flowers can be placed in a taller vase as they’ll take up less room as they grow.
Glass Trunk Vase
£16.00
Tall Fluted Green Glass Vase
£24.95
John Lewis Modern Vase, H27cm, Purple
Short Tortoiseshell Glass Vase – Multi
Apothecary Statement Vase
£15.00
Elements Sculpted Two Tone Vase 20cm
Alma Blue Spot Clear Glass Vase
2. Use the flower food provided
Most cut flowers come with a packet of flower food which a lot of people tend to disregard. Fill up the vase and add the sachet into the water. If your flowers don’t come with flower food, you can easily make your own at home. Mix together two tablespoons of lemon juice, one tablespoon of sugar and half a teaspoon of bleach for every litre of water. This will slow down bacteria growth and keep your flowers fresh for longer.
3. Keep the flowers away from heat
You may think placing cut flowers near sunlight is best for their growth but actually, cut flowers thrive in a cooler environment. Avoid keeping them anywhere in your home that gets too warm and humid.
Clive NicholsGetty Images
4. Change the water every other day
Bacteria thrives in stale water so it’s important to change the water every other day to keep it fresh, and in turn, get the most out of your flowers.
5. Don’t forget to wash the vase
Each time you change the water, you’ll also want to give your vase a really good clean with warm soapy water. Give it a good rinse to ensure all the soapy residue is off before putting your flowers back in.
6. Cut your flowers properly
One of the biggest mistakes people make is not cutting the stems properly. Make sure you have a sharp knife or secateurs and cut the stem at a 45 degree angle each time you replace the water in the vase. This angle will provide the stem with the largest surface area possible, meaning it can absorb more water.
Photo and CoGetty Images
7. Clean up foliage below water level
It’s important to keep the water in your vase clean, so you should remove any foliage that is on the stems below water level. Leaving foliage in the water could cause it to rot, which will harm your flowers.
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16 great books for gardening and indoor plant inspiration
Garden book
RHS How to Create your Garden: Ideas and Advice for Transforming your Outdoor Space
£20.00
£10.23 (49% off)
Adam Frost’s practical, no-nonsense approach will help you plan and build a garden that works for you. The Gardeners’ World presenter takes you step by step through the whole process, from simple garden design ideas to a full garden makeover.
Garden book
Modern Container Gardening: How to Create a Stylish Small-Space Garden Anywhere
£16.00
£12.45 (22% off)
Isabelle Palmer shows you how to make the most of every little space with a series of projects for small gardens, singular containers and window boxes, that can be completed in a day or weekend. Perfect for novice gardeners, Modern Container Gardening offers beautiful photography and clear step-by-step instructions.
Garden book
National Trust School of Gardening: Practical Advice from the Experts
£20.00
£15.00 (25% off)
The National Trust employs over 500 gardeners with an extraordinary wealth of expertise. And now, in this in-depth guide, they pass on their wisdom and provide the answers any new and seasoned gardener is looking for. This book is intended to give you inspiration and confidence to make the most of your garden, without being overwhelmed with unnecessary technical detail.
Garden book
Veg in One Bed: How to Grow an Abundance of Food in One Raised Bed, Month by Month
£16.99
£12.16 (28% off)
Veg In One Bed explains how to build your bed and grow from seed, as well advice on planting, feeding, and harvesting. YouTube gardening star Huw Richards shows how to guarantee early success by starting off young plants on a windowsill and suggests what to grow in each part of the bed.
Garden book
The Complete Gardener: A Practical, Imaginative Guide to Every Aspect of Gardening
Monty Don offers straightforward gardening advice in this book, revealing the secrets of growing vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs, while respecting the needs of the environment by gardening organically. You can also enjoy a tour of his Herefordshire garden, including his flower garden, herb garden, kitchen garden, and more.
Plants book
RHS Practical House Plant Book
£16.99
£12.73 (25% off)
The Practical House Plant Book by the RHS contains a dozen step-by-step projects to help you assemble an eye-catching terrarium, create a floating kokedama ‘string garden’, or propagate succulents. Complete with 175 in-depth plant profiles, this is an essential practical guide for indoor gardeners.
Garden book
Small Garden Style: A Design Guide for Outdoor Rooms and Containers
£16.99
£14.95 (12% off)
A small garden space – an urban patio, a tiny backyard, or even just a pot by your door – doesn’t have to sacrifice style. In Small Garden Style, garden designer Isa Hendry Eaton and lifestyle writer Jennifer Blaise Kramer show you how to use good design to create a joyful, elegant, and exciting yet compact outdoor living space.
Garden book
Charles Dowding’s No Dig Gardening: From Weeds to Vegetables Easily and Quickly: Course 1
£22.77
£18.75 (18% off)
Charles Dowding, innovator of no dig, teaches you everything you need to know about this method of organic gardening. With 19 chapters, you’ll learn how to use no dig on different soil types, recognise and massively reduce the different types of weeds, know the difference between soil and types of compost, and grow an abundance of vegetables using the no dig method.
Plants book
In Bloom: Growing, harvesting and arranging flowers all year round
£26.00
£21.00 (19% off)
Get all the inspiration you need for planting cut flowers, and fill your home with colour and the gorgeous scent of the garden year-round with In Bloom. Clare Nolan reveals her secrets for growing a bountiful harvest as well as styling spectacular homegrown displays in this beautifully designed book.
Garden book
RHS Complete Gardener’s Manual
£25.00
£18.30 (27% off)
The RHS’ Complete Gardener’s Manual will help you choose plants that will thrive in your space, design a border for year-round colour, grasp different pruning techniques, discover how to protect your veg patch from pests, and make the best compost.
Garden book
Wildlife Gardening: For Everyone and Everything
Do you want to attract more bees, birds, frogs and hedgehogs into your garden? In Wildlife Gardening for Everyone and Everything, Kate Bradbury teams up with the Wildlife Trusts and the RHS to help you discover how you can make your garden, balcony, doorstep or patio a haven for garden wildlife. You’ll find handy charts, practical projects and fact files.
Plants book
My House Plant Changed My Life: Green wellbeing for the great indoors
Gardener and TV presenter David Domoney is a firm believer that indoor plants can make ‘a practical and emotional contribution to our wellbeing’. In this book, David explains the hard science behind the positive effect of the humble houseplant on wellness, and provides expert tips on how to keep your plants thriving, plus shares his top 50 life-enhancing houseplants.
Garden book
RHS Encyclopedia of Garden Design: Planning, Building and Planting Your Perfect Outdoor Space
£30.00
£23.45 (22% off)
If you’re looking for new garden ideas, the RHS Encyclopedia of Garden Design will guide you from planning to planting, such as choosing the correct materials for your structures and assessing your drainage, to laying patios, making ponds, and planting perennials.
Garden book
How to Create an Eco Garden: The practical guide to sustainable and greener gardening
£15.00
£11.75 (22% off)
This planet-friendly book is filled with ideas for creating your own eco garden on any scale, from a small courtyard to a large garden or allotment. Discover organic techniques that improve biodiversity, learn the value of using recycled and reclaimed materials for landscaping, and take on simple projects such as making a pond and a wildlife hotel.
Plants book
RHS Encyclopedia Of Plants and Flowers
£40.00
£28.68 (28% off)
Drawing on expert advice from the RHS, this best-selling reference book – organised by colour, size, and type, rather than as an A-Z directory – will help you select the right varieties for your outdoor space.
Garden book
Build a Better Vegetable Garden: 30 DIY Projects to Improve your Harvest
£16.99
£12.85 (24% off)
Joyce and Ben Russell have devised 30 kitchen garden projects, devised to either extend the season, protect crops from pests or improve yields. These projects transform your vegetable plot into somewhere more productive, more attractive and more secure.
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