Keeping flowers fresh doesn’t have to be complicated. A few small habits in the first hour — and a few minutes every couple of days after — make the difference between an arrangement that lasts four days and one that lasts ten. Here’s how we care for them in the shop, and how you can at home.
The first hour matters most
Whatever you were sent, do these four things as soon as it arrives.
Give the stems a fresh cut
Trim about an inch off at a slight angle. The angled cut keeps the stem from sitting flat on the bottom of the vase, so it can keep drinking.
Use clean, cool water
Fill with cool water and stir in the flower food packet. Change the water every one to two days — fresh water slows the bacteria that clog stems.
Find a cool spot
Away from vents, space heaters, and direct afternoon sun. Keep them off the counter beside the fruit bowl, too — ripening fruit ages flowers fast.
Pull spent blooms
When one flower goes, take it out. Left in the water it spreads bacteria to everything still looking good.
Different arrangements, different needs
A wrapped bouquet, a potted plant, and a silk piece all want something different from you. Find what you were given.
Fresh Flowers in a Vase
Arranged and delivered ready to set down — the design is already balanced, so it needs upkeep more than rearranging.
- Top off the water daily. A full vase drinks faster than you’d think, especially in the first two days.
- Re-cut every few days. When you change the water, take another half inch off the stems.
- Strip anything below the waterline. Submerged leaves rot and cloud the water.
- Don’t rearrange the mechanics. If there’s foam or a grid holding the shape, keep it wet rather than pulling stems out.
Wrapped Bouquets
Gathered by our designers and wrapped in paper for presentation. Unlike a vase arrangement, a wrapped bouquet is meant for you to finish at home.
- Unwrap it right away. Take off the paper, the cellophane, and any tie or band around the stems — none of it belongs in the vase.
- Trim every stem at an angle. Take about an inch off, cutting each one to the height you want it to sit.
- Strip the lower leaves. Anything that would fall below the waterline should come off before it goes in.
- Arrange it however you like. Place the largest blooms first, fill in around them, and turn the vase as you go.
Green & Blooming Plants
The longest-lived gift we send. Most plant problems we hear about come from too much water, not too little.
- Check before you water. Push a finger an inch into the soil. Dry, water it. Damp, wait.
- Let it drain. Loosen the decorative foil or lift the pot out to water, then let it drain fully — roots left standing in water will rot.
- Bright, indirect light. Near a window but out of the direct beam suits nearly everything we sell.
- Turn it a quarter each week and wipe dust off the leaves so it grows evenly and keeps breathing.
Silk & Faux Arrangements
No water, no wilting — but they still need a little attention to keep looking like the day they arrived.
- Dust every week or two. A hair dryer on cool, held back a foot, clears petals faster than a cloth.
- Keep them out of direct sun. Sunlight fades silk far faster than it fades a fresh flower — it’s the main thing that ages them.
- Reshape by hand. Petals and leaves are wired; bend them back open after a move and the whole piece looks new.
- Spot clean only. A barely damp cloth on a mark, then air dry. Never submerge a stem or a wired leaf.
Ask a Clayton, NC Florist
Our designers are always glad to help with flower care tips, or with identifying a bloom or houseplant you can’t quite place. Send a photo, call the shop, or stop in — you’ll reach a local florist who works with these varieties every day.
Clayton Florist offers same-day flower delivery in Clayton, Selma, Smithfield, Zebulon, Garner, and Knightdale, NC.
Clayton, NC 27520
(984) 250-7771
orders@claytonncflorist.com
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