BOUQUETS

Bouquets and other cut flowers will usually come with water vials, water sachets or a wet tissue pack on the stems; simply remove these, recut each stem on an angle and place immediately into fresh water.

When flowers are left out of water they form a callous or air bubble in the end of their stem and are no longer able to drink, always cut about 2cm off the stem at an angle.

Obviously flowers are living things and their lifespan varies according to their surrounding environment, with a little care it is easy to get the most out of your flowers.

You can add a touch of bleach to the vase water, to help kill bacteria, thus extending the flowers life. Commercial flower food can be use to help encourage buds to bloom.

As the leaves turn yellow and the petals turn brown, remove them immediately, as they produce ethylene gas which will kill the other flowers much faster. Fruit and cigarette smoke also produce ethylene, so keep your flowers away from these as well.

Flower stems never need to be crushed or scalded.

Keep your flowers in a cool spot, way from draughts, heat sources and direct sunlight.

BOX ARRANGEMENTS

Box arrangements and baskets are arranged into florist foam and need to be watered every couple of days, never let the foam dry out, because then it becomes completely unable to absorb water again.

Keep the arrangement in a cool spot, away from draughts, heat sources and direct sunlight.