To keep flowers fresh, put them in a clean vase with room-temperature water and the flower food packet, after cutting ½ inch off each stem at an angle. Every 2 days, change the water, trim the stems again and take out anything that fades. Keep the vase away from direct sun, heaters, AC vents and fruit; flowers in a box need a little water in the foam every day instead.
At Cherry Blossom Flowers we put a packet of flower food in every order, along with these same care steps. Our florist hand-selects the stems at dawn on the morning we arrange your bouquet, so it reaches you with most of its life ahead. How much of that life you get depends on the first ten minutes at home and on what you do every second day after.
What to do in the first 10 minutes after delivery
- Get a vase ready. Many of our bouquets arrive in a vase; large ones, like 50 or 100 roses, come without one. Whichever vase you use, wash it with hot soapy water and rinse it well. Bacteria left from the last bouquet move straight into fresh stems and block them.
- Fill it about two-thirds with lukewarm or room-temperature water. Stems take up room-temperature water faster than ice-cold water (tulips are the exception, see below).
- Stir in the flower food packet until it dissolves.
- Take off the wrapping and cut ½ inch off each stem at an angle. Use a sharp knife or florist shears; kitchen scissors crush the stem and close the channels it drinks through. The angle gives the stem more surface to drink from and keeps the end from sitting flat on the bottom of the vase.
- Strip every leaf that would sit below the waterline. Leaves rot in water, the water turns cloudy, and bacteria grow fast.
- Put each stem into the water right after you cut it. Cut a few, place them, then cut the next few, so no stem lies on the counter with an open end.
How often to change flower water
Every 2 days. Pour out the old water, rinse the vase, refill it and give each stem a fresh ½ inch cut at an angle. A new cut opens channels that have started to clog. If the water looks cloudy sooner, change it sooner.
If you have flower food left, add it in the same proportion. If not, clean water and a fresh cut still do most of the work.
Pull out any stem that has browned or dropped its petals. As the bouquet thins out, move the survivors into a smaller vase so they stand upright and stay together. Roses often last around a week; for other flowers, see the vase-life table in our guide to how long fresh flowers last.
Where to put flowers so they last longer
Pick a bright spot out of direct sun. Three places shorten a bouquet's life:
- A sunny windowsill. The water warms up, bacteria grow faster and petals dry at the edges.
- Next to a heater or under an AC vent. Moving air pulls water out of petals faster than the stems can replace it.
- Beside the fruit bowl. Ripening fruit, apples and bananas especially, gives off ethylene gas, and ethylene makes many flowers age faster.
Here in Los Angeles, heat is the main thing we warn about. Afternoons stay warm for much of the year, and a closed apartment with the AC off all day can heat up while you're at work. Flowers don't like that heat or the jump back to cool air in the evening. If you can, leave the vase in the coolest room before you go out. At night, a cooler room helps too: the flowers rest and open more slowly.
Flower food: what's in it and how to use it
A packet of flower food does three jobs. Sugar feeds the flowers, since a cut stem has lost its roots and most of its leaves. An acidifier lowers the pH of the water, and stems drink slightly acidic water more easily. A biocide keeps bacteria down, so the water stays clear and the stems stay open.
To use flower food, empty the whole packet into the amount of water printed on it and stir until it dissolves. Then add the flowers. Too little water makes the mix too strong and can harm the stems; too much water dilutes it and the biocide stops working.
Kitchen tricks you'll see online (sugar, aspirin, a copper penny, vodka) each cover one piece of the job at most. Sugar alone feeds bacteria as well as flowers, so the water clouds faster. Aspirin only acidifies, and vodka only slows bacteria a little. Most pennies made since 1982 are zinc inside, so there's little copper to do anything. The packet does all three things in the right balance, which is why we include it. If you run out, plain clean water changed every day is a safer bet than any of these tricks.
Care notes for specific flowers
How to keep roses fresh in a vase
Roses drink a lot, especially in a warm room, so check the water level every day and top it up between changes. If a rose bends just under the head (florists call it bent neck), air or bacteria have blocked the stem. Re-cut it and stand it in deep water, up to just below the flower, for a few hours; many recover. Brown edges on the outer petals are normal: you can peel off one or two of those guard petals.
How to care for peonies
Peonies are best bought and kept in bud, because they open fully in 1 to 3 days. A warm room speeds that up; a cool one slows it down, which is useful if you want them at their fullest for a dinner on Saturday. Open heads get heavy, so shorter stems help them stand.
How to make tulips last
Tulips keep growing after they're cut and bend toward the light. Give them cold water, turn the vase a little every day so they grow straight, and keep them away from a sunny window. If they flop, wrap the bunch snugly in paper, stand it in cold water for an hour or two, and the stems often straighten.
How to care for hydrangeas in a vase
Hydrangeas are the thirstiest flowers we work with, and they drink through their petals as well as their stems. If the heads droop, re-cut the stems and submerge each whole head in a sink of cool water for 30 to 60 minutes. Shake off the water and put them back in the vase. It's a common florist fix, and it brings back most heads that haven't dried out. We keep hydrangea bouquets all year.
Lisianthus and stock
Both carry several flowers on one stem. Pinch off each bloom as it fades, so the buds above it get the water and open. Stock has soft leaves that rot quickly in water, so strip it well below the waterline.
Orchids in a pot
A potted orchid lasts several weeks. Water it lightly about once a week, let extra water drain away, and keep it in bright light out of direct sun. Don't put it in the fridge or near an AC vent.
How to water flowers in a box
Our flowers in a box sit in floral foam, a sponge that holds water for the stems. Add a little water to the foam every day so it never dries out. Pour it slowly at the base of the stems so the foam soaks it up. Press a fingertip into the foam; if it feels damp, the flowers have what they need. Dry foam is hard to wet again, and the flowers wilt fast once it dries.
Keep the box cool and out of direct sun, like a vase. Leave the stems in the foam: a stem pulled out and pushed back in no longer touches wet foam and stops drinking. If you'd rather move the flowers to a vase, cut each stem just above the foam and put it straight into water with flower food. The stems will be short, so a low vase works best.
Vase bouquets usually last longer than boxes with foam. Here's how the care compares:
| Bouquet in a vase | Flowers in a box | |
|---|---|---|
| Water | Fresh water with flower food | A little water in the foam every day |
| Every 2 days | New water, ½ inch trim at an angle | Remove faded flowers, keep the foam damp |
| Stems | Re-cut each time you change the water | Leave them in the foam |
| Placement | Away from sun, heaters, AC vents, fruit | Cool, out of direct sun |
| How long it lasts | Usually longer | Usually shorter |
Mistakes that make flowers wilt early
These four come up again and again:
- A flower box nobody watered. It looks fine for a day, then the foam dries and everything droops at once.
- A vase in the sun, often on the windowsill where the light looks nicest in the morning and turns hot by afternoon.
- Leaves under water. The water smells within a couple of days.
- A vase reused without washing. A film you can't see on the glass is enough to start bacteria.
Flower care FAQ
How often should you change flower water?
Every 2 days for a vase bouquet. Each time, rinse the vase, refill it with fresh water and trim the stems ½ inch at an angle. Change it sooner if the water turns cloudy or starts to smell.
Is flower food necessary?
Flowers will live without it, but they last longer with it. The packet feeds the stems, helps them drink and keeps bacteria down, so the water stays clear and buds open more fully. Use the whole packet in the amount of water printed on it.
Can I put flowers in the fridge overnight?
Yes, for many flowers, including roses, tulips and peonies in bud. Keep them away from fruit and out of the produce drawer, since ripening fruit releases ethylene. Skip the fridge for orchids and other tropical flowers, which cold can damage.
Why is my bouquet wilting after one day?
Usually the stems can't drink: air or bacteria have blocked them, the vase is in the sun or near a heater, or the foam in a box has dried out. Re-cut the stems, change the water and move the flowers somewhere cooler; for hydrangeas, submerge the heads. If a bouquet from us droops on the first day, call us at (323) 493-1514 or write in the chat with a photo.
From our shop
If you're in Los Angeles and want flowers that start fresh, order by 6 AM for same-day delivery: at 6 AM our florist hand-selects the stems for that day's orders, and at 9 AM we start arranging. Orders after 6 AM go out tomorrow or on the date you pick in your bag. We deliver 7 days a week between 12 PM and 8 PM, within 30 miles of the shop, and pickup at 6201 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028 is free. Every order comes with a packet of flower food. Browse our bouquets in a vase or flowers in a box, and for help choosing, see our flower-by-flower gift guide.