Vase-tested
Cut Flowers
A curated set of flowers with honest vase-life, the exact stage to cut at, and how to condition each stem. The difference between a 5-day flower and a 21-day flower starts here.
Make flowers last longer
What to add to your vase (and what to skip)
There's a real chemistry to keeping cut flowers fresh — sugar to feed the bloom, a mild acid to keep the water flowing up the stem, and a touch of bleach to stop the bacteria that block it. Skip the pennies, vodka and hairspray you'll see on Pinterest — none of it outperforms what's already in your kitchen.
Make your own flower food
Per litre of cool water: 1 tsp sugar (food), 1 tsp white vinegar or 2 tsp lemon juice (acid, helps stems drink), and ¼ tsp household bleach (kills the bacteria that clog stems). It outperforms most sachets and costs nothing.
Refresh every 2 days
Empty the vase, rinse off any slime, and refill with fresh food-and-water. Cloudy water is bacteria — and bacteria is the single biggest reason flowers wilt early.
Re-cut stems at an angle
Cut 1–2 cm off every stem at a 45° angle under running water before they go in the vase, and again every refill. The angle gives more surface area to drink, and underwater cuts stop air bubbles blocking the stem.
Strip any leaves below the water
Submerged leaves rot fast and turn the water into bacterial soup within a day. Take everything off the bottom third of the stem — even if it feels brutal.
Keep them cool
Out of direct sun, away from radiators and the top of the TV. Florists store flowers at 2–5 °C overnight; you can mimic this by moving the vase to a cool hallway or porch before bed.
Away from the fruit bowl
Ripening fruit (especially bananas, apples, tomatoes) gives off ethylene — a gas that signals petals to age. A bouquet next to a fruit bowl can die in half the time.
Spring bulbs like cold water
Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and ranunculus last longest in cold water — and tulips will keep growing in the vase, so leave room for them to stretch 5–10 cm taller.
Start with a spotless vase
Scrub the vase with hot soapy water (or a quick swish of bleach solution) before every arrangement. Last week's bacteria film is invisible — and it'll halve the life of your fresh stems.
One caveat: daffodil and narcissus stems leak a sap that's toxic to other flowers. Stand them on their own for 6 hours in fresh water before adding to a mixed arrangement, and don't re-cut once mixed.
Filler
Statice
21 days · No conditioning needed
When 75% of the florets are open and colour is at its brightest.
Dries well — also an everlasting
Focal
Rudbeckia
14 days · Warm water hold
Fully open — they don't open further once cut.
Focal
Lisianthus
14 days · Warm water hold
When the first floret is fully open and the second is showing colour.
Focal
Strawflower (Helichrysum)
14 days · No conditioning needed
Just as the first ring of petals reflexes open.
Dries well — also an everlasting
Focal
Zinnia
10 days · Warm water hold
'Wiggle test' — wiggle the stem; if it flops, leave it. Cut only firm-necked blooms.
Focal
Ranunculus
10 days · Cold water hold
When the bud feels like a soft marshmallow — squeezy, not hard.
Spike
Honesty (Lunaria)
10 days · Warm water hold
Fresh — purple-pink florets. For dried seed-pod 'silver dollars', wait until pods are brown then strip the outer skin.
Dries well — also an everlasting
Focal
Sunflower
8 days · Warm water hold
When petals are halfway unfurled, not fully open.
Spike
Snapdragon
8 days · Warm water hold
When the bottom 1/3 of florets are open.
Umbel
Ammi majus
8 days · Warm water hold
When 75% of the umbel florets are open.
Umbel
Wild Carrot 'Dara'
8 days · Warm water hold
75% of umbel open.
Dries well — also an everlasting
Filler
Cosmos
7 days · Warm water hold
Cut when the bud has cracked open and shows colour, not when fully open.
Focal
Dahlia
7 days · Warm water hold
Cut when fully open — dahlias don't open further once cut.
Spike
Tulip
7 days · Cold water hold
Cut when buds are coloured but still closed.
Spike
Nicotiana (Tobacco Plant)
7 days · Warm water hold
When 1/3 of the florets are open.
Focal
Peony
7 days · Warm water hold
'Marshmallow stage' — bud feels like a soft squishy marshmallow.
Focal
Cosmos 'Cupcakes'
7 days · Warm water hold
Bud just cracked open showing colour.
Focal
Cosmos 'Double Click'
7 days · Warm water hold
Bud just cracked, before petals fully unfurl.
Filler
Cosmos 'Pied Piper'
7 days · Warm water hold
Bud just opening.
Spike
Sweet Pea
5 days · Cold water hold
Cut when the bottom flower on the stem is fully open and 2–3 buds above show colour.
Focal
Narcissus / Daffodil
5 days · Cold water hold
Pencil stage — bud tilted but closed.
Focal
Hellebore
5 days · Sear stem ends
ONLY mature flowers where the central seed pods have started forming.