Lesson 5
As cut flowers
Cut when buds feel like marshmallows — soft but coloured. They open over 24 hours indoors. Cut at the cool of morning, with sharp secateurs, at an angle.
Vase life: 5–7 days in fresh water; up to 10 with the recipe below. To delay flowering, store cut buds dry-wrapped in newspaper in the fridge for up to 2 weeks; they open normally when stems are recut and put in water.
When picking from an established plant, never take more than 1/3 of the stems in any one year — the leaves need to stay to feed the crown for next season.
What to add to vase water (per 1 litre)
- 1 teaspoon of sugar — feeds the flower in place of the stem it lost.
- 1 teaspoon of lemon juice OR clear (white) vinegar — lowers the pH so water moves up the stem more easily.
- 2–3 drops of household bleach OR a clean copper coin — stops the bacteria that block the cut stem (the real reason vases go cloudy and flowers droop early).
- Change the water every 2 days and recut 1 cm off the stem each time. That single habit beats any other 'trick' for vase life.
- Florist sachets (Chrysal, Floralife) are this same recipe pre-mixed — convenient, not magic. Either is fine.
- Avoid: aspirin, copper pennies post-1992 (not real copper), and full-fat lemonade — the sugar load encourages slime.
Peonies in arrangements
- Cut at the soft-marshmallow bud stage — they continue opening in the vase.
- Wipe the ants off with a damp cloth or shake them onto the garden first.
- Recut underwater for the longest life — peony stems air-lock easily.
- Mix with cottage filler — sweet peas, alchemilla, foxglove for the country-garden look.
- Store cut buds dry-wrapped in newspaper in the fridge — they bring the season into July.