Lesson 6

Tulips as cut flowers

Cut at the cool end of the day, when the flower is fully coloured but not yet open — the 'matchstick' stage. Cut deep, taking the whole stem from the base where it disappears into the bulb.

Tulips keep growing in the vase — sometimes 5 cm in a few days, bending toward light. Wrap the bunch tight in newspaper and stand in deep cold water for 2 hours to set the stems straight.

Vase life: 7–10 days. Recut and change water every 2 days. Tulips love a clean copper coin in the water — it slows the natural stem-bending.

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.

Tulips in arrangements

Use alone in a tall jug — the stems are the architecture.
Strip lower leaves; tulip foliage rots fast in water.
Mix with hellebores, narcissus and pussy willow for early-spring style.
Re-cut a centimetre off the stem every 2 days for longer life.
Tulips and daffodils together: keep daffs in a separate vase for 12 hours first — daffodil sap shortens tulip life.