How to prep flowers Preparation

Cut flowers arrive cold and dehydrated. Prepare them properly to maximize bloom life.

Quick Guide

Time approx. 30–60 minutes depending on order size

Group Size 2+ people, or as many as you can find

When Upon delivery (or within 3 hours)

Where Cool space, away from direct sunlight, heat vents, and ripening fruit

Materials

Buckets & stir stick Flower food Shears Garbage, compost & recycling bags Water source Paper-based floral tape (as needed) included not included optional

Set Up Workstation

Fill each bucket with clean room temperature water about 3 inches deep. Add 1 packet of flower food per bucket and gently stir.

Set up compost, recycling and garbage bags for waste.

Unpack, Clean & Hydrate Flowers

Flowers may arrive boxed, wrapped, bucketed, or in water vials. Unpack and prep each stem to maximize vase life. See back for special flower care.

Remove leaves that will sit in water. Leaves in water create bacteria and shorten lifespan. Use shears or pluck by hand.

Trim stems at a 45° angle to improve water absorption. Keep long for arranging later.

Tip

If you see any bent stems, strengthen them by wrapping paper-based floral tape around the bend point (see Flower Handling).

Place stems into buckets without overcrowding. Flowers need airflow and space to bloom. Use tall buckets for long or heavy stems (e.g. roses, hydrangeas); short buckets for delicate flowers with soft or floppy heads (e.g. lilies, dahlias, ranunculus).

Let flowers hydrate overnight — or at least 2–3 hours if you are short on time.

Tall bucket for long stems with leaves stripped below the water line

A flower stem cut at a 45 degree angle, with the offcut below and the angle marked against the horizontal

Special Flower Care

Roses

Roses are packed in a cardboard sleeve. Leave the sleeve on while roses hydrate to prevent floppy heads. Remove the leaves below the cardboard and trim stems before placing in the bucket.

Remove the cardboard sleeve after 2–3 hours.

Most roses are de-thorned, but some thorns may stick around. To remove, gently press sideways with your thumb or snip with shears.

If available, use rose gardening gloves for protection.

Hydrangeas

For hydrangeas, use warm water in your bucket — they are thirsty flowers and warm water helps them drink.

To prevent wilting, dunk the flower head in warm water for 10 seconds. For severe wilting, dunk the flower head in water for 10 minutes.

Hydrangea head being dunked in a bowl of warm water

Peonies

If some buds are small and closed, remove leaves and guard petals. Place in a bucket of hot water and put a plastic bag over the bucket. Steam helps encourage buds to open. Wait 1–2 hours before checking blooms.

Bucket with plastic bag over the top to trap steam around peony buds