General Flower Care

Hand-tie Bouquets

  1. Make sure your vase has been cleaned with hot soapy water and bleach.

  2. Give the stems a fresh cut (a half inch or more) with clean pruning shears or a sharp knife, proportionally to size of the vase.

  3. Immediately place the flowers into the water with the flower food provided. Ensure that your vase is full enough so that all stems are in water.

  4. ADD WATER DAILY- you may be surprised by how fast your flowers can drink.

  5. Every 2-3 days change the water and re-cut the stems to maximize the life of your blooms. Placing blooms near heavy sunlight, heat, drafts or ripening fruit will cause flowers to wilt quickly.

Vase Arrangements

  1. Top up the vase with warm water, just in case some spilled over while on route to you, and ADD WATER DAILY.

  2. Place in a cool area away from drafts and direct sunlight.

  3. Every 2-3 days change the water and re-cut the stems to maximize the life of your blooms. Placing blooms near heavy sunlight or ripening fruit will cause blooms to open very quickly.

AVOID:

  • Placing your flowers near sun, drafts, excessive wind, fruit, smoke, heat, or below 5 degrees Celsius

  • Overhandling: flowers may bruise and/or spot. Try not to touch the delicate blooms.

Specialty Flower Care:

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas prefer warm to hot water due to their wax-like sap in their stems. When you receive a bouquet with hydrangeas, it is important to give the whole bouquet a fresh cut ( at least 1 inch or more) and place the arrangement in a vase of very warm to hot water. Should the hydrangea start to wilt at anytime, remove the stem from the arrangement, give it a fresh cut and put it in a separate vase of very hot water for a few hours to perk back up.

Phalaenopsis Orchid Plants

These beautiful tropical plants require little water, as they produce arial roots that grow up and out of the pot to ensure they get enough air and nutrients. Phal orchids are considered an epiphytic plant, meaning they obtain their nutrients and water from air. Although they are grown in pots, they do not grow in soil. Often they are in coconut coir or moss, as they retain some moisture. These plants can live for years, and re-bloom often if cared for correctly.

They need to be watered infrequently, depending on how dry your home is, we recommend watering every 1-3 weeks, not more than an ounce at a time. Overwatering is the #1 cause of killing this plant. Keep out of direct sunlight.

Once the flowers drop off, the plant is not dead! In fact, Phals can re-bloom multiple times per year. If you cut the stem above the 3rd or 4th node and wait, the pant will often start to grow again from one of the other nodes, producing a second crop of flowers. They can also be encouraged to bloom again by exposing them to lower night-time temperatures for a few months (but remember tropical night time and Calgary night time are VERY different)