OMG they're beautiful…now what do I do?
You've got your flowers — now the clock is ticking. The next 30 minutes are the most important for their long-term health. Here's exactly what to do.
★ Do this first: Go straight home. Do not run errands. Do not leave flowers in a hot car. Heat kills flowers within minutes.
What you need before you get home
| 🌿 Floralife Flower Food | Feeds your flowers and keeps water clean |
| 🪣 Clean Buckets | One per variety ideally — already have buckets from us? Just rinse and refill |
| 💦 Spray Bottle | For misting flower heads, especially hydrangeas |
| ❄️ A Cool Room | 55–65°F ideal — basement, garage, or cool interior room. Not the refrigerator. |
All supplies available in our Floral Supplies section.
When you get home — 4 simple steps
Good news: If you purchased flowers by the bucket, we've already cut and hydrated your stems before they went into our cooler. Your flowers are ready — just keep them happy.
- Prepare clean buckets — wash with dish soap and a drop of bleach, rinse well. Fill with warm water and add Floralife flower food per packet directions. Bacteria in dirty buckets is the #1 reason flowers die early.
- Unwrap and strip — remove all packaging: cellophane, rubber bands, paper. Pull off any leaves that would sit below the waterline. Submerged foliage rots and fouls the water fast.
- Place in water and sort by variety — place flowers in prepared buckets. Sorting by variety makes arrangement day much easier.
- Move to a cool room — keep at 55–65°F away from sunlight, heat vents, and fruit. Check water daily and top up as needed. Your flowers will open naturally over the next 1–3 days.
Bought a dry box? Your flowers need additional hydration before conditioning. Call us before you start — (503) 445-2967 — and we'll walk you through it.
Special care reminders
- Hydrangeas — mist flower heads regularly with a spray bottle. If wilting occurs, re-cut stems and place in fresh warm water. They often recover within a few hours.
- Peonies, garden roses, ranunculus — these need 3–5 days to fully open from bud. Use warm water and a warmer room to encourage opening. Never refrigerate.
- Lilies — remove orange pollen anthers with a dry tissue as soon as accessible. Lily pollen stains fabric permanently — do not use water to remove it.
- Tropicals & orchids — keep warm. They hate cold. Never refrigerate or leave near air conditioning.
- Tulips — they keep growing after cutting and lean toward light. Use cool water and wrap loosely in paper for the first 24 hours for straighter stems.
Questions? We pick up the phone. Call (503) 445-2967, Mon–Fri 10am–4pm, Sat 10am–3pm. That's what we're here for.