Flower Cutting Tips

A few simple tips for extending the life of your garden's cut flowers

The sun is setting early, the morning is coming later.  The garlic is dried and trimmed, waiting for planting.  Apples have arrived in the market.  The air is still thick with summer, humid; the sky is dark.  My stand of zinnias is at it’s peak of fullness and color, and I’m picking the blossoms before the thunderstorms.  A good friend and colleague admired my zinnias the other day, lamenting the fact her garden didn’t get enough sun for such flowers.  I’m arranging this bouquet for her.

It’s best to cut flowers in the morning, when their stems are plump and rich with water and carbohydrates, but I’d rather have the blooms in a vase on the table then blown over in the storm.  Evening is the second best time for cutting flowers.  I’ve been cutting zinnias for bouquets for the past month, and sometimes one or two in the bunch will wilt and not stand taut.  From research I learned it’s important to put flowers in water immediately after they are cut to prevent a seal from forming, making it more difficult for the stem to absorb water in the vase.  Warm water is more readily absorbed by the stems than cool water.  Use garden shears or a knife as opposed to household scissors which will crush the stem and make it difficult for the flower to take in water.  Trim off any leaves that would be submerged to avoid bacteria, which can short the life of the bouquet.  Finally, when you trim the flowers, cut the stem at a 45 degree angle to create more surface area for the stem to soak up water.  (These last two tips my mom showed me some time ago, but I never knew why they were helpful until today)  

One bonus tip my neighbor shared with me is to cut the flower’s stem right before you see another  bud or set of buds unrolling from the stem.  This encourages these new buds to bloom, and makes a bushier, more robust plant.  (Like deadheading)  This strategy has worked well for me with zinnias, cosmos, dahlias and calendula.  So cutting flowers is not only good for the soul and the kitchen table, but good for the plant.

So many tricks to cutting flowers!  After all these years of creating bouquets in the yard I'm curious to see if these new tricks help.  Please note the tips above represent a few basic suggestions I found during my research that can be easily integrated.  For more exhaustive information, check out the Brooklyn Botanical Garden’s tips.