Your Step by Step Cut Rose Care Guide:

 

Having just bought or received some gorgeous rose blooms, you now want to make sure that you get to enjoy them for as long as possible! We are here to help you make sure your roses get to bloom for their optimal life span, by showing you our cut rose care guide process.

 

First Things First!

 

Preparing Your Vase:

– Have your vase ready and waiting. Fill it up to ¾ full with clean cool water.

• Hint: Make sure it’s squeaky clean, so that no bacteria is introduced to your fresh roses.

 

– Add flower food to the water.

• Hint: You can make your own flower food, see recipe* further down.
• Hint: Only add the flower food after you have poured the water into the vase – otherwise it creates soapy bubbles in the water.

 

Next Up:

 

Preparing Your Roses:

 

Lay them out:

Find some counter space to work on, and lay out your roses on the counter. We find the most comfortable position to work in is to have the roses perpendicular to us – the buds on the left, with the stems to the right.

 

Before you begin, you should know…

– All foliage that will fall below the water line will need to be stripped off. Having any leaves in the water will accelerate bacteria formation, and shorten the flowers life span.

– Using metal strippers can be harmful to the rose. They often tear off parts of the waxy exterior of the surface, causing wounds where bacteria can enter.

– Don’t be tempted to snap off the big thorns with your nails – bacteria susceptible wounds will be created on the stems, as well as allowing air bubbles to form at those parts of the stem.

– If there are any thick growths coming off the stem, like a new bud shoot, these can be gently nipped off with secateurs (secateurs are a type of plant scissors or pruning shears) just above the point where it joins the stem – don’t pull them off!

 

Strip them:

– Once you know the height of the vase, measure the rose against it, and work out where on the stem the vase will stop, and use this as a guide for how high to strip off the foliage. As a general rule, anything that will be below the top of the vase should be cleaned of foliage.

– Doing one rose at a time, hold it gently three quarters of the way up the stem in your left hand, between your thumb and index finger.

– Use either rubber flower strippers, or an old cloth, and run it down the sides of the stem. Do this gently, not bending or bruising the stem where you are holding it with your left hand. You may need to do it once or twice depending on how thorny or leafy the stems are. This will take off just the tips of the thorns, removing the harmful sharp edges, while not removing the whole thorn. Remember we don’t want to create wounds on the stem.

– Roses sometimes get brown outer petals that form from water or condensation exposure. Remove these gently, pulling off the petal from the base, to stop it from spreading.

 

Cut them:

– Once you have them all cleaned and ready to go, you can start cutting them and placing them in their final destination.

– Rose stems should be cut with sharp secateurs at a 45° angle to increase water absorption. Do this directly before placing the stem in water. Air bubbles will form in the stem if it is left out of water for any length of time, and this will inhibit water absorption.

– Never cut the stem on or directly below a nodule (a little bump in the stem, where a new shoot would have formed). The rose will battle to draw water up through this complex part of the stem if it is cut on it.

 

And Lastly:

 

Help them Last:

– Change the water and flower food every two to three days. Do so more frequently if the water becomes murky.

– Roses can be revived if their heads droop by re-cutting the stems at an angle and placing them in 2-3cm of hot water for a maximum of two minutes. Then remove them and place in deep fresh water. If the stems are very long, cutting them short before following this process can also prolong their life.

– Your roses should never be placed in direct sunlight, in a draught, or near a heat source. A cool location is ideal.

 

The Magic Recipe*:

 

*DIY Flower Food:

For approximately 1 Litre of water, add the following, and stir to mix and dissolve:

– 1 tsp. Household Bleach

– 1 tsp. White Wine Vinegar

– 1 tsp. sugar

 

Why do we add flower food?

Flower food helps create the right environment for the roses to flourish.

– The bleach helps keep harmful bacteria from forming.

– The vinegar allows for the ph. balance to be aligned with the roses needs.

– The sugar helps the rose to bloom and open.

 

Roses are finicky things, but we just love them! We hope this helps you keep your roses lasting as long as possible, and looking wonderful!