DIY Flower Care Instructions

Most flowers require the same general care however there are a few that need special attention. If your flowers require specialized steps it will be listed below. If you do not see your flower type listed below, please continue on with these general flower care tips.

Flowers are shipped in semi-closed bud form. This means they need about 1-2 days to fully bloom. Flowers may arrive looking “thirsty” and this is normal, please follow your arranging instructions to begin hydrating your flowers properly. We always recommend that you care for your flowers immediately upon arrival. You are receiving them just as a florist would.

If you purchased our DIY Wedding Kit, flower food is included. The flower food packets can be placed directly into your buckets of water upon arrival.

Place bunches in room temperature water in your buckets without removing the outer packaging for the first 3-4 hours. The flowers can then be removed from all packaging to allow for room to open fully. If you do not plan on arranging your flowers within 24 hours of arrival, please replace the water they are stored in each day. Additional flower food is not necessary. If you prefer to have flowers bloom faster, you can increase the water temperature slightly to 75-80°F. Cooling the water temperature will have the alternative affect and slow down the blooming process.

Always store flowers in a cool room away from direct sunlight and excessive heat. Just like water temperature, the warmer the environment, the faster blooms open and vice versa. Your flowers do not require refrigeration. If you do choose to place them in a refrigerator, please make certain it is free from all other foods. Ethylene released from foods can cause flowers to wilt.

Standard roses come in bunches of 25 stems where some of the stems are hidden under the cardboard packaging. Only about 10-12 are visible from the top. You can place roses in water for 3-4 hours before removing the packaging so they hydrate in an upright position and are nice and sturdy for use.

To get roses ready for arranging, use a flower stripper to remove excess leaves and thorns. Do not leave any extra leaves on the stems as they can cause bacteria to grow in the water. You should also remove 3-5 "guard" petals, which are the outer petals that are bruised or discolored. Guard petals are meant to keep the inner rose intact during shipment. Doesn't that make the rose small you may ask? Roses have many petals packed densely towards the middle and blossom more and more each day.

Hydrangea stems are shipped with hydration packs at the bottom of the stems. It is absolutely critical that all stems are fully submerged in water upon arrival. Hydrangeas are extra thirsty and will wilt if not placed in water immediately. If this happens, however, you can soak the entire head of the flower into water to revive them. You can also try cutting the bottom of the stem at a 45 degree angle and placing them in hot water for one hour to revive them.

A separate hydrating vessel or smaller bucket should be used to hold ranunculus while they hydrate since they are typically shorter than other flowers. Ranunculus come in units of 10 stems in one bunch. Remove any foliage from below so there isn't any in the water. If leaves get in the water, it can cause the water to fill with bacteria which can affect the vase life of your ranunculus. Ranunculus stems naturally curl and bend and there is typically one main bloom per stem and often offshoot buds that do not bloom (they look lovely though!). If you have floral food, it's great to add into the water, but not absolutely necessary. Most important will be re-cutting and changing the water regularly. You'll also want to make sure you're using a vase or bucket that is tall enough to support the stems (or cut the stems down to fit your bucket). A good rule of thumb is that the bucket should be at least 2/3 the length of the cut stems. Since ranunculus have hollow stems they'll need the support so they don't bend over. You can opt to wire ranunculus stems by gently inserting the floral wire from the top into the hollow portion of the stem. This allow control of the direction of the bend and supports the bud.

Upon arrival anemones have a tulip-like shape when closed and open up to the beautiful bloom you see in our collections. Anemones come from the same flower family as ranunculus and have hollow stems that can curl and bend. A vase or bucket the same height as the stems help to prevent any breakage. These delicate blooms can require extra attention such as trimming the bottom of the stems every day about a 1/4 inch and changing out your water. Anemones initially like to be stored in a cool room but if you need to speed up the opening process, place them in a warm room with warm water or in sunlight for a few hours.

Peonies should arrive mostly "closed bud" which means about 1-2 inches in diameter and in the shape of a small ball. With some time spent in water, peonies open up naturally with plenty of volume and at about 3-5” in diameter. Follow similar steps to roses and garden roses except these voluptuous blooms need more space to avoid overcrowding in a bucket. Peonies like to drink in a lot of water. It’s best to change out the water daily and trim up to a half inch off the stems.

If you need your peonies to open faster, you can place them in lukewarm (not hot) water, which will encourage the opening process.

Dahlias are a fragile flower that need special care. To ensure that the fragile petals do not get smashed, space Dahlia blooms apart to avoid overcrowding in buckets.

Dahlias also need plenty of water. Strip leaves off the base of the stem before placing in water and make sure the base of the stem is fully submerged.

The flowers need to maintain their upright position with some form of support. Choose a bucket that is the same length as the blooms.

If the blooms are closed and need to be opened up, you can temporarily place them in buckets of warm (not hot) water.

Dusty miller stems are much shorter and typically need a shorter bucket or vase to hydrate in. Try not to get these leaves wet as they tend to soak in water. Keep hydrating upright in original packaging for up to 12 hours then remove packaging. You can also keep them in their plastic packaging all the up to arranging time. Always make sure the bottom of the stems are in water when not in use.

Hanging amaranthus and upright amaranthus both arrive with leafy foliage on the stems that should be removed before use. You should avoid getting the blooms wet (just like dusty miller) as they tend to soak in water.

Succulents are very easy to care for. They arrive in small flower pots in soil. Succulents, a native desert plant, only need a tiny amount of water every few days. Long green sticks will arrive with your order so you can use them in bouquets. These both can be set aside until ready to arrange. When ready to arrange, gently remove the plant from the soil, wipe off any excess soil from the base, and gently insert or twist the succulent stick into the base. It's best to only go about 1/4-1/2 inch into the base so you don't poke through the top petals of the plant. Mini succulents have a very short stem and it's best to use floral wire for succulent boutonnieres or pin-on corsages. You can gently stick the floral wire into the base and then wrap with floral tape to secure it.

While most greenery and eucalyptus varieties are low-maintenance and hardy plants, they still need to be placed in water with the stems trimmed. Greenery can survive outside of water for 3-4 days (if using for outdoor arrangements or arch decor). It is still best to keep all stems well-hydrated. To hydrate, remove any excess leaves near the base of the stems, and then place them into buckets of water.

If you ordered a pre-assembled greenery garland or decided to DIY your own, your garland would just need to be placed in a cool room away from direct sunlight. Garlands can use a spritz of water every day.