Caring for Fresh Flowers – Top Tips from a Sheffield Flower Shop

There are so many reasons why it is such a privilege and a passion of mine to work with flowers. Running a successful Sheffield flowers shop comes with its fair share of responsibilities, and they don’t stop even when my lovingly prepared bouquets or floral arrangements leave my shop. It’s also my job as a Sheffield florist to give my customers the very best advice about how they can ensure their flowers look their best for as long as possible, meaning that they can be admired and enjoyed for the maximum amount of time. So, here are a few of my personal tips on caring for fresh flowers!

Clean, Fresh Water

It’s always worth remembering that as soon as cut flowers have been removed from the plant, they have essentially had their life support taken away. Of course, we’ll always take excellent care of them in our Sheffield flowers shop, but continuing this TLC once you get them home is an absolute must. Remove any cellophane and packaging and get the flowers into clean, fresh water as soon as possible to prevent any wilting or sweating. Try to avoid ice cold water; room temperature works best.

Cleaning and Preparation

It’s absolutely crucial to properly prepare your cut flowers before they go into a vase. To keep flowers happy and healthy, spend a little time cleaning the stems of any dirt and taking off any leaves that are lower down, or that have wilted. We’ll always tidy them as much as we can before they leave our flowershop in Sheffield, but a once over before they go into water is a must. This will ensure the water is kept nice and clean, preventing any stagnant water or rotting foliage.

Give them a Trim

Next, trim the stems. We recommended approximately two centimetres at roughly 45 degrees. This will allow the water to easily penetrate the stems, keeping them as open as possible and giving them the much-needed liquid that they’ll need to keep looking their best.

Choose the Right Spot

Try to keep your flowers in cool conditions and away from any drafts or sources of heat to prevent them from wilting or drying out. Direct sunlight is a firm no, as is anywhere near a radiator. Another good tip is to keep your flowers well away from the fruit bowl; fruit gives off ethylene gas which causes flowers to deteriorate.

Feed your Flowers!

The lovingly prepared bouquets and floral arrangements from our Sheffield flower shop will be accompanied by flower food, which we recommend you add to the water as soon as possible. Containing mild bleach to slow down the growth of any bacteria or algae that could clog up the stems, and sugar, it’s perfect for feeding your flowers and keeping them fresh for as long as possible.

As a professional florist in Sheffield, we offer a stunning range of fresh flowers for all the seasons, including workplace arrangements, wedding flowers, beautiful contemporary arrangements, and much more. For more info, advice from a knowledgeable Sheffield florist, or to simply see how we can help, call us on 0114 266 4249 or email info@katiepeckett.com