The Basics Of Flower Care

Hey there! 

You’ve got flowers. What’s next?

Whether you’re in advanced placement when it comes to arranging (A+ for you!) or you’re totally new when it comes to the care and the styling of cut stems we’ve got a pro tip (or ten!) to help you get designing the Farmgirl way! But first, it’s time for a little mise en vase, if you will. That’s our half-French/mostly made-up way of saying you need to prepare your stems for designing by giving them a trim, removing some extra foliage, etc. - but we’ll get to that in a second. For now, just know that since we shipped these stems farm-fresh and direct to your doorstep they need a little love and attention after the long trip. We promise - they’ll look beautiful (and extra Instagrammable or, uhh, TikTok-able?) in no time! 

OK - ready? Great! Follow along below to help your stems get blooming and beautiful!

Extra, extra!

We carefully make, wrap, and ship each and every arrangement but sometimes, flowers are flowers! See a broken stem? Not to worry! We always ship one to a few extra stems (it depends on the arrangement) for these “just in case” situations. 

Chop, chop! 

We ship your stems on the longer side to help keep them stay healthy during transit, but you need to give them a quick trim for two important reasons: (1) So they can get a fresh drink of water after their journey to you, and (2) so they’ll fit nicely in a vase. So once you’ve removed your flowers from the box, grab a pair of sharp kitchen shears or scissors and give your stems a quick trim.

• Pro tip: Even if you like the height of your flowers out of the box, we still recommend trimming at least ½” off of the ends. This helps ensure your flowers can hydrate efficiently!
• Wanna go for gold? Trim your stems at an angle (45˚ is perfect!) to ensure that the stems don’t sit flush with the bottom of the vase, which can prevent the flowers from absorbing the water they need to stay fresh and beautiful.

Everything in its vase!

Once trimmed, place your flowers in a vase full of cool tap water so they can get hydrating (and don’t forget to add the packet of flower food that came in the box). Some quick #vasebasics while we’re on the subject – 

• If your arrangement came with a vase, use it! We designed the arrangement to fit inside the vessel perfectly. 
• If your arrangement did not come with a vase, find one from your personal collection or get creative. We like to repurpose glass jars, glassware, pitchers, and other common kitchen items in a pinch. Whatever you decide to use, just make sure the flowers can sit more or less upright in the vase (without topping over the edge) and aren’t too crowded.

Design 101.

This step is optional, but if you feel like flexing your budding (see what we did there) design skills then it’s time to get arranging! Here at Farmgirl, we love the look of staggered stem heights and a “v” shape that’s a bit higher on the left-hand side than the right. 

• If you ordered a designed arrangement, (like a vase, vase, baby) it will arrive more or less in this configuration and the stems should be taped or tied to keep the stems in position. Simply cut and release the tape or tie once you’ve trimmed the steps, and then drop the bouquet in a vase.
• If you didn’t order a designed arrangement, (like a Just Right Burlap wrapped bouquet) give it a shot! And if you’re in need of some arranging inspiration and/or how-to, we’ve got lots of design tutorials on our YouTube and Instagram. Check us out!

Patience is the key! Rome wasn’t built in a day and the same goes for a beautiful bouquet. Just how you aren’t exactly the brightest and most bushy-eyed version of yourself fresh off a flight, your bouquet isn’t going to be its most beautiful self right out of the box. Real talk – even when we take our website photos we have to follow all of these same steps to get the petals picture perfect. So trust us and trust this process – it works!

Bloom, baby, bloom!

We send most varieties out unbloomed or half-bloomed so after all of the aforementioned care tips and a bit of time (a couple of hours or a couple of days - it depends on the variety), your flowers will thank you by blooming. Enjoy!

Our care tips don’t stop here! Check out our Flower Care Site to learn even more about flower and arrangement care.

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