HOW TO...Condition your flowers and foliage

There is so much opportunity, especially in London or if you have a lovely garden, to buy or collect your own flowers and have a play.  

But we're often hearing how people are a bit intimidated by the thought of coming home from Columbia Road bearing wraps of flowers, or coming in from the garden with some beautiful seasonal foliage, stems still covered in leaves, thinking, 'but where on earth to start?'

So, this week, we're going back to basics!  

We'll talk you through conditioning your flowers; hopefully giving you the confidence to get your hands a bit dirty and prep them, ready to be arranged.  Conditioning your flowers properly, combined with a touch of aftercare, also has the benefit of keeping them happier and healthier for longer.

HOW TO...Condition and look after your flowers and foliage to help them live a happier, longer life!

Conditioning

  1.    Clear the stem of any leaves which will be below the water level of the vessel you are going to use.  Also, clear off any other leaves or unnecessary branching stems, or rough parts of woody stems.  The idea here is to only put a nice, clean stem into the water to avoid unnecessary dirt or bacteria entering it.

2. Cut the bottom of your stems on an angle to increase surface area for drinking.  If you have very thick or woody stems (think hydrangea or garden foliage), cut an inch or so up the stem to give them more chance to take up water.

3. Make sure the vessel you are going to use for the flowers is nice and clean.  Wash well between uses, use a bottle brush or an antibacterial cleaner if the vase opening is too small to get some elbow grease in there. 

Aftercare

4. Keep water clean.  Change daily if necessary, and certainly every other day.  Add a teaspoon of sugar or a splash of lemonade to ‘perk up’ any tired flowers, or some flower food if you have it.

 5. Flowers really love a drink (some more than others and all get super thirsty in warm temperatures), so always keep an eye on water levels and top them up when necessary.

6. Re-cut the stems at an angle after a couple of days to refresh.  Any bacteria in the water will nibble away at the end of the stems, resulting in the flowers struggling to take up water (OK, we're no scientists but it's something like that...).  By re-cutting the stems, you expose a shiny, new and uncorrupted surface area, allowing the stem to suck in all the water it needs.

How not to deal with flowers and foliage..?