Cutting Fragrant Flowers

Peonies can be cut in bud. Lilacs and other spring shrubs are best when buds are just opening. Hydrangea Paniculata, on the other hand, will wilt unless flowers have been fully opened for several days. But all cut flowers will benefit from conditioning.

Gather stems in the morning, when they have the most moisture in their leaves and flowers. Carry a bucket of water and plunge the stems in the water as you cut. Then, bring them into a cool room away from sunlight. Trim the cut ends and strip off as many leaves as aesthetically possible. Place them in tall containers with water up to their flowers for four hours or longer in the cool room. Many flowers only need to have their stems in deep water, but some others benefit from special treatment.

To help the stems of flowers that tend to wilt take up water, the cuts should not be allowed to seal themselves, and that can be achieved by subjecting them to heat. Pour boiling water into a mug. The ends of soft stems can be dipped in the hot water for ten seconds (this may revive flowers that have already wilted). If the cut end of a species oozes or bleeds, as, for instance, with Euphorbia and flowers like Dahlias and Tulips, dip the bottom inch or so in hot water for ten to twenty seconds. Some flowers, for example Poppies, may be treated by holding the tips of the cut ends over an open gas flame to singe them until they turn black. This keeps the ends from closing so they take up water and don’t wilt, which they usually do otherwise.

In general, woody stems from trees or shrubs should have about ten percent of their length from the cut end dipped in hot water for thirty seconds or longer. Alternatively, smash or split the bottom three inches of the woody stems. Experiment to discover what works best for individual flowers. Keep all cut stems, treated or not, in deep water for as long as possible until you are ready to arrange them.

To have a cut flower last as long as possible after arranging, trim the bottom of the stem every other day and change the water. Those little packets of cut-flower preservative actually work as well.