How do I care for my cut flowers?

Looking after your British flower posy

Flowers are living things and a little bit of care helps them to last much better. These top three tips are the best way to make the most out of your cut flowers and enjoy them for longer.

Tip One
When your flowers arrive, you will need to remove the packaging, rinse the eco-gel down the sink and recut the stems. A nice sharp cut taking off a couple of centimetres will enable water to travel up the stem easily, a bit like a straw, to rehydrate the flower heads at the top. Put them straight into the water when you have cut the stems. If you're scissors or secateurs aren't up to cutting woody stems, then just cut the fleshy ones. There's one exception to the recutting rule in our posies and that's daffodils. These Welsh favourites emit a sticky sap to the water that other flowers don't like very much, especially tulips and freesias. When mixed with other flowers, it's best to avoid recutting the narcissi and daffodils to minimise the amount of sap they give off.

Tip Two
The next thing is to keep your water clean. Use the flower food provided and change the water every couple of days or whenever it starts to look cloudy. Always use the correct quantity of flower food for the size of the jar. Our posy jars only need half the sachet of flower food for a water change. Save the other half and change a couple of days later. Our 99% bio-based flower food contains natural sugars and acids to increase the uptake of nutrients and keep the water bacteria-free. This flower food has been found to increase vase-life by 60%.

Tip Three
The third most important thing you can do is to display your flowers in a clean jar somewhere cool, away from radiators, drafts and sunny windows. A common mistake people make is to reuse vases over and over without cleaning them. But not you! You know that this introduces bacteria into the water which shortens vase life! Don't forget to give your jars a really good clean after you use them. Use warm soapy water and a brush, lemon juice or a drop of bleach and give them a good scrub. Alternatively, our posy jars can go straight in the dishwasher, ribbon and all. 

When it's time to throw away your flowers (if you don't want to dry any of them of course!) a garden compost heap is ideal. Otherwise, they can go into a garden waste collection bin. Without either of these options, they can go into the food waste bin. If you're throwing away flowers or plants from other sources, do make sure you remove any plastic ties, wrappings or plant pots first!

Fresh flowers make us happy, reduce stress levels, can improve our memory and make us feel more sociable. Our British flower posies are a lovely way to remind someone special how much we love them throughout the year. British flowers are the best eco-friendly choice as they produce 90% lower carbon emissions compared with imported blooms and are a gentle reminder of the changing seasons. Starting a British flower subscription with us means you can always enjoy real, seasonal, and soulful arrangements. So, what are you waiting for? "Let Nature In" with a MeadowSweet flower subscription today!