A bouquet that lasts four days and one that lasts two weeks usually contain the same flowers. The difference is what happens in the first hour after it arrives, and where it ends up standing.
The first hour matters more than the next ten days
- Get it into water immediately. Ours arrive in a water-filled aqua pack, so there is no emergency — but the pack is for transit, not for living in. Move the flowers to a vase the same day.
- Cut the stems again, at an angle, under running water. Two centimetres is enough. Air gets drawn into a stem the moment it leaves water and blocks it like a plug; a fresh underwater cut clears it.
- Strip every leaf below the waterline. Submerged leaves rot within a day and turn the water into bacteria soup, which is what actually kills most bouquets.
- Use the flower food. It comes in the box. It is not a gimmick — it is sugar for energy plus an acidifier and a biocide that keeps the water clean.
What Los Angeles specifically does to flowers
Two local conditions shorten a bouquet's life more than anything else:
- Afternoon sun through glass. A west-facing window in Santa Monica or Marina del Rey in the afternoon is an oven. Flowers on that sill will be finished in three days. Keep them somewhere bright but out of direct sun.
- Dry Santa Ana wind and air conditioning. Both pull moisture out of petals fast. Hydrangeas suffer worst — they drink through their petals as well as their stems, so if they wilt, submerge the whole head in cool water for twenty minutes and they will usually revive.
Change the water. Actually change it.
Every two days, not "when it looks cloudy". Rinse the vase, refill, add the second sachet of food if you have one, and re-cut the stems by a centimetre. That single habit is worth more than every other tip combined.
Flower by flower
- Roses — the most forgiving. Remove the outer guard petals, which look bruised on purpose: they protect the bloom in transit and are meant to come off.
- Hydrangeas — heavy drinkers. Top the water up daily.
- Tulips — they keep growing in the vase and lean toward the light. Turn the vase daily if you want them straight.
- Peonies — arrive closed on purpose. Warm room to open them faster, cool room to slow them down.
- Sunflowers — thick stems, heavy heads. Give them a deep vase or they topple.
Two things to keep them away from
The fruit bowl. Ripening fruit gives off ethylene gas, which makes flowers age fast. A bouquet next to bananas will fade noticeably sooner.
The air-conditioning vent. Constant dry airflow does the same damage as direct sun, just more quietly.
Every arrangement we deliver includes care instructions and flower food in the box. If something arrives looking unhappy, call us at +1 (657) 427-7770 — we would rather hear about it than not.
