Flower Care Guide: How to Keep Your Bouquet Fresh Longer

There is a quiet joy in watching a bouquet open fully over the course of a week — and a little heartbreak when it fades too soon. The good news: most of a bouquet's lifespan is decided by a few simple habits. Here is exactly how our florists care for fresh flowers, adapted for Malaysia's warm, humid climate.

The first hour matters most

When your flowers arrive, act within the hour:

• Unwrap promptly. Decorative wrapping traps heat and humidity around the stems.
• Trim 1–2 cm off each stem at a 45° angle with clean, sharp scissors. An angled cut widens the drinking surface and stops stems sitting flat against the vase floor.
• Strip any leaves that would sit below the waterline. Submerged foliage rots quickly and breeds bacteria — the number one bouquet killer.

Water: the daily ritual

Fill a scrupulously clean vase with room-temperature water. In Malaysia's heat, we recommend changing the water every single day — every second day at minimum. Each time you change it, rinse the vase and re-trim the stems slightly. If your bouquet came with flower food, dissolve half a sachet per change rather than all at once.

A clean vase and fresh water will do more for your flowers than any trick or tonic.

Location, location

Keep your arrangement away from:

• Direct sunlight and hot windowsills — beautiful for photos, brutal for petals
• Air-conditioner draughts — constant airflow dehydrates blooms surprisingly fast
• The fruit bowl — ripening fruit releases ethylene gas, which accelerates wilting

A cool corner with soft, indirect light is ideal. If you run the air-conditioning at night, your flowers will thank you — cooler nights meaningfully extend vase life.

Know your flowers

Roses appreciate having their tired outer "guard petals" gently removed. Lilies last longer if you pluck the pollen anthers as each bud opens (this also protects tablecloths). Chrysanthemums and carnations are marathon runners — often outlasting everything else in the vase, so re-group them as other stems retire.

When flowers can't be fussed over

Gifting someone who travels often, or decorating an office where daily water changes won't happen? Consider our soap flowers — handcrafted blooms that keep their beauty for years. We compare the two honestly in Soap Flowers vs Fresh Flowers.

Start with the freshest stems

Care extends freshness — but it can't create it. Every Bloom & Core bouquet is made to order from stems selected that morning, so your seven days start from day one. Questions about a bouquet you've received? WhatsApp us — we're always happy to help your flowers live their fullest life.