Frequently Asked Questions

Q: A flower bouquet had been sent regularly to a customer, and then the recipient phoned to complain the flowers were not lasting. As I couldn't imagine why that would be, I had a courier pick them up to assess the problem. The bouquet had been placed in a vase without the water picks being removed. Others have called to ask the question: do you remove those little plastic containers?

A: Yes, you must remove the water picks from the roses before putting in a vase. From our experience with flower deliveries, a flower will empty a three-inch water pick of water in about three hours in summer. Other times, the flower has a time-advantage. So if you put the flowers in the vase with the picks still on, they will wilt once they have used up the water in the pick. As they have been just freshly cut you do not have to recut the stems.

Q: It was a trendy packaging method a couple of years ago to wrap the flowers in tissue and let the packaging be open at the end to reveal the stems.Will they recover?

A: When you receive flowers from Flowers Unlimited the stems will be misted and wrapped in a cello 'diaper' to survive the courier trip. In the heat of summer the stems are inserted into oasis, so that either way your bouquet is ready for the vase. However, if you ever receive flowers that have had the stems exposed to the air, recut on an angle and hydrate in room temperature water.

Q: Is the package of flower food necessary, or is an aspirin, sugar or other home remedy just as adequate to helping the flowers live longer?

A: The commercial floral foods help extend the vase life of flowers; it is comprised of dextrose for an energy source, a bio-inhibitor to prevent bacterial growth and an acidifier to lower the pH of the food to suppress bacteria and to increase water uptake. Now, not to contradict Martha Stewart who recommended bleach in the June 2005 issue of her Martha Stewart to protect flowers, it is not recommended by the scientists.

Q: Does it matter how the stem is cut?

A: If the very end of the stem is cut so that it is pointed, then the stem does not sit on the bottom of the vase, thus allowing it to absorb more water as the slant also has a larger surface area.