You’ve nurtured your favourite blooms to flower, taking care to tend to their every need. The next step? Displaying the fruits of your labour in your favourite vase where they can be appreciated day in and day out!

Cutting flowers might sound like a straightforward task, but there are some techniques to make the job easier and more productive. So, if you’re here to learn how to cut flowers for bouquets the professional way, then you’re in the right place!

How to Cut Your Flowers

Cutting flowers is easy, right? A simple task by any means. Although you could go around cutting flowers here and there, this could affect the longevity of the flower's life in the vase. Here are some of our top tips for cutting your favourite blooms.

Pick the Right Time of day – As you would water flowers in the morning, the best time to cut them is also in the early to mid-morning! This is so the stem still has hold of its moisture. If you cut them later in the day, their stems won’t be as firm and will struggle to revive in the vase, affecting its lifespan.

Be prepared – When cutting your flowers, have a bucket of water with you that you can put them in straight away. This ensures that they don’t dry out!

Take note of their stage of life – The best time to cut flowers is just after they’ve flowered or have begun to flower. If it’s a stem with multiple buds, you can cut them if one flower is flowered, and the others are in bud. Cutting flowers that are still in buds won’t flower and cutting them too late after flowering won’t see them last longer.

Use sharp tools - Crushing the stem will affect the way the stem takes in water, affecting their lifespan.

Use Warm water– Florists often use lukewarm water in the vase, rather than cold. The science behind this states that warm water moves faster than cold, allowing the plant to soak it up at a faster rate and much easier. This allows your bouquet to soak up all those lovely nutrients as soon as possible.

Use flower feed – There‘s a reason shop-bought bouquets give you a lovely little sachet of plant feed. These are filled with nutrients that will keep flowers blooming for longer! You can even make your own plant feed at home.

Learn how to make your own cut flower food here.