Roses are a very delicate flower that love to be pampered! If they are treated the way they want to be, you will get a lot more out of them and will be able to enjoy them longer!
Use the following steps to get the best life out of your roses: 1. Unwrap Roses I know! Anyone can unwrap roses, why are you telling me the obvious? Well, there are some things you need to know! First of all, remove the roses very carefully from the packaging, scissors are the best way to do this (with a knife you could nick one of the stems and cause your poor rose to die an early death). Be sure to save the small packet of flower food that should be wrapped in with the roses.
2. Fill vase with water Ok, steady now! You can do this! Open the packet of flower food, pour the full packet into the vase. If your florist did not send a packet, don’t panic, use a teaspoon full of sugar instead. Add cold water to the vase, stopping a few inches below the top to allow for displacement.
3. Clean leaves off If there are leaves on the roses that will be submerged in water, remove them. If you leave them on they will get moldy, gunky and nasty which will cloud your water. How do you remove the leaves? Wait for it… simply pull them off! Watch for thorns as you do this. They are sometimes present on the small leaf stems, not just the main stem. Like every other florist, I firmly believe that thorns suck and I have the puncture marks to prove it!
4. Cut roses with a sharp knife The best tool for the job is a sharp knife. Scissors are not recommended as they crush the stem. Use a large kitchen knife to cut the roses at a 45 degree angle; one cut right through all the stems is best. Do not saw the poor roses! A sawing motion will cause the stems to split, leave the sawing to magicians doing the old “cut the lady lady in half” bit… On the subject of sawing things in half, the safest way to cut your roses is to lay them out on a cutting board.
5. Put roses in water Immediately after cutting your rose stems, put the roses into the vase you have set aside. Adjust them so they look the way you want them. If you have a bit of fern, leather leaf or babies breath go ahead and add it. These will add a bit of color and interest to the bouquet.
6. Enjoy Place your roses wherever you would like to enjoy them. Be careful to avoid sources of heat and extreme cold.