Flowers are living things first and a gift second. Roses that are looked after in the first five minutes last days longer than roses left in the box, so here is what we do in the studio and what we ask you to do at home.
1. Open the box straight away
Your bouquet travels overnight with Royal Mail and is with you by 1pm. Even five or six hours in the box after that has an effect, so open it as soon as it lands, even if the flowers are a present for later.
2. Cut the stems
Take about two centimetres off the bottom of every stem with sharp scissors or a knife, cut at an angle. A fresh cut lets the rose drink again. Do this every two days and you will see the difference.
3. Fresh water, every day
Clean vase, cool water, and change it daily. Roses drink far more than people expect. If the water goes cloudy, the stems are sitting in bacteria and the heads will droop.
4. Strip anything below the water line
Leaves under water rot and shorten the life of the whole bouquet. Pull them off before the stems go in.
5. Keep them away from heat and fruit
Radiators, sunny windowsills and the top of the fridge all cook a bouquet. So does a fruit bowl: ripening fruit gives off a gas that ages flowers. A cool corner of the room is the best spot in the house.
6. Give hydrangeas a drink from the top
If your bouquet has hydrangeas, they drink through their petals as well as their stems. A light mist of water over the heads every day keeps them full.
If something does not look right
Tell us within 24 hours of delivery with a photo taken on arrival and we can nearly always put it right the same day. Our freshness and care page has more, and our FreshProof promise explains exactly how we fix things.