Cut Roses: Keeping Them Fresh and Displaying Them Beautifully

Congratulations! You have received a gift of some beautiful cut roses, recut the stems and conditioned the flowers, and have arranged the roses in a vase, ready to be put on display.

The preliminary care is over, but the on-going maintenance required to keep your roses looking lovely must still be accomplished.

Daily care of your roses

First, always be sure that your roses are displayed away from extremes of heat, cold and even drafts from doors or windows. Roses are very sensitive to temperature and keeping them out of sunlight and in as cool a location as possible will be very beneficial. Also, do not display them near a TV or a bowl of fresh fruit. At night, move the flowers to the coolest location that there is in the home.

Second, roses always need water. Replenish the water as soon as it gets low in the vase with water containing a preservative designed for cut flowers.

Third, replace the water (always using a preservative in the water) either daily or every other day. Keep the stems submerged in a different container of water while you thoroughly wash and disinfect the vase during this process. Remove any decaying leaves that have been submerged in water. Using a sharp knife, recut a small portion of the stems on a slant under water at least every second or third day, taking care to not damage the stem and always keeping the stem end submerged so as to prevent air from entering the stem.

In summary: Keep the roses watered and always use a preservative in the water. Keep the vase clean. Tidy the blooms daily. Recut the stems at least every third day, working underwater. Display the flowers in a cool area of the room and keep them as cool overnight as possible. These steps will go a long ways toward extending the life of your roses.

You can visit the website lifestyle.yahoo.com/better-homes-gardens (click here) for very good directions on disinfecting a vase, keeping vase water fresh and on cutting and preserving flower stems.

Remove discolored or drooping petals to keep the roses looking fresh.

Problems you may encounter

One frequent problem is bent neck or flower wilt, which occurs when the flower is not getting enough water through the stem. Basically, after recutting the stem, you will need to submerge the whole stem and flower in warm water for at least 20 minutes. Both viette.com (click here) and taraflorist.com (click here) have very good advice on how to remedy this situation.

Another website with good problem-solving advice is hortchat.com. (Click here).

Displaying your roses

Displaying your vase of roses in front of a mirror is always very effective.

You can wrap vases with either fabric or colored net and secure that with a ribbon, cord or raffia.

The best article that I could find for directions for arranging a dozen roses in a vase is at wikihow.com. (Click here). This article gives step-by-step directions for creating a beautiful arrangement; check it out, I think that you will find it to be very helpful.

At the appropriate time, you can always snip off the blooms when they no longer add to the beauty of the bouquet and float them in a lovely dish. With proper care, your roses should enhance the beauty of your home and give you pleasure for many days.

For more articles by this writer, click here.

Suggested reading:
Is it Still Valentine's Day If There Is No Date or No Mate? by R.C. Johnson, 1/27/10
Cut Roses: How to Choose Roses that Are Beautiful and Long Lasting, by R.C. Johnson, 2/11/10
Cut Roses: Proper care Before Putting Them On Display, by R.C. Johnson, 2/11/10

Sources:
http://www.quotegarden.com/flowers.html
http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/better-homes-gardens/diy/tips/article/-/5826377/blooming-beautiful/
http://www.viette.com/v.php?pg=232
http://taraflorist.com/TaraFloristRoseCare.htm
http://hortchat.com/info/how-to-care-for-cut-roses
http://www.wikihow.com/Arrange-a-Dozen-Roses-in-a-Vase