How to care for your roses

A beautiful bouquet of roses is always a joy to come home to. Roses are some of the most-loved flowers around. But knowing how to properly care for your roses is a must if you want them to stay healthy and happy for 5 days (or more).

Keep reading to find out how to care for your bouquet of roses!

How do you keep roses fresh?

The secret to making your roses last longer is to condition them as soon as you get them. Here’s how:


1. Trim your rose stems

Your bouquet can be left in it's aqua pack for up to 48 hours. After this time the water will need to be changed, so snip the base of the water bag over the sink to release the water. Remove all packaging, but do not untie your flowers. Trim at least 6cm off your stems and place into fresh water with the flower food provided. Always cut them on a slight angle so they have the most surface area to drink from.

2. Prune some leaves away

Take off any leaves that will fall below your waterline. Or they’ll just deteriorate. Then dirty the water your roses drink. And make them fade faster!

3. Take off your rose’s guard petals

Got some bruised-looking petals? They’re just guard petals. We leave them on as they act like bubble wrap, protecting the inner rose petals en route to you. But it’s easy to pinch them off! This will help your roses to bloom as well and keeps them for longer.

How do you cut roses?

It’s easy to cut roses with a good pair of floristry scissors (or strong kitchen scissors). You’ll want to cut them at least 6cm when you get them, or more if your vase is short. Top tip: You want your stems (from cut end to flower head) to be roughly double the height of your vase.

But remember! To make your roses last longer, you’ll need to re-trim them by 2cm (and refresh their vase water) every few days. This helps your roses to absorb all the nutrients from the water and flower food to stay fresher for longer.

How do you care for rose petals?

Rose petals are really delicate. But doing what you can to care for them will keep your bouquet looking beautiful for a long time.

First up, see those leaves at the base of the flower head? They’re there to support the petals, so don’t remove them!

Don’t forget to pinch away petals as they go brown. This won’t promote new growth. But removing the dead petals will reveal prettier petals beneath and make your bouquet look full of colour for longer.

Where should you keep roses?

Once you’ve conditioned your roses, keep them in a vase with fresh water and flower food.

To care for your roses properly, you should keep them in a cool place, away from direct sunlight. Windowsills and warm, bright rooms (like conservatories) aren’t recommended for roses as they’re dehydrating, which makes roses wilt.

Also keep away from fresh fruit! It might sound random, but fruit releases certain natural gasses that make flowers fade fast.