Preparing Fresh Flowers For Arrangements
Unpack Your Flowers and Greens
Congratulations, you have received your flowers! Now it is time to get all the flowers inside to rehydrate and prepare before creating your arrangements. Follow along so you know what to expect when you receive your order of wholesale flowers.
Be on the lookout for your package on the day the flowers are to arrive so that you can start preparing them as soon as possible. Your flowers are dry shipped and need to be rehydrated as soon as they arrive at your home for optimal appearance and freshness. Please do not leave the flowers in the box until you intend on making arrangements; get them out of the box and in water right away!
Open up your box by using scissors or a knife, taking care not to cut too deep into the box as you risk slicing into the flowers themselves.
Flowers and greens packed for shipping
Flowers and greens are shipped in a protective sleeve to prevent damage from shipping and temperature. When you open your box of bulk flowers you will see the tightly-packed sleeve as well as your packing slip, which will list all the items included in the shipment and give you contact information if you have any questions about the flowers you’ve received.
Prepare Water Buckets
Gather enough buckets to hold all of the flowers and greens you ordered without “over-stuffing� the containers. Thoroughly clean the buckets with soap and water to remove any contaminants and rinse well. Put lukewarm water in your buckets and mix the recommended amount of floral food or preservative into the water (the food container will have a water to solution/powder ratio). Flower food greatly increases the vase life of the flowers.
To speed up flower opening, use slightly warmer water (NOT hot!) To slow opening, use cooler water (NOT freezing!)
Cut Stems and Remove Lower Leaves
Once you have opened up your box and removed all the flowers, you need to cut the stems and get the flowers hydrating. Take off all the cellophane bags and cut the stems with floral shears or a floral knife. For best results, fill a sink or large bucket with room-temperature water and hold the stems under the water while you cut them. This prevents air pockets from getting into the stem, which can stop the even flow of water to the leaves and blossoms. Make the cut at least an inch above the bottom of the stem at a 45-degree angle. This will ensure that you have removed any plugging in the bottom of the stem, once again opening pathway for water take-up. Once all the flowers are cut, you can put the flowers in your warm water and floral preservative. Make sure that there are no leaves at the bottom of the stems or touching the water - those leaves will absorb water, die, and create bacteria in the water that can reduce the vase life of your flowers.
Allow Flowers and Greens to Rehydrate Overnight
Do not be alarmed if your flowers appear wilted or dehydrated when they arrive - they just need some TLC and time to rehydrate. The flowers will DRAMATICALLY perk up once they have gone through the rehydration process at least three to five hours, and more left overnight.
After all your flowers and greens have been placed in water, put the buckets in a cool (not cold) room out of direct sunlight. Never put cut flowers in a refrigerator.
Rehydration times and the heartiness of the leaf or petal depends on the particular variety of flower, succulent or green that you have ordered. If you want more precise care information on your particular arrangement, please give our helpful Customer Service Team a call at 1-855-BUY-BLOOMS.
What if Flowers Were Damaged During Shipping?
If you call us within 24 hours and send photos of any/all damaged product, we will either refund or reship the damaged flowers. Although this does not happen often, we have a generous refund and replacement policy that ensures the utmost satisfaction for our valuable customers. Read about Refunds & Returns here.